New England’s traditional public and private nonprofit colleges and universities conferred more than 201,000 degrees at all levels in 2010—or more than 6% of the U.S. total, compared with the region's less than 5% of the U.S. population. However, those traditional public and private nonprofit colleges make up an ever-smaller portion of the ...]]> Updated November 2012

New England’s traditional public and private nonprofit colleges and universities conferred more than 201,000 degrees at all levels in 2010—or more than 6% of the U.S. total, compared with the region's less than 5% of the U.S. population. However, those traditional public and private nonprofit colleges make up an ever-smaller portion of the U.S. total, and the U.S. represents a shrinking part of the global higher education market.

Among other highlights in NEBHE's annual update on measures of "College Success" ...

• Amid national calls for increasing degree attainment, only 16% of students at New England’s traditional two-year community colleges graduate within three years of enrolling—and the rate is even lower among U.S. minority groups.
• NEBHE and other experts are refocusing attention on student transfer between institutions—and not simply from two-year to four-year institutions, but also “reverse transfer” in an age of student "swirl."
• Nearly 60% of all higher education degrees awarded in New England are conferred on women.

For other trend data, visit our continually updated Trends & Indicators or Newslink.

Figure CS 1: Graduation Rates by State, Race/Ethnicity and Type of Institution, 2010

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Note: The graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete an associate degree (at two-year institutions) within three years, or a bachelor's degree (at four-year institutions) within six years.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 2: Graduation and Transfer Rates by State and Type of Institution, 2010

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Note: The graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete an associate degree (at two-year institutions only) within three years or a bachelor's degree (at four-year institutions) within six years. Figures are based on cohorts entering in 2002 (four-year institutions) or 2005 (two-year institutions). New England data is based on the aggregate numbers of all institutions of a given type, rather than an average of the states' graduation rates.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 3: Total Degrees Awarded at New England's Colleges and Universities and New England's Share of U.S. Degrees, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 4: Degrees Awarded in New England by Gender, 1972 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 5: Attainment of College (Tertiary-Type A) Degrees for 25- to 34-Year-Olds in OECD and Partner Countries, 2009

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Note: Tertiary-type A programs are largely theory-based and designed to provide sufficient qualifications for entry to advanced research programs and roughly correspond to bachelor's and master's degree programs in the U.S. Advanced research programs correspond to doctorate programs.

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2010, Table A1.3a.

Figure CS 6: Associate Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: The graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete an associate degree (at two-year institutions) within three years, or a bachelor's degree (at four-year institutions) within six years.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 7: Associate Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Disciplines not listed include: Arts and Music, Education, Social Service Professions, Communication and Librarianship, Psychology, Social Sciences, Geosciences, Law, Interdisciplinary or other Sciences, Architecture and Environmental Design, Humanites, Religion and Theology, Math and Computer Sciences and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 13,869 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 8: Bachelor's Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 9: Bachelor's Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Data from 1971 to 2001 reflect 10-year intervals and data from 2003 to 2008 reflect one-year intervals. Disciplines not listed include: Communication and Librarianship, Math and Computer Sciences, Engineering, Vocational Studies and Home Economics, Science and Engineering Technologies, Social Service Professions, Physical Sciences, Architecture and Environmental Design, Geosciences, Religion and Theology, Interdisciplinary or other Science, Law and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 29,977 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 10: Master's Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 11: Master's Degrees Awarded at New England Colleges and Universities by Selected Fields of Study, 1971 to 2010

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Note: Data from 1971 to 2001 reflect 10-year intervals and data from 2003 to 2008 reflect one-year intervals. Disciplines not listed include: Physcial Science, Geosciences, Math and Computer Science, Psychology, Science and Engineering Technologies, Interdisciplinary or other Sciences, Religion and Theology, Arts and Music, Architecture and Environmental Design, Communication and Librarianship, Law, Social Service Professions, Vocational Studies and Home Economics and unknown disciplines. These unlisted disciplines awarded 13,460 degrees in 2010.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12: Doctorates Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: Includes all doctorate degrees, doctorate degree professional practice, doctorate degree research/scholarship and other doctorate degrees.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12a: Doctorate Research and Scholarship Degrees Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A Ph.D. or other doctor's degree that requires advanced work beyond the master’s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement. Some examples of this type of degree may include Ed.D., D.M.A., D.B.A., D.Sc., D.A., or D.M, and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12b: Doctorate Professional Practice Degrees Conferred on Men, Women Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A doctor’s degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to the degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years. Some of these degrees were formerly classified as “first-professional” and may include: Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.); Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.); Law (L.L.B. or J.D.); Medicine (M.D.); Optometry (O.D.); Osteopathic Medicine (D.O); Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CS 12c: Other Doctorates Conferred on Men, Women, Minorities and Foreign Students, 2010

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Note: A doctorate degree that does not meet the definition of a doctorate degree-research/scholarship or a doctorate degree-professional practice. An example would be doctorate degrees awarded in a single subject non-education field.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

>>Back to Trends & Indicators

A few years ago, we determined to ease out of the vacancy survey ...]]> NEBHE conducted a Student Vacancy Survey every spring from 1960 to 2009 as a public service for New England residents still looking for college space as of the traditional May 1 admissions deadline and as a measure of college application trends.

