Latest Numbers Show College Student Transfers Continuing Steep Decline
The number of college students who transferred in spring 2022 dropped 6.9% compared to the prior year, according to the latest COVID-19: Transfer, Mobility, and Progress report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC). Added to the decline of the prior year, the total two-year decline in college transfers has reached 16% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Non-transfer college enrollment also continued to slide (-3.8%) in the spring, but not as sharply as the loss of transfer students.
Among the most alarming declines was the drop-off in upward transfers, the most common form of transfer, where students transfer from a two-year college to a four-year institution. Upward transfers dropped 11.6%, compared to a fairly stable level the year before, according to the report.
The decrease in upward transfer enrollment occurred across all categories of students, regardless of age, gender and race/ethnicity. For example, every major racial and ethnic category saw sharp two-year declines (-19.4% for White, -18.6% for Native American, -17.1% for Asian, -16.3% for Black, and -15.6% for Latinx students).
