(ETX Daily Up) – More than a decade that students are abandoning the benches of universities in the United States. But the process has accelerated with the pandemic, since since 2019 more than a million students have not enrolled in undergraduate studies, all types of universities combined. Among them, the most precarious students remain the most affected.
Since the start of the pandemic, university enrollment in the United States has dropped significantly. More than a million students have not enrolled in undergraduate studies for two years, according to data released Thursday, January 13 by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That is 6.6% fewer students since 2019.
This drop in enrollment was noticed long before the pandemic. But the health crisis has contributed to reinforcing the phenomenon, forcing thousands of low-income students to abandon their studies. In community colleges, enrollment has fallen 13.2% over the past two years. But all types of universities are affected by the flight of students, such as private non-profit institutions which record a 6.2% drop in enrollment for a four-year cycle.
“Our latest look at fall 2021 enrollment shows that undergraduate students continue to abstain en masse as colleges navigate yet another year of Covid-19,” said Doug Shapiro, the executive director of the research center, in a press release.
The only positive point is the enrollment figures in the first year. From 2020 to 2021, they are up by 0.4%, or 8,100 students.
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