For the fourth straight year, community college enrollment was up last fall

Titus Dominique, 41, has always loved to cook. So, this fall he enrolled in a culinary program at Columbus State Community College in Ohio.

“The ultimate goal would be at some point to be able to own my own restaurantm” he said.

Dominique worked as a cook on an aircraft carrier when he was in the Navy years ago. For the last decade, he’s worked as a commercial truck driver; he hopes this program will launch his new career.

“At some point, I have to pull that thread and say, ‘It's time to go for it,’” he said.

More people are doing the same as Dominique. For the fourth straight year, community college enrollment was up in fall of 2025, 3% higher than a year before, according to a report out this week from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

There’s been an increase in people seeking associate’s degrees, and there’s been an even bigger rise in short, job-focused certificate programs, according to Matthew Holsapple, who leads the research team at the National Student Clearinghouse.

“It speaks to students of all ages seeing the value of those short-term credentials,” he said. “There's a wage payoff that students are seeing, and they see this as clear steps towards the career or job they want.”

Another driver of growth? More high school students are now taking community college classes.

“I think this kind of program helps students get into college sooner, so it helps students learn they can do college work and that they can succeed in college,” Holsapple said.

He pointed out that community colleges aren’t necessarily gaining at the expense of other schools, either. There’s also been an uptick in the number of students going to four-year colleges.