New Persistence and Retention Report Reveals Decade-High Rates Among Black, Hispanic, and Part-Time Students

More students are continuing into their second year of higher education, with minority students showing significant gains. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s 2026 Persistence and Retention Report revealed that persistence rates for students who entered college in the fall of 2024 remained steady from the prior year, with nearly 86% of the 2.62 million students returning for their second semester and more than 77% returning in fall of 2025.

The report not only tracks the persistence rate of students but also the retention rate, which is defined as remaining enrolled at the same institution. These are key indicators of whether students are staying connected to college after entry.

Black and Hispanic Students Return at Highest Rate in Over a Decade

One of the most notable trends seen in the report was that Black and Hispanic students who entered college in the fall of 2024 returned the next fall at the highest rates in over a decade.

• Black students’ persistence rates increased to 70.0% (+4%), and retention to 59.6% (+1.0%)
• Hispanic students’ persistence rates increased to 74.5% (+1.5%) and retention to 66.9% (+4%)
• Native American students also showed notable one-year gains in second fall with a persistence of 65.7% (+ 1.1%) and retention 56.5% (+1.1%).

Part-Time Students Return at a Higher Rate

The new report also revealed another decade-high rate for part-time student persistence and retention. Among the part-time students who entered college in the fall of 2024, 54.1% returned the following year and 48.0% returned to the same institution. While only up 1.3% and 1.0%, respectively, from the prior year, these rates have continued a steady upward trend since seeing a small drop in 2019. However, significant gaps remain, with part-time students persisting at much lower rates than students who enroll full-time.

Transfer Rates Remain Low

The majority of fall 2024 freshmen were still enrolled in their original institution in the first year, with an 83.2% retention rate in spring 2025 and 69.1% in fall 2025. Only 2.6% of students from this cohort transferred to another institution for their first spring term, and 8% had transferred for their second fall, remaining stable with the prior years’ rates.

“Overall persistence is stable, but there are meaningful gains this year, especially for Black, Hispanic, and part-time students,” said Matthew Holsapple, senior director of research at the National Student Clearinghouse. “Those improvements are encouraging, even as outcomes remain uneven across student groups.” Check out the full report to explore the demographics, major fields of study, and state-level findings.

“Overall persistence is stable, but there are meaningful gains this year, especially for Black, Hispanic, and part-time students. Those improvements are encouraging, even as outcomes remain uneven across student groups.”

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