College enrollment grew during recession while actual graduation rates declined

More first-time students enrolled in college at the beginning of the recession in 2008 as compared to earlier years. But this bump in enrollment surprisingly translated to lower graduation rates.

According to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of incoming students in 2008 grew by 12 percent  to 2.7 million, up  from 2.4 million. The number of first-time students who were at least 21 years old also increased by 20 percent.

But while this seemed like happy news, student persistence  — defined as earning a degree within six years — was way down.

The study found that just 55 percent of students who first enrolled in 2008 earned a degree or certificate by this fall, down from 56.1 percent for students who arrived in 2007.

The study draws from a database that tracks 96 percent of the nation’s total enrollment and marks the first look at six-year graduation rates for students who entered higher education as the economy tanked. It’s also one of the only studies that factors in student transfers between colleges and moves across state lines.

Community colleges and for-profit colleges benefited the most from the recession-driven spike in enrollment. The study found that the number of incoming, first-time students at four-year for-profits jumped by 35 percent in 2008.

This trend is cited in the report as a major factor for the decline in graduation rates.

“This suggests that many opted to enroll in four-year for-profit institutions only as a response to the deepening recession,” the report said. “Thus, the dramatic decline in completion rates could also be attributable to improving economic conditions later in these students’ education, which may have led some to leave school in order to re-enter the labor market.”