Transfer Enrollments Increased Fall 2023

In fall of 2023, 5.3% more students than the previous year were able to successfully transfer to a new institution.

That’s according to the latest report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a nonprofit studying data from a majority of postsecondary institutions in the U.S. While overall enrollments are still down (with about 100,000 students missing from community college since the start of the pandemic), the data show that student mobility has increased, particularly transfers into very competitive or highly selective institutions.

The growth was primarily driven by community college students, whose upward transfer to four-year institutions increased by 8% from the previous year. Students from vocational community colleges saw a 14% growth in transfers, and students from rural community colleges saw a 12% increase in transfers. In fact, transfer growth occurred in almost all sectors, from public four-year institutions to private non-profits.

Dr. Doug Shapiro, executive research director at the Clearinghouse, said the data is indicative of pandemic recovery.

“That means that the students are taking advantage of more options for finding the best programs and institutional fit for their needs,” said Shapiro. “These increases are a good sign.”

Dr. Doug Shapiro, executive research director at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.The data also find that over half of transfer students decided to change their major when making their move. Eighty-two percent of liberal arts and sciences, humanities and general studies majors changed their majors upon transfer. No matter what field they came to study originally, students who switch their majors continue to overwhelmingly select health professions or computer and information sciences.

Six-year completion rates have also increased. For students who started at a community college in 2014, including those who transferred and those who did not, 33% obtained a credential. For students who started community college in 2016, which means a portion of their six years overlapped with COVID, 35% obtained a credential. Even though a two-percentage-point increase is small, Shapiro said it’s good news worth acknowledging, because “we’ve had a lot of bad news in recent years.”