|
|
Rattankun Thongbun/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
Education Dive
Report: More students are earning undergraduate credentials
Natalie Schwartz
April 13, 2020
Dive Brief:
About 3.7 million students earned an undergraduate credential in the
2018-19 academic year, up from 3.4 million in 2012-13, according to a
new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Traditional-age students and those who already completed a credential
drove the increase. Meanwhile, students age 25 and older accounted for
a lower share of credential earners in 2018-19 than they did six years
prior.
The findings come as many schools are bracing for a decline in
traditional-age students, which the report defines as ages 24 and
younger, by tapping the market for adult learners.
Dive Insight:
A larger number of students earning undergraduate credentials might
help many states meet their attainment goals. Yet a declining share of
older learners doing so could be a troubling finding for colleges and
lawmakers alike.
From the 2012-13 to 2018-19 academic years, the number of
traditional-age, first-time graduates increased by 18%, while those
ages 25 and older decreased by 22%, the report notes.
Several states have postsecondary attainment goals specifically for
adult students. For example, Louisiana is aiming to raise the share of
adults ages 24 to 64 who hold a credential from 44% to 60% over the
next decade. At least seven other states have similar goals, according
to a report last year from Ithaka S+R.
Meanwhile, colleges are hoping to attract older students to stave off
projected enrollment declines. Nathan Grawe, an economist at Carleton
College, predicts that enrollment will drop by about 15% in the next
decade largely because there will be fewer traditional-age students due
to a lower birthrate during and after the Great Recession.
The trend is expected to hit certain regions of the U.S., including the
Northeast and the Midwest, particularly hard. Some colleges have
already seen enrollment slide among traditional-age students due to
several factors, including a drop off in high school graduates in some
parts of the country, and are closing or merging in response.
Colleges with large online programs that target nontraditional
students, including Southern New Hampshire and Western Governors
universities, have bucked the trend by attracting a growing share of
young learners. That's likely due in part to the flexibility online
colleges offer students who are balancing job and family
responsibilities, higher ed experts say.
More students are earning additional undergraduate credentials, the
report notes. About 26% of students who earned an undergraduate
credential in 2018-19 already had one, up three percentage points from
2012-13. Moreover, this group grew six times faster than did first-time
graduates over this timeframe.
The bachelor's degree is also becoming more popular, with the number of
students earning one as their first postsecondary credential increasing
by 8%. Meanwhile, the number of students earning associate degrees
dropped by 4%.
Colleges are doing more to include certificates and other short-term
credentials in degree programs. At BYU-Pathway Worldwide, part of a
network of institutions that includes Brigham Young University, in
Utah, students must earn short-term certificates while completing their
associate or bachelor's degree. Doing so makes it more likely that
they'll at least have a certificate if they drop out of their programs.
And Broward College, in Florida, offers more than 40 associate and
bachelor's degrees that embed industry certifications into students'
courses of study. Although the practice is associated with blue-collar
fields, such as welding, it's beginning to take off in other sectors,
like information technology and healthcare.
|
|
|
|
