Every student has unique needs. That’s why United States community colleges should have every industry stakeholder’s attention.
The latest Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors data gives us a glimpse into these institutions. After a steady decline in international student enrolment over the last decade, the US community college sector showed positive momentum in 2022/23.
Read on to explore the state of US community colleges, and how their unique position can help more international education stakeholders succeed.
Key Insights at a Glance
- After years of decline, international student enrolment at US community colleges increased by 7% from 2021/22 to 2022/23.1
- The community college cohort is much more diverse than the country’s total international student population. Vietnamese, Japanese, South Korean, and Brazilian students are driving this diversity.
- Enrolment in the field of Intensive English jumped 41% last year. This may reflect growing awareness of community colleges’ language learning advantages.
What Is a Community College?
There are 1,038 community colleges in the US today.2 At ApplyBoard, we partner with 30+ US community colleges that provide wide-ranging international student experiences. Impressively, 11 of these partners are ranked among Open Doors’ 40 Leading Associate’s Colleges Enrolling International Students in 2022/23.3
Differing from traditional four-year institutions, community colleges typically offer two-year associate degrees to help students either enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year university program. Students can also find English as a Second Language (ESL) programs here to help advancement to university-level coursework.
This makes US community colleges similar to other destinations’ academic offerings. Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) courses teach students technical skills from industry experts. In Canada, similar institutions are considered colleges, while four-year institutions specializing in bachelor or graduate studies are considered universities.
Here’s an example of how US community colleges support success:
A student begins a four-year bachelor’s degree in the state of Washington by studying for two years at Tacoma Community College. Then, they transfer to Gonzaga University (GU) to complete their third and fourth years. Compared to studying for four years at GU, this approach will likely mean substantial cost savings. This is because the average community college tuition4 is nearly three times more affordable than the average four-year institution’s tuition.5 And still, the student will receive a prestigious GU degree.
Enrolment Increases Slightly After Long Decline
The total number of students at US community colleges increased by 7.2% in 2022/23 compared to the prior year. This was a welcome rebound for the sector. Before last year, there were five straight years of decline and over a decade of inconsistent growth.
From 2016/17 to 2021/22, enrolment decreased by 2%, 8.3%, 8.3%, 24%, and then 12.5% before its rise last year. Even if we ignore the plunge in enrolment during the height of COVID-19 restrictions, the data shows a negative trend.
Among all US institutions, international student enrolment in undergraduate (+6%), graduate (+15%), and non-degree (+37%) programs all increased in 2022/23 over the previous academic year. While undergraduate and non-degree enrolment remain well below their peaks of recent years, graduate enrolment set record highs in both 2021/22 and 2022/23.6
The increased enrolment at community colleges, where most students earn associate degrees, may be driven by students concerned about the costs at four-year institutions.
The 2023 ApplyBoard Recruitment Partner (RP) Pulse Survey showed the cost of studying remained the top priority students consider when choosing a study location.7 Plus, our two Student Pulse Surveys during 2023 showed historically influential factors, such as building a professional network or experiencing a new culture, losing pull over students. This may be due to greater attention on earnings potential and affordability.
While more motivation to find affordable programs is good news for community colleges, their portion of total international student enrolment lessened in 2022/23. This means that, while more students enrolled, overall student preference toward community colleges slightly decreased.
First-year enrolment in bachelor’s degrees at four-year institutions increased by 10% over the same period, while overall bachelor degree enrolment remained nearly the same.
Given the generally negative trend in total international student enrolment at community colleges during the last decade, the proportional decrease in enrolment at these institutions is a marker to watch. Community colleges will be glad to see enrolment rise, but ensuring they capture a steadily increasing portion of market share is key to long-term growth.
Diverse Enrolment Shines at Community Colleges
The recent boom in studying abroad has seen Indian and Chinese students outpace those from other countries in nearly every destination market. This includes the United States.
But looking exclusively at US community college enrolment, we see something different: These institutions feature a much more diverse pool of international students compared to the overall US international student population.
In 2022/23, nearly 290,000 Chinese students were enrolled in US institutions compared to about 269,000 Indian students. These two nations accounted for 27% and 25%, respectively, of the total US international student population. In other words, more than half of international students in the US come from China or India.
