Undergraduate Enrollment Across Sectors and Carnegie Classifications

In 2019–20, 42.5 percent of undergraduate students were enrolled at public two-year institutions. Over half of Asian (60.1 percent), White (56.0 percent), and international (68.6 percent) undergraduates were enrolled at public or private nonprofit four-year institutions. The largest shares of undergraduates enrolled at public two-year institutions were American Indian or Alaska Native (57.2 percent), Hispanic or Latino (53.3 percent), and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (46.0 percent). The highest undergraduate enrollment rates at for-profit institutions were among Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (13.7 percent), Black or African American (12.1 percent), and American Indian or Alaska Native (11.3 percent) students.

Across all Carnegie Classifications[1], associate institutions enrolled 40.2 percent of undergraduates from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. For most racial and ethnic groups, enrollment was concentrated at associate institutions. Over four in 10 Hispanic or Latino (50.1 percent), American Indian or Alaska Native (45.4 percent), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (45.4 percent), and Black or African American (41.7 percent) students attended associate institutions. The exception was international students, among whom only 27.2 percent were enrolled at associate institutions and the largest share (28.6 percent) were enrolled at R1 doctoral institutions.

Undergraduate Enrollment Across Sectors, by Race and Ethnicity: 2019-20
Undergraduate Enrollment 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 undergraduate enrollment at public four-year, private nonprofit four-year, public two-year, and for-profit institutions.

Data reflect undergraduate enrollment at institutions that were classified by the 2018 Carnegie Basic Classification.

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.

  • International students, For-Profit, 2019-2020

  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Other Doctoral Institutions, 2019-2020

  • International students, Special Focus Institutions, 2019-2020

  • Black or African American, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

  • More than one race, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 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.

  • Hispanic or Latino, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

  • White, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

Reporting standards not met for the following data:

  • Asian, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

  • International students, Tribal Colleges and Universities, 2019-2020

[1] This report utilized the 2018 Basic Classification, as that was the most recent classification at the time of data analysis.