College enrollment rates are lower now than they were before the pandemic, and perhaps even more concerning, undergraduate credential completions fell for the first time in a decade in the 2021-2022 academic year.
Gallup and Lumina Foundation have partnered to better understand barriers to enrollment, why currently enrolled students may be considering leaving their programs — and what makes them stay.
Key Findings
According to the study, among U.S. adults without a college degree who are not currently enrolled — either because they stopped out or had never been enrolled — in any certificate or college degree program:
- Forty-seven percent report they have considered enrolling in a bachelor’s degree, associate degree, industry certification or certificate program in the past two years, similar to the 44 percent who said so in 2021.
- Sixty-one percent of those who stopped out of a postsecondary program report they have recently considered reenrolling. Thirty-six percent of those who have never been enrolled recently considered enrolling.
- Over half of all unenrolled Black adults (58 percent) and Hispanic adults (53 percent) report that they are considering enrolling — up from 51 percent and 44 percent, respectively, in 2021. Nearly half of unenrolled women (47 percent) have considered enrolling, up from 41 percent the previous year.
- Associate degrees and short-term credentials are still the most commonly considered pathways for the unenrolled. These two pathways are most popular with unenrolled women and those aged 25 and older.
- Financial barriers are most frequently identified as very important reasons unenrolled adults are not currently enrolled, including costs of programs (55 percent), inflation (45 percent) and the need to work (38 percent). However, unenrolled Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than unenrolled white adults to name a range of other factors as barriers.
Among students currently enrolled in a certificate, certification, associate or bachelor’s degree program:
- Remaining enrolled was about as difficult for students in 2022 as it was in 2021. Forty-one percent of students in 2022 said it was “very difficult” or “difficult” for them to remain in their programs, similar to the 39 percent who said so in 2021.
- Black and Hispanic students are more likely than white students to say it was difficult for them to remain enrolled in their programs. Hispanic students struggled more than students of any other race and ethnicity; 50 percent of Hispanic students reported it was difficult to remain enrolled. Male students (43 percent) are slightly more likely than female students (38 percent) to report difficulties in remaining in enrolled, with the gender gap widening in 2022.
- More students are considering stopping out in 2022. Forty-one percent of students say they have considered stopping out in the past six months, compared with 37 percent in 2021.
- More Hispanic and Black students have considered stopping out. More than half of Hispanic students (52 percent) and 43 percent of Black students say they considered stopping out in the past six months — up from 44 percent and 37 percent, respectively, in 2021.
- Both associate and bachelor’s degree students are more likely in 2022 than in 2021 to say their financial aid or scholarships and increases in personal income are very important to their ability to remain enrolled.
Download the entire report here.