Enrollment Trends for Nebraska Colleges

Nebraska Colleges Enrollment Trends Summary (2015-2025)

Overall Population Change:
- Total Enrollment: 95,431 students were enrolled in Nebraska colleges.
- 10-Year Change: The total student population increased by 4% compared to a decade ago.
Student Level Trends:
- Undergraduate Growth: Undergraduate enrollment saw a increase of 4.48% compared to a decade ago.
- Graduate Growth: Graduate enrollment saw a increase of 3.38% compared to a decade ago.
Gender Dynamics:
- Current Ratio: There are more women students than men, with a ratio of 1.36 women to 1 man.
- Women Enrollment: Women students total 54,994 and have increased by 8.47% compared to a decade ago.
- Men Enrollment: Men students total 40,437 and have decreased by -1.11% compared to a decade ago.
Online Education Growth:
- Online Exclusively: 28,035 students (29.38%) are enrolled exclusively in online programs.
- Online Growth: The number of students enrolled completely online has seen a dramatic increase of 59% since 2015.

Student Population Changes

The average number of students over the past 11 years is 93,866, and 95,431 students were attending the schools in the academic year 2024-2025.

Of the total students, 74.24% are undergraduate students and 25.76% are graduate students. Over the past 11, the number of undergraduate students increased by 3,649, and the graduate student enrollment increased by 808.

The women to men ratio is 1.36 to 1, meaning that there are more women students enrolled in Nebraska Colleges than men students.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Nebraska Colleges since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	91,594	67,659	31,052	36,607	23,935	9,840	14,095
2015-16	92,439 845	67,823 164	31,129 77	36,694 87	24,616 681	10,003 163	14,613 518
2016-17	92,821 382	68,210 387	31,223 94	36,987 293	24,611 -5	9,978 -25	14,633 20
2017-18	92,560 -261	68,044 -166	31,135 -88	36,909 -78	24,516 -95	9,716 -262	14,800 167
2018-19	92,380 -180	67,963 -81	30,896 -239	37,067 158	24,417 -99	9,547 -169	14,870 70
2019-20	95,191 2,811	69,801 1,838	31,246 350	38,555 1,488	25,390 973	9,642 95	15,748 878
2020-21	96,989 1,798	71,053 1,252	31,654 408	39,399 844	25,936 546	9,579 -63	16,357 609
2021-22	94,412 -2,577	69,385 -1,668	30,219 -1,435	39,166 -233	25,027 -909	9,397 -182	15,630 -727
2022-23	94,026 -386	69,845 460	30,447 228	39,398 232	24,181 -846	8,847 -550	15,334 -296
2023-24	94,679 653	70,309 464	30,879 432	39,430 32	24,370 189	8,966 119	15,404 70
2024-25	95,431 752	70,688 379	31,334 455	39,354 -76	24,743 373	9,103 137	15,640 236
Average	93,866	69,162	31,019	38,142	24,704	9,511	15,193

Nebraska Colleges Student Population Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the past 11 years is 69,162. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Undergraduate students increased by 3,029 from 67,659 to 70,688.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Nebraska Colleges since 2015.

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	67,659	57,632	26,786	30,846	10,027	4,266	5,761
2015-16	67,823	57,335	26,702	30,633	10,488	4,427	6,061
2016-17	68,210	57,448	26,659	30,789	10,762	4,564	6,198
2017-18	68,044	57,464	26,629	30,835	10,580	4,506	6,074
2018-19	67,963	56,823	26,117	30,706	11,140	4,779	6,361
2019-20	69,801	57,455	25,992	31,463	12,346	5,254	7,092
2020-21	71,053	58,797	26,411	32,386	12,256	5,243	7,013
2021-22	69,385	57,074	25,034	32,040	12,311	5,185	7,126
2022-23	69,845	56,767	24,959	31,808	13,078	5,488	7,590
2023-24	70,309	57,267	25,332	31,935	13,042	5,547	7,495
2024-25	70,688	57,239	25,603	31,636	13,449	5,731	7,718
Average	69,162	69,162	26,020	31,371	69,162	4,999	6,772

Nebraska Colleges Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the past 11 years is 24,704. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Graduate students increased by 808 from 23,935 to 24,743.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Nebraska Colleges since 2015.

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	23,935	13,365	5,749	7,616	10,570	4,091	6,479
2015-16	24,616	13,543	5,858	7,685	11,073	4,145	6,928
2016-17	24,611	13,698	6,008	7,690	10,913	3,970	6,943
2017-18	24,516	13,432	5,671	7,761	11,084	4,045	7,039
2018-19	24,417	12,541	5,272	7,269	11,876	4,275	7,601
2019-20	25,390	13,319	5,361	7,958	12,071	4,281	7,790
2020-21	25,936	14,065	5,368	8,697	11,871	4,211	7,660
2021-22	25,027	13,353	5,255	8,098	11,674	4,142	7,532
2022-23	24,181	13,079	5,041	8,038	11,102	3,806	7,296
2023-24	24,370	13,615	5,353	8,262	10,755	3,613	7,142
2024-25	24,743	14,468	5,609	8,859	10,275	3,494	6,781
Average	24,704	24,704	5,504	7,994	24,704	4,007	7,199

Nebraska Colleges Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 64.60%. The percentage was 73.48% 10 years ago and Nebraska Colleges still has a high percentage of white students. 3.98% of enrolled students is Asian and 5.76% is black students.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Nebraska Colleges over the past 11 years (2014-2025).

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
Year	2014-15	356	2,509	4,271	5,597	138	67,302	2,244
2015-16	371	2,570	4,036	7,380	132	65,667	2,546
2016-17	312	2,664	4,068	7,606	161	65,752	2,766
2017-18	361	2,894	4,167	7,937	172	65,601	2,923
2018-19	370	3,042	4,300	7,944	158	64,633	3,253
2019-20	348	3,086	4,466	8,480	157	66,126	3,006
2020-21	399	3,336	5,073	9,562	181	67,492	3,006
2021-22	422	3,546	4,973	9,683	159	66,145	3,217
2022-23	363	3,523	5,429	10,367	132	64,374	3,570
2023-24	381	3,650	5,548	10,665	136	63,246	3,548
2024-25	384	3,822	5,534	11,333	129	62,053	3,717
Average	370	3,149	4,715	8,778	150	65,308	3,072

Nebraska Colleges Student Population by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

28,035 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 29% of total students. The number of online students has increased 78.03% since 2013.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Nebraska Colleges from 2012 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2012-13	89,539	15,747	14,201	59,591
2013-14	90,745	17,647	16,044	57,054
2014-15	91,594	17,669	19,068	54,857
2015-16	92,439	18,786	21,395	52,258
2016-17	92,821	18,343	23,869	50,609
2017-18	92,560	18,502	24,872	49,186
2018-19	92,380	19,649	24,766	47,965
2019-20	95,191	22,534	28,464	44,193
2020-21	96,989	27,879	35,870	33,240
2021-22	94,412	26,053	31,882	36,477
2022-23	94,026	27,488	29,867	36,671
2023-24	94,679	27,735	30,131	36,813
2024-25	95,431	28,035	30,693	36,703
Average	93,293	22,005	25,471	45,817