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Press Release

In the last 10 years undergraduate enrollment increased by nearly 5 million students – the greatest increase in three decades
The Condition of Education Highlights Indicators of Education Participation and Performance

Enrollment in U.S. schools is expected to grow through the decade, as the U.S. population increases and participation rises. Postsecondary institutions are experiencing enrollment change differentially, with numbers quadrupling in the last decade at private for-profit postsecondary institutions, according to The Condition of Education 2011 report released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States. There are 50 indicators in this year's report covering all aspects of education, including early childhood through postsecondary education, student achievement and outcomes, and school environments and resources.

This year's report features a closer look at postsecondary education by institution level (2-year or 4-year) and control (public, private not-for-profit, or private for-profit). The closer look describes the current state of postsecondary education and how it has been changing in recent decades.

"We are seeing a shift in postsecondary education," said NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley. "In 2000, private for-profit institutions represented only 3 percent of undergraduate enrollment. However, since then these institutions have added 1.2 million students and now account for 9 percent of enrollment. This has created additional opportunities for students seeking a postsecondary education, but it has also brought to light differences in how students pursue and pay for that education."

The postsecondary education findings include:

• GROWTH IN ENROLLMENT: From 2000 to 2009, undergraduate enrollment in postsecondary institutions increased from 13 million students to 18 million. Of this increase, 27 percent (representing 1.2 million students) occurred at private for-profit institutions.
• CHOICE OF INSTITUTION VARIES BY AGE: Some 30 percent of full-time students age 35 and over attended private for-profit 4-year institutions in 2009, compared with 3 percent of full-time students under the age of 25.
• DISTANCE LEARNING MOST POPULAR AT PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS: Private for-profit 4-year institutions had the highest rate of distance course taking (30 percent) among all institutions. Private for-profit 4-year institutions also had the highest rate of students taking their entire program through distance education (19 percent).
• NEARLY HALF OF FIRST-TIME, FULL-TIME STUDENTS HAVE STUDENT DEBT: In 2008-09, some 49 percent of first-time, full-time students at degree-granting institutions had a student loan and the average annual loan amount was $7,000.
• NUMBER OF DEGREES UP: Forty-one percent more associate's degrees, 33 percent more bachelor's degrees, and 49 percent more master's degrees were awarded in 2008-09 than were in 1998-99.

This year's report documents important indicators in elementary and secondary education, including:

• CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS RISE: From 1990-2000 to 2008-09, the number of students enrolled in public charter schools more than tripled from 340,000 to 1.4 million students; in 2008-09, some 5 percent of all public schools were charter schools.
• HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF YOUNG TEACHERS MOVE SCHOOLS: In 2008-09, some 14 percent of teachers under age 30 moved from their school to teach at another, compared with 7 percent of teachers ages 30 to 39, some 6 percent of those age 40 to 49, some 5 percent of those ages 50 to 59, and 2 percent of those age 60 or over.
• ON-TIME HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION VARIES BY STATE: Three-quarters of public school students graduated on time in 2008. The District of Columbia and Nevada reported the lowest averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR), or percentage of students who graduated from public high school on time with a regular diploma, at 56 percent. Wisconsin had the highest, at 90 percent.

The National Center for Education Statistics is the statistical center of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. The full text of The Condition of Education 2011 (in HTML format), along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe.