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Total enrollment at �¼������ϲ�’s public universities reached historic highs in fall 2023, but even with the growth, just 30 percent of �¼������ϲ� high school graduates completed a college degree or certificate program within six years, according to two new reports released by the �¼������ϲ� Board of Regents.

The Academic Year 2024 Fall Enrollment Report reflects enrollment at �¼������ϲ�’s public universities, while the 2023 Postsecondary Attainment Report measures �¼������ϲ� high school graduates’ postsecondary enrollment and completion, wherever they choose to attend.

Enrollment at �¼������ϲ�’s public universities is an integral component of advancing the state’s goal to increase educational attainment — the percentage of adults who earn a college degree. Flatlined attainment is a growing concern when �¼������ϲ� needs 26,300 more bachelor’s degrees annually to support the state’s economy.

A bright spot in the Fall Enrollment Report shows the universities welcoming the highest number of Pell-eligible students (57,793), 54.8 percent of whom are �¼������ϲ� residents. While the number of low-income �¼������ϲ� students attending college is on the rise, demonstrating the success of the �¼������ϲ� Promise Program, it still has not matched pre-pandemic highs. The �¼������ϲ� Promise Program provides a guaranteed scholarship for qualifying low-income �¼������ϲ� students that ensures all tuition and fees are covered at �¼������ϲ�'s public universities.

“It’s clear that �¼������ϲ� is seeing a modest improvement in college enrollment and completion, but we are still not meeting the mark when it comes to postsecondary attainment for our high school graduates,” said �¼������ϲ� Chair Fred DuVal. “This chronic, low rate of educational attainment limits our students’ upward mobility and is a recipe for our state’s future economic stagnation.”

Key fall enrollment takeaways:

• Total enrollment at �¼������ϲ�’s public universities is up, largely due to online enrollment increases.
• �¼������ϲ� State University saw historic enrollment in fall 2023 with 145,655 students — up 2 percent from the year before. 
• �¼������ϲ� residents now comprise 70.3 percent of Northern �¼������ϲ� University’s undergraduate students, an increase of 3.2 percent from the previous year. 
• Fall 2023 enrollment at the University of �¼������ϲ� is the largest and most diverse in its history with 77,353 students, a 56.6 percent increase from the prior year. 

Learn more about fall enrollment at �¼������ϲ�’s public universities here. 

Key postsecondary takeaways for �¼������ϲ�’s high school graduates:

• Forty-eight percent of �¼������ϲ�’s 2022 high school graduates pursued education beyond high school, while 30.3 percent of �¼������ϲ�’s 2017 high school graduates were able to successfully complete a certificate, credential or college degree.
• �¼������ϲ�’s high school graduates’ postsecondary completion trends are moderately increasing.
• �¼������ϲ� graduates from historically underrepresented populations enroll in higher education at lower rates than peers.
• �¼������ϲ�’s public universities enrolled more than two-thirds of �¼������ϲ� high school graduates that chose a four-year degree program.

 Find out more about college-going and completion rates for �¼������ϲ�’s high school graduates here.