Although community colleges also count China as its primary source market, China only accounted for 8.4% of total enrolment in 2022/23. Also, Vietnam (7.6%), Japan (5.9%), South Korea (5%), and Brazil (4.7%) all held greater shares than India (4.3%).
Stakeholders aiming to improve their standing in source markets other than China or India must appreciate this diversity. Community colleges clearly offer value that permeates cross-culturally. For four-year institutions seeking to boost their campus diversity, it’s vital that students have affordable entry points. Additionally, offering broader language services and more flexible schedules may draw a more varied enrolment cohort.
Intensive English Sees Sharp Rise
The increase in US community college enrolment occurs at the same time Intensive English surged in popularity among all community college study fields.
Field of study enrolment showed increases across most disciplines, but the most dramatic increase from 2021/22 to 2022/23 was 41% in Intensive English.8 This is grouped within the Other category in the data. The Other category, increasing 16.1% year-over-year, was only slightly behind the greatest riser, Math & Computer Science, which increased by 16.4%.
This is a trend to track in the coming years. Although Intensive English enrolment still remains below half of its 2019/20 total, focused English education is a key advantage offered by community colleges compared to four-year institutions.
This is because students with an English proficiency below the required levels for entrance to four-year institutions can spend one or two years building their language skills before completing their degree at a four-year institution. This development is often done in pathway programs.
A pathway program is a course completed before enrolling at a university or college. They may also be called “bridge programs.” Pathway programs are designed to help students prepare for a postsecondary program if they’re unable to enter the institution directly.
Some students may take an English pathway program if their IELTS or TOEFL scores are too low. This is because the successful completion of a pathway program will fulfill many institutions’ English-language requirements. Thus, these programs present fantastic opportunities for both students and recruitment partners to tap into the US education market.
How Community Colleges Benefit Students
Along with saving money or improving English skills, community colleges offer other key benefits to international students.
The community college transfer program allows students to postpone the choice of a four-year institution where they’ll complete their bachelor’s degrees’ third and fourth years. During this time, students can benefit from community colleges’ typically more flexible schedules. This opens up time to explore, work, and join extracurricular activities. These activities can reduce an international student’s culture shock, which can ultimately help ensure they receive a successful study experience.
Plus, these students still receive prestigious degrees from their four-year institutions. This means potential employers cannot penalize students who started at community college, as the graduates of any given program will earn the same credential.
Additionally, some students may not require a four-year degree to start a career. For example, if a student wants to study construction, they’ll graduate into an in-demand field; there are currently about 650,000 construction job openings in the US. This number is projected to increase even further as many construction professionals are aged 45+, and therefore, will retire in the coming decades.9
Key Takeaways
After years of decline, US community colleges showed resurgence last year. For this to continue, it’s vital that campus administrators and industry stakeholders promote these institutions’ advantages. Students can’t make informed decisions unless they understand their options.
Here are recommendations for stakeholders seeking to leverage community colleges’ distinct benefits:
- To see student enrolment continue to increase, community colleges must ensure their brands, programs, and services are broadcast globally. This may require targeted advertising on social media, re-optimizing search keywords, or hosting regional school fairs.
- RPs should remain up to date on community colleges. Then, they can pass key information onto their students. Many students might only discover these details through their recruitment counsellors.
- Both institutions and recruitment partners must clarify the transfer process between community colleges to four-year institutions. The opportunities to save money and improve English skills during years one and two of a bachelor degree will attract international students.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. Data courtesy of the Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors Report.
2. Data courtesy of the American Association of Community Colleges.
3. The colleges and their ranks: Santa Monica College (3), Valencia College (5), Green River College (12), Shoreline Community College (15), Seattle Central College (16), Diablo Valley College (17), San Mateo County Community College District (19), Santa Barbara City College (21), Irvine Valley College (26), Snow College (37), and Ohlone College (40).
4. Education Data Initiative, Average Cost of Community College. October 2023.
5. College Board, Trends in College Pricing: Highlights. November 2023.
6. Undergraduate and non-degree declines from recent highs: 19.8% since 2015/16 and 42.9% since 2014/15 respectively.
7. In the 2023 survey, we merged cost of studying with cost of living. These options were individual factors in the 2022 RP Pulse Survey question.
8. Enrolment grew from 7,358 students to 10,404 students.
9.CNBC, The iconic American hard hat job that has the highest level of open positions ever recorded. July 2023.
