Enrollment at Community Colleges Might Improve, but Challenges Remain for Students
Blog Post
Feb. 7, 2024
This is the first in a series that presents our findings from the latest Community College Enrollment Survey. Other blogs that go deeper into several findings of the survey will come out through March.
Enrollment at community colleges has increased for two years in a row since the pandemic. In fact, the latest fall 2023 data show that the growth in undergraduate enrollment is the highest at community colleges. The upward trend is reassuring, but the gain hasn’t yet made up for the steep declines during the pandemic: the sector still has around 650,000 students fewer than fall 2019.
Since 2020, New America has followed the enrollment trends at community colleges, reaching out to students in this sector to understand their decisions when it comes to continuing enrollment or stopping out. Last year, we learned that while students were no longer as concerned about the pandemic, the uncertainty of the economy and the expense of their programs were still top issues for those who stopped out. A significant number of students, whether they were current students or stopouts, experienced a number of economic hardships, such as falling behind on their bills or having to skip meals.
The growth in fall 2023 is good news, but in order to regain the level of enrollment seen before the pandemic, community colleges must do more to support their students. This year’s survey has a narrower focus than the previous years: rather than four groups of students (including those who continued to enroll, those who stopped out, those who were new students, and those who were interested in enrolling but didn’t), the survey only includes continuers and stopouts, with a goal to find out what actionable items colleges can apply to retain and re-enroll their students.
The survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners between November 16th and December 7th, 2023, reached a total of 1,242 respondents, including 644 “continuers” (those enrolled at community colleges anytime between January 2020 and July 2023 and are currently enrolled in fall 2023) and 598 “stop-outs” (those enrolled during the same time period but are no longer enrolled in fall 2023). This year we also conducted an oversample of more than 500 students who are providing care for young children to understand their access and utilization of childcare support on campus. The survey’s toplines and detailed methodology can be found here.
This post, the first in a series that will unpack the full scope of our findings, presents some important toplines for continuers and stopouts.
Stop-outs have to deal with a number of financial hardships, making it harder for them to re-enroll
Having to work remains the top reason why many students are no longer enrolled. Half of stop-outs listed having to work as a major reason, which increased from 42 percent in 2022 [1] (see Table 1). A third of stop-outs can no longer afford their programs, and 27 percent said that they have lost motivation. The uncertainty of the economy may seem less of a concern this year for stop-outs, but inflation has remained top of mind: Nearly three in four were very concerned about the rate of inflation and rising prices, and 24 percent said the impact of inflation is a major reason for stopping out.
| Percent saying "major reason" why they didn't enroll | Stop-outs in 2023 (n=500) | Stop-outs in 2022 (n=500) |
|---|---|---|
| Had to work | 49% | 42% |
| Could no longer afford a program | 31% | 34% |
| Had a loss of self-motivation or ambition | 27% | 27% |
| Had to provide care for a child | 24% | 24% |
| The impact of inflation and rising prices | 24% | n/a |
| Had a personal health issue | 23% | 20% |
| There were more job opportunities | 15% | 17% |
| The overall uncertainty because of the economy | 15% | 18% |
| Had to provide care for another adult in my household | 13% | 18% |
| Did not have transportation to get to and from classes | 13% | n/a |
| Had a loss of employment | 11% | 15% |
| Did not want to take classes in the existing learning mode | 11% | 12% |
| Did not have the technology or internet access to take classes online | 11% | 12% |
| Other | 10% | 11% |
For those stop-outs who are also taking care of young children, while work and affordability remain the top reasons for not enrolling, juggling between caregiving and school work proves a significant challenge for these students. Nearly two in five said they couldn’t balance coursework with childcare needs (see Figure 1).
Stop-outs continue to experience a number of hardships, with greater rates than last year. Three in five (60 percent) said they have fallen behind on paying important bills, increasing from 49 percent in 2022 (see Table 2). Similarly, 58 percent, compared to 49 percent last year, have applied for public benefits, and 46 percent have received free food from family or friends because they did not have enough money to buy food, up from 39 percent in 2022. It’s estimated that 61 percent of stop-outs experienced four or more hardships (see Figure 2).
