Good news: Spring undergrad accounting enrollment grew by 11%

Spring enrollment for undergraduate accounting majors rose 11.3% year-over-year to 188,571 students, a report found, making it the second consecutive annual increase. 

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published the latest edition of its Current Term Enrollment Estimates series, which provides final enrollment estimates for the fall and spring terms. 

That number just tops pre-pandemic peak levels, coming in 0.1% higher at 188,421. 

The report also found that total postsecondary spring enrollment grew 3.2% year-over-year. Undergraduate enrollment grew 3.5% and reached 15.3 million students but continues to remain below pre-pandemic levels (378,000 fewer students). Graduate enrollment also increased to 7.2%, higher than in 2020 (209,000 more students). 

Community colleges saw the largest growth in enrollment (5.4%), and enrollment increased for all undergraduate credential types. Bachelor's and associate programs grew 2.1% and 6.3%, respectively but remain below pre-pandemic levels.  

Most ethnoracial groups saw increases in enrollment this spring, with Black and multiracial undergraduate students seeing the largest growth (10.3% and 8.5%, respectively). The number of undergraduate students in their twenties also increased. Enrollment of students between the ages of 21 and 24 grew 3.2%, and enrollment for students aged between 25 and 29 grew 5.9%. 

For the third consecutive year, high vocational public two-years had substantial growth in enrollment, increasing 11.7% from 2023 to 2024. Enrollment at these trade-focused institutions has increased nearly 20% since pre-pandemic levels.