New monthly reports on the number of students enrolled at the nation’s colleges and universities have been an important (albeit depressing) way to mark the collateral damage wrought by the pandemic. In the earliest summer report from the National Student Clearinghouse research center, we learned that Black students were vanishing from campuses -- both physical and remote ones. By mid-fall, it became clear that low-income Americans of all races and ethnicities were especially disappearing from community colleges. New high school graduates in the class of 2020 were much less likely to start college in the first place.  

Now we have the final count for fall 2020, released Dec. 17, and it confirms earlier reports that college attendance at four-year colleges, which educate wealthier students, has largely kept pace with previous years while community college enrollment has plummeted by 10 percent. The latest report also revealed that many career-oriented programs are taking big hits.

• The number of students pursuing two-year vocational degrees in precision production fell 18 percent this fall, compared with the fall of 2019.  

• During that same period, 15 percent fewer students enrolled in associate degree programs in engineering technology while mechanic and repair technician students were down 16 percent.  

• The number of students enrolled in homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting programs was down 15 percent, which amounts to almost 30,000 fewer students nationally. 

• The drops not only affect young adults’ future jobs and earnings but also U.S. productivity in the future.

Fall 2020 Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTEE), National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Dec. 17, 2020 

“Advanced Technology Center (ATC) Strategies Under COVID-19 Conditions.”  NCATC Newsletter • Volume 21, no. 3 • 3rd Quarter, 2020