U.S. college enrollment numbers drop in spite of pandemic’s loosening grip on society

College enrollment numbers in 2022 have dropped in spite of the lessening effects of the coronavirus pandemic that severely disrupted higher education over the past two years, according to new research.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released numbers this week that showed undergraduate college enrollment numbers across the country dropped by 662,000, a sharp decline of 4.7 percent since the same time last year. The research also showed a 1 percent drop in graduate and professional student enrollment since 2021.

The executive director of the NSCRC, Doug Shapiro, said the numbers indicated a nationwide shift in the perception about the importance of a college education.

Shapiro says the drop in enrollment “suggests it’s more than just the pandemic … it’s more than just low-income communities that are primarily served by community colleges. It suggests that there’s a broader question about the value of college and particularly concerns about student debt and paying for college and potential labor market returns.”

“The numbers are disappointing and troubling, but I am reluctant to read any major implications into enrollment changes in one spring semester during a pandemic,” said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education.

Overall enrollment in undergraduate courses has been on the decline in the United States since 2012, but the pandemic sharply decreased enrollment figures with most campuses closed for much of 2020, and some in 2021.

Shapiro did point to one optimistic statistic, hinting at a possible “nascent recovery.” First-time, first-year enrollment increased in spring 2022 by 13,700 students, a 4.2 percent increase over last spring.