Persistence Rate in Fall 2022 Returned to Pre-Pandemic Normal

The persistence rate among first-year college students has returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Of first-year students who enrolled in fall 2021, 75.7% returned to college by the following year. That’s the same average persistence rate seen among the 2016, 2017 and 2018 freshman classes. Community colleges, public four-year institutions and private nonprofit colleges all increased their persistence and retention rates between fall 2021 and fall 2022. But four-year for-profit colleges and those that primarily grant associate degrees saw declines.