Research Review: Part 2: Enrollment at Class Levels 1 and 2 Show Considerable Growth
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The prior edition of Research Review discussed growth in postsecondary programs since 1999-00 as shown by the last three NPSAS studies[1]. This edition digs into patterns of grade-level enrollment for all undergraduate students and more specifically for students in the two larger degree programs, Associate’s and Bachelor’s. Undergraduate enrollment at class levels 1 and 2 surged over the span of the three studies while the other levels were much more stable. (Figure 1) |
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Figure 1  |
| Though undergraduate enrollment at most grade levels has been steady or growing, enrollment at any particular grade level did not expand sufficiently to make much impact on the distribution of students (Figure 2). Only second-year and unclassified[2] undergraduate students changed their representation more than one point over the eight years. |
Figure 2 |
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Recall from the earlier Research Review that four of 10 undergraduates in 2007-08 were enrolled in Associate’s degree programs. Figure 3 isolates Associate’s degree students by class level. After holding fairly steady from 1999-00 to 2003-04, first-year enrollment surged 31 percent between the two later studies. Second-year enrollment also expanded over the latter eight years. Considering Figure 3 in conjunction with Figure 1, 54 percent of all first-year and 56 percent of all second-year undergraduates were enrolled in an Associate’s program for 2007-08 compared to 48 percent and 53 percent, respectively, in 2003-04. |
Figure 3 |
| Recall too that Bachelor’s degree programs represented a higher proportion of 2007-08 undergraduates (47 percent) than did Associate’s degree programs (40 percent). Figure 4 displays the number of Bachelor’s students by class level, revealing a much different pattern than existed for Associate’s students in Figure 3. In all three study years, there were lower enrollments in Bachelor’s programs at class level 1 than at class level 2. This could simply mean fewer students enrolled at class level 1 in each study year than in the respective year earlier. Because this same pattern persisted for all three studies though, it could instead offer support that second-year enrollment is lower due to fewer students re-enrolling toward their Bachelor’s degrees. |
Figure 4 |
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All three studies also show higher Bachelor's enrollments in years three and four and much lower numbers in year five. If lack of retention in a Bachelor’s program were largely at play here, one might expect years three and four to be lower, but these years have progressively higher enrollment in each study. One strong possibility is that students are seeking Associate’s degrees their initial years and then transferring to Bachelor’s programs. Another possibility is that a relatively large number of students previously left school and are re-enrolling at the higher class levels; however, the likelihood of this is not as high because this pattern was present in all three studies, not just an isolated case. Although the data do not reveal the cause of the enrollment trends, one thing that is certain is people are increasingly looking to institutions to provide the opportunities to earn degrees via Associate’s and Bachelor’s programs. Stay tuned for the next edition of Research Review when we examine how loans play a part in the funding of these students’ degree aspirations. |
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[1]
NPSAS examines a single year’s set of students and not a cohort of
students over time, so keep this in mind when analyzing NPSAS
data.
[2]
Unclassified undergraduates includes graduate students taking
undergraduate courses.
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