Changing Trends Among Part-Time Students in Higher Education

Part-time undergraduate enrollment in higher education reached 5.7 million students in Fall 2025, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Final Fall Enrollment Trends Report. Recent data finds that students who start college part-time are showing increases in persistence and retention. Persistence refers to continued enrollment at any postsecondary institution through the following fall, while retention refers to continued enrollment at their starting institution.

Part-Time Starters See Decade High Persistence and Retention Rates

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s most recent Persistence and Retention Report showed decade-long highs in both persistence and retention among students who started college part-time. Among students who started college part-time in fall 2024, 54.1% persisted into their second fall, a 1.3 percentage-point increase from the previous year’s cohort. The retention rate increased 1.0 percentage point to 48.0%.

While every type of institution saw increases in both persistence and retention for fall 2024 starters, public and private four-year institutions saw some of the largest gains:

• Public four-year institutions: The second-fall persistence rate increased 3.2 percentage points to 65.1%, while the retention rate increased 2.9 percentage points to 54.6%.
• Private four-year institutions: Private for-profit four-year schools saw even larger increases, with the second-fall persistence rate rising 5.6 percentage points to 52.5% and the retention rate increasing 5.4 percentage points to 48.1%. At private nonprofit four-year schools, persistence and retention rates increased 3.3 and 2.6 percentage points, respectively to 53.7% and 48.0%.
• Public primarily associate-degree granting institutions: These institutions also saw increases, though not as dramatic. The second-fall persistence rate rose 1.4 percentage points to 56.9%, while the retention rate increased 1.7 percentage points to 51.2%.
• Public two-year institutions: The persistence rate increased 1.1 percentage points to 52.3%, while the retention rate increased 0.7 percentage points to 46.6%.

The report data also shows differences by gender, with female part-time starters seeing larger increases in both persistence and retention rates than their male peers. The second-fall persistence rate for female starters increased 1.9 percentage points to 57.3%, while the retention rate increased 1.6 percentage points to 50.8%. Among male starters, the persistence rate increased 0.6 percentage points to 50.9%, while the retention rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 44.7%.

Tracking Progress Toward Completion

Enrollment, persistence, and retention provide important measures of students’ progress, but they don’t show the full picture. The Yearly Progress and Completion Report offers another view of how students progress through college and highlights that part-time students enrolled in college for the first time complete credentials within six years at significantly lower rates than their full-time counterparts. The 2019 cohort saw a 34.1% completion rate for part-time students compared to full-time students who had a 67.1% completion rate.

“We’re seeing increases in both part-time enrollment and the persistence and retention of students who start college part-time,” said Matthew Holsapple, Senior Director of Research at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “As we continue to track these students, we’ll gain a better understanding of how these trends evolve and what they mean for part-time students’ progress toward completion.”

Future Trends

As part-time enrollment continues to grow and persistence and retention rates reach decade-long highs, completion rates will be an important trend to watch. Upcoming Clearinghouse reports will capture the more recent cohorts’ progress through college and provide a clearer picture of how these trends evolve.

“We’re seeing increases in both part-time enrollment and the persistence and retention of students who start college part-time. As we continue to track these students, we’ll gain a better understanding of how these trends evolve and what they mean for part-time students’ progress toward completion.”

Matthew Holsapple
Senior Director of Research, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center