For a second consecutive year, the number of students receiving their first college credential fell, even as the number of students earning a second or third undergraduate credential continued to increase.
That's according to a report on new college graduates the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released today. The center found that the percentage of first-time undergraduates -- not returning students -- accounted for 71 percent of college graduates in 2014, which was down from 75 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, during that same time period, the percentage of degree recipients earning additional undergraduate degrees, or "stacking" credentials, increased from 25 to 29 percent.
But those numbers tell a different story when broken down by age. The number of new college graduates increased 4.4 percent for students under 25, but declined in other age categories -- dropping 6.6 percent since 2010. Over all the report found that between 2010 and 2014, more than eight million students received their first college degree.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/30/clearinghouse-finds-number-first-time-college-graduates-declining