Call this the Mother of All Updates from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). I reported last month on their initial Fall 2020 postsecondary enrollment estimates for the US, where the headlines showed a 2.5% decline among undergraduates, while community college enrollment dropped 7.5%, and graduate enrollment increased 3.9% – all from the same period in 2019. That data came from roughly 22% of the 3,600 schools that NSC covers, but yesterday’s update covers 54%.

In short, the numbers are worse than the September estimate, with undergraduate enrollment dropping 4.0%, community college dropping 9.4%, and graduate increasing 2.7%. But the much more significant news is that enrollment from first-time beginning students was down 16.1%.

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