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Enrollment in degree-granting institutions increased by 14 percent between 1987 and 1997. Between 1997 and 2007, enrollment increased at a faster rate (26 percent), from 14.5 million to 18.2 million. Much of the growth between 1997 and 2007 was in full-time enrollment; the number of full-time students rose 34 percent, while the number of part-time students rose 15 percent. During the same time period, the number of females rose 29 percent, compared to an increase of 22 percent in the number of males. Enrollment increases can be affected both by population growth and by rising rates of enrollment. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 25.5 million to 29.5 million, an increase of 16 percent, and the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college remained relatively stable (37 percent in 1997 and 39 percent in 2007). In addition to the enrollment in accredited 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities, about 447,000 students attended non-degree-granting, Title IV eligible¹, postsecondary institutions in fall 2006.
The number of young students has been growing more rapidly than the number of older students, but this pattern is expected to shift. Between 1995 and 2006, the enrollment of students under age 25 increased by 33 percent. Enrollment of people 25 and over rose by 13 percent during the same period. From 2006 to 2017, NCES projects a rise of 10 percent in enrollments of people under 25, and a rise of 19 percent in enrollments of people 25 and over.

Enrollment trends have differed at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional levels. Undergraduate enrollment generally increased during the 1970s, but dipped from 10.8 million to 10.6 million between 1983 and 1985. From 1985 to 1992, undergraduate enrollment increased each year, rising 18 percent before declining 2 percent and stabilizing between 1993 and 1996. Undergraduate enrollment rose 25 percent between 1997 and 2007. Graduate enrollment had been steady at about 1.3 million in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but rose about 67 percent between 1985 and 2007. After rising 60 percent between 1970 and 1980, enrollment in first-professional programs stabilized in the 1980s. First-professional enrollment began rising again in the 1990s and showed an increase of 18 percent between 1997 and 2007.

Since 1984, the number of females in graduate schools has exceeded the number of males. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of male full-time graduate students increased by 32 percent, compared to a 63 percent increase for female graduate students. Among part-time graduate students, the number of males increased by 10 percent and the number of females increased by 23 percent.

The percentage of American college students who are minorities has been increasing. In 1976, 15 percent were minorities, compared with 32 percent in 2007. Much of the change from 1976 to 2007 can be attributed to rising numbers of Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander students. During that time period, the percentage of Asian or Pacific Islander students rose from 2 percent to 7 percent and the Hispanic percentage rose from 4 percent to 11 percent. The percentage of Black students was 9 percent at the beginning of the time period and it fluctuated during the early part of the period before rising to 13 percent in 2007. Nonresident aliens for whom race/ethnicity is not reported made up 3 percent of the total enrollment in 2007.

¹ Title IV programs, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provide financial aid to postsecondary students.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Chapter 3.

Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by sex of student and attendance status: Selected years, 1970 through 2007 [In thousands]
Sex and attendance status	Institutions of higher education						Degree-granting institutions
	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Total	8,581	11,185	12,097	12,247	13,819	14,262	15,312	15,928	16,612	16,911	17,272	17,487	17,759	18,248
Sex
Males	5,044	6,149	5,874	5,818	6,284	6,343	6,722	6,961	7,202	7,260	7,387	7,456	7,575	7,816
Females	3,537	5,036	6,223	6,429	7,535	7,919	8,591	8,967	9,410	9,651	9,885	10,032	10,184	10,432
Attendance status
Full-time	5,816	6,841	7,098	7,075	7,821	8,129	9,010	9,448	9,946	10,326	10,610	10,797	10,957	11,270
Part-time	2,765	4,344	4,999	5,172	5,998	6,133	6,303	6,480	6,665	6,585	6,662	6,690	6,802	6,978

NOTE: Data through 1995 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Table 188.

Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by age: Selected years, 1990 through 2017 [In thousands]
Age	1990	1995	2000	2005	20081	20121	20171
Total	13,819	14,262	15,312	17,487	18,200	19,048	20,080
14 to 17 years old	177	148	145	199	191	190	211
18 and 19 years old	2,950	2,894	3,531	3,610	3,953	3,940	3,960
20 and 21 years old	2,761	2,705	3,045	3,778	3,723	3,993	3,958
22 to 24 years old	2,144	2,411	2,617	3,072	3,289	3,584	3,753
25 to 29 years old	1,982	2,120	1,960	2,384	2,531	2,658	3,035
30 to 34 years old	1,322	1,236	1,265	1,354	1,434	1,616	1,813
35 years old and over	2,484	2,747	2,749	3,090	3,080	3,066	3,350

 
¹ Projected.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Data by age are based on the distribution by age from the U.S. Census Bureau.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Table 190.

Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by student level: Selected years, 1970 through 2007 [In thousands]
Student characteristic	Institutions of higher education					Degree-granting institutions
	1970	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Total	8,581	12,097	12,247	13,819	14,262	15,312	15,928	16,612	16,911	17,272	17,487	17,759	18,248
Undergraduate	7,369	10,475	10,597	11,959	12,232	13,155	13,716	14,257	14,480	14,781	14,964	15,184	15,604
Graduate	1,039	1,344	1,376	1,586	1,732	1,850	1,904	2,036	2,102	2,157	2,186	2,231	2,294
First-professional	173	278	274	273	298	307	309	319	329	335	337	343	351

NOTE: Data through 1995 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Table 188, Table 205, Table 206, Table 207.

Percentage distribution of students enrolled in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, fall 1976 through fall 2007
Race/ethnicity	Institutions of higher education			Degree-granting institutions
	1976	1980	1990	2000	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
White	82.6	81.4	77.6	68.3	67.1	66.7	66.1	65.7	65.2	64.4
Total minority	15.4	16.1	19.6	28.2	29.4	29.8	30.4	30.9	31.5	32.2
Black	9.4	9.2	9.0	11.3	11.9	12.2	12.5	12.7	12.8	13.1
Hispanic	3.5	3.9	5.7	9.5	10.0	10.1	10.5	10.8	11.1	11.4
Asian or Pacific Islander	1.8	2.4	4.1	6.4	6.5	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.6	6.7
American Indian/Alaskan Native	0.7	0.7	0.7	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Nonresident alien	2.0	2.5	2.8	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.3	3.4	3.4

NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data through 1990 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020), Table 226.
Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2009, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Table 186. Enrollment, staff, and degrees conferred in postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV programs, by level and control of institution, sex of student, and type of degree: Fall 2005, fall 2005-06, and 2006–07
• 2009, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Table 204. Enrollment rates of 18- to 24- year olds in degree-granting institutions, by sex and race/ethnicity: 1967 through 2007
• 2009, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Table 213. Total fall enrollment in all degree-granting institutions, by attendance status, sex, and state or jurisdiction: 2005 and 2006
• 2009, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Table 234. Number of degree-granting institutions and enrollment in these institutions, by size, type, and control of institution: Fall 2006
• 2009, The Condition of Education 2009: Graduate and First-Professional Enrollment
• 2009, The Condition of Education 2009: Immediate Transition to College
• 2009, The Condition of Education 2009: Undergraduate Enrollment
• 2008, Projections of Education Statistics to 2017, Table 19. Actual and alternative projected numbers for undergraduate enrollment in all degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex, attendance status, and control of institution: Fall 1991 to fall 2017
• 2008, Projections of Education Statistics to 2017, Table 20. Actual and alternative projected numbers for graduate enrollment in all degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex, attendance status, and control of institution: Fall 1991 to fall 2017
• 2008, Projections of Education Statistics to 2017, Table 21. Actual and alternative projected numbers for first-professional enrollment in all degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex, attendance status, and control ofinstitution: Fall 1991 to fall 2017
• 2005, The Condition of Education 2005: Minority Student Enrollments
• 2004, The Condition of Education 2004: International Comparison of Transition to Postsecondary Education

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2009, Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2007; Graduation Rates, 2001 & 2004 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2007
• 2007, Characteristics of Minority-Serving Institutions and Minority Undergraduates Enrolled in These Institutions
• 2007, Part-time Undergraduates in Postsecondary Education: 2003-04
• 2005, Gender Differences in Participation and Completion of Undergraduate Education and How They Have Changed Over Time
• 2005, Postsecondary Participation Rates by Sex and Race/Ethnicity: 1974-2003
• 2005, The Road Less Traveled? Students Who Enroll in Multiple Institutions