A few years ago, we determined to ease out of the vacancy survey business and its vagaries; some respondents had noted that even if there were X-number of vacancies as of May 1, those seats would surely be filled given the new competitiveness of the college world; others complained that admissions people had perverse incentives to either minimize their reported vacancies in order to look more appealing or to inflate the number to attract more applicants).

We also note the availability of other sources such as the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) whose largest regional affiliate is the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC).

NACAC’s annual Space Availability Survey: Openings for Qualified Students polls NACAC’s member colleges and universities each year to determine whether institutions can still accept applications for prospective students for fall enrollment after the May 1. For fall 2012, 375 colleges and universities had either freshman or transfer space available as of the initial May 2 deadline for the survey. And presumably, most scurried to fill those spaces.

Since NEBHE began publishing tables and charts exploring “Trends & Indicators” in New England higher education more than a half-century ago, few figures have grabbed as much attention as college enrollment data. These local, state, regional and national data go beyond simple headcounts of students going to college to tell the ...]]> Updated December 2011 ...

Since NEBHE began publishing tables and charts exploring “Trends & Indicators” in New England higher education more than a half-century ago, few figures have grabbed as much attention as college enrollment data. These local, state, regional and national data go beyond simple headcounts of students going to college to tell the stories of New England's changing demography, the region's economic life and increasing globalization.

There is no typical New England college student. The region's student body—nearly 1 million strong—is more female than it used to be and increasingly multicultural. But the student body is hardly economically diverse. Of students born into the top quartile of family income, more than 84% graduate from high school and go on to college, compared with 41% of students from the bottom family income quartile, according to Postsecondary Education Opportunity, the data-rich newsletter published by higher education analyst Thomas G. Mortenson.

Among other findings:

• More than 970,000 students were enrolled at New England’s colleges and universities in 2010, up by more than 150,000 students since 2000.
• Nearly half of New England college students attend private institutions, compared with just over one-quarter nationally.
• Women students began to outnumber men on New England college and university campuses in 1978, and the imbalance has grown to about 542,000 women to 419,000 men.
• The number of Hispanic college students has doubled in New England since 2000. Yet Hispanics and African-Americans together still account for only 14% of New England college students.

Figure ENR 1: Total Enrollment at New England Colleges and Universities and New England's Share of U.S. Enrollment, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 2: Higher Education Enrollment in New England by Type of Institution and Full-Time Status, 2010

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Note: U.S. totals are projected by the U.S. Department of Education. Full-time and part-time breakdowns for public and private institutions were not available.
Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 3: Distribution of Higher Education Enrollment, Public vs. Private, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 4:  Public vs. Private College Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 5: Undergraduate vs. Graduate Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 6: Full-Time vs. Part-Time College Enrollment in New England, 2000 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 7: Total Higher Education Enrollment by Gender in New England, 1977 to 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 8: New England Institutions with the Largest Undergraduate Enrollments, Fall 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 9:  New England Cities with the Largest College Enrollments, 2010

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Note: Total enrollment includes full-and part-time undergraduate, graduate and non-degree students.
Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 10: Enrollment at New England Colleges and Universities by Race/Ethnicity, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 11: Minority Enrollment by State and Race/Ethnicity, 2000 and 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 12: Public vs. Private College Enrollment in New England by Race/Ethnicity, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure ENR 13: Enrollment by Type of Institution: New England and the United States, 2010

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Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Back to Trends & Indicators>>

Nearly one-third of high school seniors who did not enroll in their first-choice college said the main reason was that they could not afford it, ...]]> Two years after the depth of the Great Recession, the economy is still a major factor in college-enrollment decisions, according to a new survey by Concord, Mass.-based Maguire Associates and Fastweb.com.

Nearly one-third of high school seniors who did not enroll in their first-choice college said the main reason was that they could not afford it, according to the survey of 2,400 high school seniors conducted as a follow-up to the annual College Decision Impact Survey done in January .

The follow-up survey reveals that two of the most important reasons students enrolled at their chosen college were financial: “scholarship or financial assistance” (43%) and “total costs” (41%). The most important factor was “quality of major” (45%).

Many students reported they didn't receive the amount of student aid they were hoping for, and one in five seniors appealed the initial aid offer from the college where they ultimately enrollment.

