Overall undergraduate enrollment increased by 2.5% for the spring 2024 semester, the first time enrollment in bachelor’s programs has risen in four years. But the modest increase is likely to be short lived, as financial aid chaos is expected in the fall.

According to data published Wednesday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, total undergraduate enrollment has increased by 2.5%, driven primarily by community college enrollment and continuing a slow overall trend, and it comes off an increase from last fall. It is also the first time in four years that bachelor’s programs at both public and private universities increased, which is higher growth than last fall. The fall semester is typically seen as a more traditional starting period.