Many students earning a degree across the country already have prior credentials, according to the latest National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Undergraduate Degree Earners report.
In the 2017-18 academic year, 2,254,846 students earned their first undergraduate degree while 722,547 graduates earned their second or third undergraduate credential.
Therefore, the report found that out of 2.98 million students who earned an undergraduate degree in 2017-2018, only three quarters represented first-time college graduates.
“Even though enrollments have been declining for years, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded continues to grow,” Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said.
“This is partly because of rising completion rates, but also due to degree stacking as students increasingly earn more than one undergraduate degree or certificate.”
Based on data analyzed in the report, the amount of first time graduates under the age of 25 increased by 3.6 percent within the U.S. Meanwhile, the number of first-time degree recipients ages 25 and older decreased by four percent over the previous year.
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