Despite the Great Recession, college enrollment has increased, and more students have been drawn to community colleges, according to a new report.
Published by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center in Herndon, Va., the study looks at first-time students ages 17-20 who began attending college in the fall semester each year from 2006 through 2010. Overall, the data show that enrollments of new students on college campuses from 2006 to 2010 rose by 6.8 percent, from just under 2 million to a total of 2.14 million.
Public institutions experienced an increase in enrollment in every year except 2010, the report notes. But even private colleges had a steady flow of new students, despite the higher price tags that some anticipated would hurt their numbers.