Fully one-third of those who preferred a public education, but ultimately enrolled in a private school, appealed the initial aid package offered by the college they chose, and nearly half of them received more aid from their enrollment schools as a result.

Conversely, one in five “switchers” to public institutions appealed their offers from their enrollment schools, and nearly one-third of this group were successful in getting additional aid.

From President Obama to private foundations ...]]> The New England Board of Higher Education released a policy brief that encourages states to tie a portion of higher education appropriations to institutional outcomes. Currently, New England states tend to apportion institutional funding based on enrollment levels—a practice that rewards quantity, but not necessarily student success and degree attainment.

From President Obama to private foundations like Lumina and Gates, higher education stakeholders increasingly stress the significance of college persistence and degree completion to the national education agenda. If the U.S. is to thrive in a knowledge-based economy and remain globally competitive, American institutions must retain and graduate more students.

NEBHE—in its report entitled “Catalyst to Completion: Performance-Based Funding in Higher Education”—suggests that performance-based funding strategies can encourage student success. States should earmark at least 5% of higher education appropriations to reward institutional improvements in areas like: remediation, retention, degrees conferred, research and service dollars, and six-year graduation rate.

To make its case, the report examines performance-based funding strategies at work in three states: Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. Each state, in consultation with institutional leaders and in light of state-specific goals, overhauled its enrollment-based funding model in favor of a formula inclusive of outcomes.

While not a silver bullet, performance-based funding stands to improve college persistence and completion in New England, especially among low-income students and other “at risk” populations. States should consider such funding strategies alongside college access initiatives, increased aid and financial literacy programs, partnerships between education and industry, and other student success efforts.

NEBHE unveiled this research in a webinar held by its Policy and Research Department late last week.

In a recent article in Inside Higher Education, transfer expert Marc Cutright of the University of North Texas writes about the growing importance that four-year colleges and universities should place on students transferring from community college. Public colleges, led by community colleges, grant more than a half million associate degrees annually and the number grew ...]]>

In a recent article in Inside Higher Education, transfer expert Marc Cutright of the University of North Texas writes about the growing importance that four-year colleges and universities should place on students transferring from community college. Public colleges, led by community colleges, grant more than a half million associate degrees annually and the number grew by 27% over a decade. But what about that other sector seeing large enrollment growth: for-profit colleges?

In a year of generally bad press for for-profit colleges—ranging from high student loan default rates and declining confidence on Wall Street—the sector's enrollment is rising, particularly at the two-year level. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2009 6% of two-year enrollments were in for-profits, up from 5% the year before.

When you consider that for-profit two-year programs have a 60% graduation rate, compared with the 22% graduation rate for public community colleges, for-profits would only need a 27% share of students to produce as many associate degrees as community colleges. If for-profits increase their market share by 1% each year, this would happen in as few as 20 years.

Last year's was the largest single-year increase that the for-profits have seen in recent years, so that kind of continued growth is unlikely. However it does highlight the fact that this student population is growing and will needs to be considered as well.

In this recession, one market is thriving—community colleges. Just last week, the White House held the first-ever national summit for community colleges. President Obama proposed that by 2020, an additional 5 million adults will hold community college degrees and certificates and announced millions of dollars in privately funded grants. [Participate in our ...]]>

In this recession, one market is thriving—community colleges. Just last week, the White House held the first-ever national summit for community colleges. President Obama proposed that by 2020, an additional 5 million adults will hold community college degrees and certificates and announced millions of dollars in privately funded grants. [Participate in our Forum on the president's goal for community colleges.]

With the unemployment rate hovering around 9%, many New Englanders have turned to community college for vocational training in hopes of re-entering the job market. The Connecticut Department of Higher Education reports that almost 127,200 students will be enrolled in postsecondary education this fall, and according to theday.com, community college students account for almost 58,300 of this number.

In neighboring Rhode Island, the Community College of Rhode Island reports 17,775 students are taking classes this semester at CCRI’s four main campuses. The only time enrollment was higher than the present figure was in 1992, when tuition was waived for senior citizens and the unemployed.

Yet, the high enrollments may be jeopardizing community colleges' mission of access. More students mean more resources, which many publicly funded schools cannot provide. As fosters.com reports, in Maine, 4,000 students were denied their first choice academic program. New Hampshire, too, has to say "no" to many students, especially those seeking to enroll in more popular programs such as nursing. With budget cuts in full force, community colleges are finding it increasingly difficulty to meet the population’s growing demands.

It’s not just career-changers who are seeking out community colleges. Larissa Ruiz Baia, associate vice president of Enrollment Management at Manchester Community College in New Hampshire, notes "we are seeing a high number of traditional-age students coming to us in large part because of affordability, who might not have considered a community college in the past." With more college seniors now considering community college, enrollments have nowhere to go but up.