The Number of U.S. Adults with Some College but No Degree Keeps Growing

In the wake of pandemic-related enrollment losses, many colleges have been more focused than ever on recruiting and re-engaging a key student demographic: those who attended college but left without earning a credential or degree. A new report provides some insight on this growing market of former students who might one day re-enroll. As of July 2021 that population had grown by more than one million from a year earlier to reach 40.4 million, an increase of 3.6 percent, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That represents almost one in five people in the United States who are age 18 and older, the report said.