Student Population Changes
The average student population over the last 11 years is 4,539 where 4,904 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 6 year-over-year increases and 3 decreases. It peaked at 4,904 students in 2025 and was lowest at 4,168 in 2022. Overall, enrollment rose from 4,571 to 4,904 students, a net gain of 333 (7.3%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Catawba Valley Community College since 2015.
Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes
The percentage of white students is 62.15%. The percentage was 70.01% 10 years ago and CVCC still has a high percentage of white students. 6.97% of enrolled students is Asian and 6.48% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 18.23% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 70.01% to 62.15%. Asian enrollment declined from 8.16% to 6.97%. Black student enrollment decreased from 8.25% to 6.48%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 9.30% to 18.23%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5702 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4875 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Catawba Valley Community College over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes
3,098 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 63% of total students. The number of online students has increased 18.65% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Catawba Valley Community College from 2015 to 2025.