More Than 86% of College Freshmen Return for Their Second Semester

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More Than 86% of College Freshmen Return for Their Second Semester

New Report Provides First Look at Students Returning and Transferring for Their Spring Semester 

HERNDON, VA – (JUNE 26, 2025) – The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported today that over 86 percent of the college freshman class of 2023 returned for their second semester. This represents the second-highest persistence rate in the past nine years. 

The 2025 Persistence and Retention report is the latest in a series that tracks the percentage of students that stay in college after their freshman year, and now, for the first time, includes data on the percentage of students that remain in college after their first semester.   

The report also finds that 83.7 percent of students returned to their same institution for their second semester. The results indicate that 13.6 percent of 2023 freshmen were no longer enrolled by the spring term and 2.6 percent of students had transferred institutions by the spring.  

“We’ve been focused on second fall persistence for years, but that’s too long to wait for many institutions, who seek earlier indicators of student success,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Today’s report helps schools focus on supporting students who are at risk sooner. This is especially important for part-time students, older students and those who start at community colleges, where first spring persistence rates are lower.” 

Persistence refers to continued enrollment in college, whether at the same or a different institution. The report now tracks this measure at two key points: first spring persistence (enrollment in the spring term immediately following the first fall) and second fall persistence (enrollment in the second fall term). Retention refers to the same milestones, but specifically captures continued enrollment at the student’s starting institution. 

More college freshmen returning for a second year: The percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned for a second year of college – the second fall persistence rate for the 2023 cohort – is 77.6 percent, and the percentage of 2023 freshmen who returned to their same institution for the second year – the second fall retention rate – is 69.5 percent. These rates represent increases of 0.3 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from the previous year’s freshman class. Both metrics have now risen for four consecutive years, marking their highest levels in the past nine years.  

Part-time students face substantial disadvantage: Among fall 2023 starters, first spring persistence was 67.4 percent for part-time students, compared to 92.1 percent for their full-time peers. Similarly, second fall persistence was 53.2 percent for part-time starters, versus 84.4 percent for full-time starters. 

The magnitude of this gap varies significantly by institutional sector. The private for-profit 4-year sector reported the smallest differences in persistence rates between part-time and full-time students (7.8 percentage points in first spring persistence and 11.6 percentage points in second fall persistence). In contrast, the private nonprofit 4-year sector exhibited the largest disparities, with gaps of 24.9 percentage points for first spring and 38.2 percentage points for second fall persistence. 

Younger students continued to persist and be retained at higher rates: Among full-time starters in the fall 2023 cohort, those aged 20 or younger had a spring persistence rate of 93.2 percent, compared to 79.0 percent for those aged 21-24 and 72.6 percent for those 25 or older. First spring retention rates followed a similar pattern: 90.6 percent for students 20 or younger, 77.6 percent for those 21-24, and 71.4 percent for those 25 or older.

Computer science persistence and retention decline an outlier: Second fall persistence and retention rates increased for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in 9 of the top 10 most popular major fields, with Visual and Performing Arts showing notable gains (persistence: 88.1%, +1.0 percentage points; retention: 80.9%, +1.1 percentage points). Computer Science was the only top 10 major field to experience a decline in both second fall persistence and retention rates (persistence: 86.1%, -0.8 percentage points; retention: 78.1%, -0.8 percentage points). This pattern also held for first spring persistence and retention rates, where all top 10 major fields saw stability or growth—except for Computer Science, which saw small declines. 

The Persistence and Retention report series examines early college enrollment outcomes for beginning postsecondary students, tracking both first spring and second year persistence and retention rates. Students are considered persisted if they remain enrolled at any institution and retained if they remain at their starting institution—either in the spring term following initial enrollment (first spring) or in the fall of their second academic year (second fall). In both timeframes, students who complete a credential before the applicable term are also included in the corresponding rates. The report is designed to help institutions understand trends and patterns in this important early success indicator, and identify disparities by institutional type, state, degree level, starting enrollment intensity, major field, and student demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and race and ethnicity. All data prior to the 2023-24 academic year reflect any newer and additional data that participating institutions have reported to the National Student Clearinghouse since last year’s publication.   

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.

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Vast Majority of U.S. States See More Students Who Had Stopped Out of College Now Re-Enrolling

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Vast Majority of U.S. States See More Students Who Had Stopped Out of College Now Re-Enrolling

New Report Finds that, for the 2nd Year in a Row, Fewer Americans Are Stopping Out, More Returning to College

HERNDON, VA – (JUNE 4, 2025) – The number of students leaving college without earning a credential — or “stopping out” — has declined for the second year in a row, reports the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

The Some College, No Credential (SCNC) report, released today, also found that more students who had previously stopped out are re-enrolling. During the 2023-24 academic year, 42 states and the District of Columbia saw increases in re-enrollment compared to the previous year, ranging from a 0.7 percent increase in Washington, DC, to a 35.2 percent increase in Massachusetts.

“It is inspiring to see that over one million adults returned to campuses last year—the most we’ve ever recorded,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “They’re reviving college aspirations that had been put on hold years before. And states and institutions are working to make it even easier for more students to do so in the future.”

Nearly all higher education institution sectors saw fewer stopouts between January 2022 and July 2023 compared to the same period a year earlier—except for private for-profit four-year institutions and primarily online institutions, which saw increases of 17.7% and 1.7%, respectively.

Total population of “some college, no credential” Americans is still growing: Despite the promising trends in the re-enrollments, there are still nearly 43.1 million American adults stopped out of college without a credential, according to the new report. Of these, 37.6 million are under age 65 and of typical working age.

Moreover, the total population of working age adults with some college and no credential grew 2.2 percent in the year ending July 2023, as the 2.1 million students who were newly stopped out far outpaced those “some college, no credential” students re-enrolling in the 2022-23 academic year and the number of those aging out of the working-age population.

Some students benefit from policies that award credentials for past credits: Each year, about 1 in 4 of those in the “some college, no credential” population who earn a first credential do so without re-enrolling. While the data does not identify causes, these credential earners may be the beneficiaries of policies that remove administrative barriers to completion or award credentials based on the number of credits already earned in the past, such as Colorado’s new Colorado Re-Engaged (CORE) initiative.

The CORE initiative allows public four-year institutions to award associate degrees to those who stopped out in the last decade with 70 credit hours. This year’s report finds that, despite having the twentieth-largest “some college, no credential” population, Colorado had the seventh-highest number of first credential earners this year (2,100, +1,200 from 2022-23), boosted by associate degrees earned by “some college, no credential” individuals who did not need to re-enroll.

The Some College, No Credential report was created with the support of Lumina Foundation.

About the National Student Clearinghouse® Research Center™

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Research Center collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations as part of a national effort to better inform education leaders and policymakers. Through accurate longitudinal data outcomes reporting, the Research Center enables better educational policy decisions leading to improved student outcomes. To learn more, visit nscresearchcenter.org.

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