Colleges enrolled around 1 million fewer undergraduate students in fall 2021 compared to fall 2019, according to data released Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that captures the toll the pandemic has taken on the higher education sector. That loss of students means undergraduate enrollment was 6.6% lower this fall than two years earlier, before the coronavirus arrived. Undergraduate enrollment slipped 3.1% in fall 2021 compared to the year before, representing a decline of 465,300 students. The number of students seeking associate degrees fell 6.2% year over year in the fall. Enrollment of those seeking bachelor's degrees dropped 3%, while those in graduate programs — once a bright spot for colleges — declined 0.4%.
