Enrollment of Associate Degree-Seeking Students

The majority of students enrolled in associate degree programs attended public two-year institutions (93.4 percent), followed by for-profit (4.0 percent), public four-year (1.5 percent), and private nonprofit four-year (1.1 percent) institutions.

By Carnegie classification, 88.4 percent of associate degree-seeking students attended associate institutions. The remainder enrolled primarily at bachelor’s (4.4 percent), special focus (3.6 percent), and master’s (2.3 percent) institutions. This pattern was consistent across most racial and ethnic groups except American Indian or Alaska Native undergraduates—13.3 percent of associate degree–seeking students from this group attended Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Enrollment of Associate Degree-Seeking Students Across Sectors, by Race and Ethnicity: 2019-20
Enrollment of Associate Degree-Seeking Students Across Carnegie Classifications, by Race and Ethnicity: 2019-20

Report Links

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report
Chapter Two: Enrollment in Undergraduate Education

Chapter Two Report Download (PDF) 1.5 MB
Chapter Two Data Tables Download (XLSX) 144 KB

Source

U.S. Department of Education, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2020

Notes:
Data reflect associate degree-seeking student enrollment at public four-year, private nonprofit four-year, public two-year, and for-profit institutions.

Institutions were categorized into sectors based upon control of the institution and the length of the predominant award granted.

Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Data for for the following should be interpreted with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error represents more than 30 percent of the estimate.

  • American Indian or Alaska Native, Public Four-Year and For-Profit, 2019-2020

  • Asian, For-Profit, 2019-2020

  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, For-Profit, 2019-2020

  • More than one race, Private Nonprofit Four-Year, 2019-2020

  • International students, Public Four-Year, 2019-2020

Data for for the following should be interpreted with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.

  • American Indian or Alaska Native, Private Nonprofit Four-Year, 2019-2020

  • Asian, Private Nonprofit Four-Year, 2019-2020

  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Private Nonprofit Four-Year, 2019-2020

  • International students, Private Nonprofit Four-Year and For-Profit, 2019-2020

Reporting standards not met for the following data:

  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Public Four-Year, 2019-2020