The number of students earning college credentials fell for the second year in a row, with fewer students earning an associate degree than in any year in the past decade, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center. However, more students earned a certificate over the past year than in any of the last 10 years.
The total number of people earning any undergraduate credential (bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees and certificates) fell by -2.8%, or almost 100,000, according to the center’s annual report on undergraduate degree earners. It is the second consecutive year of declines after many years of gradual increases. Fewer students earned an associate degree this year than in any of the last 10 years, and bachelor’s earners declined to their lowest level since 2015-16.
The rate for first-time associate-degree earners dropped -8% in 2022-23, more than double the -3.6% decline in 2021-22. The rate of students with a prior award earning an associate degree also fell by -4.4%.
Much of the drop among first-time associate-degree earners is probably partly the result of enrollment declines related to the Covid pandemic, said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSC Research Center.
Students with a prior certificate who went on to earn a baccalaureate (4.4%, or 1,300) or another certificate (1.7%, or 1,100) were the only two award paths with notable growth in 2022-23. The center noted that the number of graduates with bachelor’s or master’s degree who returned for a certificate has started to drop (-3.7%, or 3,100) after shooting up the last two years.
The growth in certificate earners (6.2%, or 26,900 awards) is comprised entirely of those earning their first-ever award. Coupled with the previous year’s gain of 6.5%, the total two-year gain for certificates is 13.1%, or 53,600 certificates, the center reports.
Dissecting demographics
The number of total credential earners and first-time earners also decreased across all racial and ethnic groups. First-time Hispanics and multi-racial completers declined for the first time after years of growth, driven by drops in first-time associate-degree completer losses, the center says. However, these groups were the only two to show increases in the number of completers who had a prior award: Among Hispanic completers with a prior award, those earning certificates grew the most this year (6.8%, or 2,200).
In terms of gender, there was a big drop among women earning their first associate or bachelor’s degrees: Women earning associate degrees decreased by a -9.5% (39,000) and bachelor’s degrees by -3.7% (29,500), compared to -6.6% (17,200) and -2.8% (17,100) for men, respectively.
Women did make the most gains in completing certificates. Women earning their first-ever certificate grew more than men, 6.2% (14,000) compared to 5.3% (10,000). In the previous year, men outpaced women in this category four-to-one, the center noted.
Dual enrollment
The report also shows a continued increase among first-time completers age 20 and younger. Notably, that gain seems to be largely driven by dual enrollment: there was a 14.1% (6,000) increase for students under age 18, while the increase for those 18 to 20 years old was 1% (3,800). This was the first time the NSC Research Center broke out completers under age 25 into three different age groups.
Shapiro said it is surprising that so many students are able to earn credentials as dual-enrolled students.
“It’s one thing to start before you finish high school, but to actually earn a credential is a different matter,” Shapiro said. But he noted that the increases align with the overall increases in dual enrollment over the past several years.
