According to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, college transfer enrollment declined by 7.5 percentage points in fall 2022 and 14.5 percentage points since fall 2020 — the equivalent of 37,600 and 78,500 students respectively.

The steepest transfer enrollment drops were observed among lower income students who declined by 10.8 percentage points since fall 2019 — the equivalent of 225,200 students.

There was also a disparate enrollment drop for female transfer students compared to their male counterparts with a decline of 3.5 and 0.7 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 — adding to an overall decline of 9.2 and 3.9 percentage points since fall 2020.

In addition, transfer enrollment fell significantly for Asian, White and Native American students by 8, 6.1 and 3.5 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 — adding to an overall drop of 14.8, 12.2 and 7.8 percentage points since fall 2020.

“Even before the pandemic, that path from community colleges to four-year institutions was riddled with complexities and barriers that would hamstring even the most persistent students,” Aspen Institute director Tania LaViolet told The 74.

“So when you get the extreme hardships from the last few years and an experience that already isn’t built with you in mind, those things compound…and reflect the data we’re seeing.”

Read the full article about college transfer enrollment by Joshua Bay at The 74.