The Completing College report series provides a comprehensive overview of postsecondary completion trends nationally and by state. For all students who enter postsecondary education for the first time each year, it examines the diverse pathways the student traversed toward completion, as well as a degree or certificate completion rate within six and eight years of enrolling.
This report series helps institutions understand first-year college persistence and retention patterns and identify disparities between different students, institutions, or states in this important early success indicator.
Latest enrollment estimates for the current term nationally and by state, reported on by institution types, student groups, and major fields.
The Undergraduate Degree Earners Report provides a demographic and education credential profile for all students who graduate with an undergraduate-level credential, encompassing undergraduate certificates and associate and bachelor’s degrees. In this report, we profile students who earned undergraduate credentials during the most recent academic year (2022-23), focusing on first-time completers versus those with a prior award.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities are pressed to re-evaluate their long- and short-term strategies, particularly as they pertain to enrollment management and student support services. The Research Center’s Stay Informed report series continues to enable educational and policy leaders to make informed decisions through timely enrollment trend reporting that began with the pandemic.
As the ninth report in the series, this edition highlights notable transfer enrollment changes and student persistence post-transfer over a two-year period since the pandemic started, disaggregated by academic year, student demographic characteristics, and institution sector and selectivity.
This report series measures academic progress in each subsequent academic year for six years after entry, broken out by the type of starting institution and enrollment intensity at entry (full-time vs. part-time). Results do not account for enrollment intensity changes after entry.
Latest six-year baccalaureate degree completion rate for transfer students from two- to four-year institutions is reported for the 2016 cohort of first-time degree-seeking students, analyzed by student demographics and institutional characteristics.
Transfer enrollment represents 13.2 percent of all continuing and returning undergraduates in fall 2023. The number of students who transferred into a new institution in fall 2023 grew 5.3 percent in fall 2023 compared to fall 2022 (+62,600), driven by students transferring from a two-year institution to a four-year institution (upward transfer, +7.7%).
This report series seeks to understand the educational trajectories of millions of U.S. adults who left postsecondary education without receiving a postsecondary credential and are no longer enrolled.