The number of college students earning undergraduate degrees declined by 99,200 in 2022-23, according to data released Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The new report, Undergraduate Degree Earners, found the total number of individuals earning any undergraduate credential (bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, and certificates) fell by 2.8% compared to the previous year.
It’s the second straight annual decline after many years of gradual increases, according to NSCRC. In academic year 2020-21, college completers were down by 1.6%, 58,800 fewer than for the previous year.
While there was an overall decrease in students completing undergraduate degrees, more students (+3.9%) earned a certificate last year than in any of the last 10 years. That increase was more than offset, however, by the fact that 7.3% fewer students earned an associate degree in 2022-23; and the number of bachelor’s degree earners was also down 3%, declining to their lowest level since 2015-16.
“As expected, the enrollment declines of the pandemic years are now showing up in falling numbers of degree earners as well,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in a press release. “Although shorter term certificates have picked up some of the slack, accelerating declines in associate and bachelor’s degree earners mean fewer new college graduates this year.”
The report includes a comparison between students earning their first postsecondary credential and those who stacked another degree on top of a previously earned degree or certificate.
The number of students with a prior credential who earned a new one decreased by 2.7%, and the number of first-time completers declined 2.8%. In a media briefing about the report, Shapiro described the results as “equally bad news” for both groups, an indication that national progress toward greater levels of post second attainment has stalled.
Since hitting a high in 2017 of roughly 2.7 million first-time undergraduate degree and certificate earners, the number has declined to about 2.5 million first-time credential completers in 2022-23.
The number of students with a certificate earning an associate degree dropped 2.5%, last year, those with an associate degree earning a bachelor’s declined 3.3%, and students with a prior bachelor’s or master’s degree earning an additional certificate decreased by 3.7%.
By contrast, two degree sequences showed increases. The number of students who had previously earned a certificate and then earned another certificate gained 1.7%, while the number of prior certificate earners who earned a subsequent bachelor’s degree was up 4.4%.
Every higher education sector saw a decline in total completers with the exception of the relatively small four-year, for-profit segment, where completers were up 3.5%. Completers at public four-year colleges were down 3%; while private four-year nonprofit schools, public two-year colleges and public primarily associate degree granting baccalaureate institutions saw declines of 2.8%, 2.2% and 9%, respectively.
The total number of degree and credential earners and first-time earners decreased across all race and ethnicity groups. First-time Hispanic and multiracial completers both declined 1.9%, the first drop after years of growth for both groups.
Total female completers decreased 3.6%, while male completers decreased 2.4%. Women earning their first-ever certificate grew more than men this year (+6.2% versus +5.3%). Women completers were down 8.3% for associate degrees and 3.5% for bachelor’s degrees. Men saw smaller declines — down 6.3% at the associate level and 2.9% for bachelor’s degrees.
The number of completers declined for all age groups except those age 20 and younger. Half of this year’s growth in first-time certificate earners occurred for 18-20-year-olds.
Declines in completers were widespread across regions. The Northeast saw the largest decline in total completers at 5.1%, followed by the West (-4.5%), Midwest (-2.6%) and South (-1.5%). Certificate earners increased in the South (5.6%) and Midwest (3.5%), while associate degree earners experienced particularly large declines in the Northeast (-10.9%) and West (-10.8%). The decline in bachelor degree earners varied across regions from 2.4% to 3.8%.
First-time certificate earners showed strong growth in trade fields such as Mechanic and Repair Technologies (+7.6%), Precision Production (+11.3%), and Construction Trades (6.1%).
Among the top 10 baccalaureate fields of study, only two saw an increase in completers – computer and information sciences (+4.3%) and psychology (+1.6%).
Fewer BA/BS completers were found in health professions and related clinical sciences (-4.5%), engineering (-3.5%), education (-2.6%), biological and biomedical sciences (-1.5%), business fields (-2.2%), communications and journalism (-9%), social sciences (-4%) and visual and performing arts (-.4%).
The NSCRC is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. It collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations to gather accurate longitudinal data that can be used to guide educational policy decisions. NSCRC analyzes data from 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represented 97% of the nation’s postsecondary enrollment in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the U.S., as of 2020.
The NSCRC Undergraduate Degree Earners report was completed with support from the Lumina Foundation, a long-time national leader in advancing a comprehensive higher education completion agenda.