| Percent saying "yes, experienced in the past year" | Stop-outs in 2023 (n=500) | Stop-outs in 2022 (n=500) |
|---|---|---|
| Fallen behind on a credit card, utility, loan, or other bill | 59% | 49% |
| Applied for public benefits | 52% | 43% |
| Received free food or meals from family or friends because you did not have enough money to buy food | 46% | 39% |
| Skipped meals because you did not have enough money to buy food | 48% | 42% |
| Received free food or meals from a food pantry or meal program | 42% | 39% |
| Went hungry because you did not have enough money to buy food | 42% | 38% |
| Fell behind on your rent or mortgage | 42% | 37% |
| Had either the gas, electricity, or telephone turned off because the bill was not paid | 38% | 33% |
| Not gotten or postponed getting medical care or surgery because of a lack of money or insurance | 40% | 35% |
| Been without health insurance coverage | 36% | 34% |
| Moved in with other people even for a little while because of financial problems | 34% | 30% |
| Needed to fill a prescription for yourself but could not afford to | 34% | 33% |
| Had to miss work or couldn't work in order to care for a child or other family member | 32% | 34% |
| Been threatened with foreclosure or eviction | 28% | 23% |
| Needed to fill a prescription for a family member but could not afford to | 26% | 22% |
| Applied for emergency student aid relief through your college | 13% | 17% |
The higher rate of hardships can explain why fewer stop-outs this year intend to re-enroll in the future: only 36 percent said they would likely re-enroll, compared to 42 percent in 2022 (see Figure 3). And even among these students, most would wait until fall 2024 or later to do so (see Figure 4).
Continuers also face hardship, but self-motivation keeps them enrolled
Similar to stop-outs, continuers face a variety of hardships as they aim to complete their programs. Nearly half of continuers have applied for public benefits (46 percent), received free food from food pantries or meal programs (45 percent), or received free food or meals from family or friends (44 percent) (see Table 3). Notably, more continuers relied on food pantries and meal programs compared to last year (39 percent).
| Percent saying "Yes, have experienced in the past year" | Continuers (n=500) | Caregiver Continuers (n=167) |
|---|---|---|
| [ASK IF CAREGIVER] Had a child who accessed the free and reduced lunch program | 55% | 55% |
| Fallen behind on a credit card, utility, loan, or other bill | 43% | 56% |
| Applied for public benefits | 46% | 58% |
| Received free food or meals from family or friends because you did not have enough money to buy food | 44% | 55% |
| Skipped meals because you did not have enough money to buy food | 42% | 47% |
| Received free food or meals from a food pantry or meal program | 45% | 51% |
| Went hungry because you did not have enough money to buy food | 39% | 50% |
| Fell behind on your rent or mortgage | 35% | 49% |
| Had either the gas, electricity, or telephone turned off because the bill was not paid | 39% | 47% |
| Not gotten or postponed getting medical care or surgery because of a lack of money or insurance | 36% | 43% |
| Been without health insurance coverage | 39% | 45% |
| Moved in with other people even for a little while because of financial problems | 39% | 44% |
| Needed to fill a prescription for yourself but could not afford to | 38% | 49% |
| Had to miss work or couldn't work in order to care for a child or other family member | 35% | 48% |
| Been threatened with foreclosure or eviction | 33% | 43% |
| Needed to fill a prescription for a family member but could not afford to | 34% | 44% |
| Applied for emergency student aid relief through your college | 40% | 45% |
Continuers who have to care for young children are more likely to experience these hardships compared to their peers who do not have caregiving responsibilities. Majorities of caregiving continuers have applied for public benefits (58 percent), fallen behind on credit card, utility, loan, or other bills (56 percent), had a child access free or reduced lunch programs (55 percent), received free food or meals from family or friends (55 percent), or received free food or meals from food pantries or meal programs (51 percent).
Despite such hardship, continuers remain enrolled in their programs for a variety of reasons. Approximately one in four continuers (27 percent) expressed that personal reasons and self-motivation keep them enrolled. Other reasons include furthering their education, job opportunities, financial reasons, and family reasons. Caregiving continuers are more likely to cite family reasons as a factor in their maintained enrollment (12 percent) (see Figure 5).
Discussion and conclusion
Stop-outs and continuers share a common concern: the cost of obtaining higher education. As mentioned above, many of those who stopped out of their programs attributed their decision to financial reasons, such as having to work, not being able to afford their program, and being worried about inflation.
More than half of stop-outs shared that cost or financial support would need to change in order for them to consider re-enrolling. Majorities of both continuers and stop-outs have benefitted from financial aid, but costs remain high. A majority of continuers (55 percent) reported that their institution has increased tuition in the past year, and students also have to pay for fees, course materials, and living expenses as they pursue their education.
Policy solutions that directly address college affordability can bring these students back to campus. Stop-outs share that free tuition (54 percent), free textbooks and course materials (44 percent), the ability to afford their program (40 percent), and more institutional support (39 percent) could help push them towards re-enrolling in their programs (see Figure 6).
As costs still remain a concern for stop-outs and continuers alike, it will be worth paying attention to college affordability policies as we approach the 2024 election.
Notes:
[1] In 2022, “continuers” are those who enrolled anytime between January 2021 though July 2022 and continued in fall 2022; “stop-outs” are those who enrolled anytime between January 2021 through July but no longer enrolled in fall 2022.