Enrollment Trends for Puerto Rico Colleges

-45,281

Total Enrollment

-22,714

Men Students

-22,567

Women Students

-41,966

Undergraduate

-3,315

Graduate

Puerto Rico Colleges Enrollment Trends Summary (2015-2025)

  • Overall Population Change:
    • Total Enrollment: 156,807 students were enrolled in Puerto Rico colleges.
    • 10-Year Change: The total student population decreased by -22% compared to a decade ago.
  • Student Level Trends:
    • Undergraduate Growth: Undergraduate enrollment saw a decrease of -24.13% compared to a decade ago.
    • Graduate Growth: Graduate enrollment saw a decrease of -11.76% compared to a decade ago.
  • Gender Dynamics:
    • Current Ratio: There are more women students than men, with a ratio of 1.59 women to 1 man.
    • Women Enrollment: Women students total 96,170 and have decreased by -19.01% compared to a decade ago.
    • Men Enrollment: Men students total 60,637 and have decreased by -27.25% compared to a decade ago.
  • Online Education Growth:
    • Online Exclusively: 21,187 students (13.51%) are enrolled exclusively in online programs.
    • Online Growth: The number of students enrolled completely online has seen a dramatic increase of 187% since 2015.

Student Population Changes

The average number of students over the past 11 years is 177,758, and 156,807 students were attending the schools in the academic year 2024-2025.

Of the total students, 84.20% are undergraduate students and 15.80% are graduate students. Over the past 11, the number of undergraduate students decreased by 41,150, and the graduate student enrollment decreased by 3,282.

The women to men ratio is 1.59 to 1, meaning that there are more women students enrolled in Puerto Rico Colleges than men students.

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

YearTotalUndergraduateGraduate
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2014-15202,088173,89373,543100,35028,1959,80818,387
2015-16200,233
-1,855
171,770
-2,123
72,865
-678
98,905
-1,445
28,463
268
10,026
218
18,437
50
2016-17197,395
-2,838
168,298
-3,472
71,211
-1,654
97,087
-1,818
29,097
634
10,231
205
18,866
429
2017-18194,391
-3,004
165,673
-2,625
69,557
-1,654
96,116
-971
28,718
-379
10,047
-184
18,671
-195
2018-19180,853
-13,538
153,053
-12,620
63,703
-5,854
89,350
-6,766
27,800
-918
9,601
-446
18,199
-472
2019-20176,762
-4,091
148,801
-4,252
61,521
-2,182
87,280
-2,070
27,961
161
9,447
-154
18,514
315
2020-21175,805
-957
148,196
-605
59,006
-2,515
89,190
1,910
27,609
-352
9,252
-195
18,357
-157
2021-22163,110
-12,695
136,826
-11,370
54,283
-4,723
82,543
-6,647
26,284
-1,325
8,502
-750
17,782
-575
2022-23154,415
-8,695
129,504
-7,322
51,648
-2,635
77,856
-4,687
24,911
-1,373
8,318
-184
16,593
-1,189
2023-24153,477
-938
128,688
-816
51,334
-314
77,354
-502
24,789
-122
8,044
-274
16,745
152
2024-25156,807
3,330
131,927
3,239
52,566
1,232
79,361
2,007
24,880
91
8,071
27
16,809
64
Average177,758150,60361,93188,67227,1559,21317,942
Puerto Rico Colleges Student Population Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the past 11 years is 150,603. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Undergraduate students decreased by 41,966 from 173,893 to 131,927.

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

YearTotalFulltimeParttime
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2014-15173,893142,36660,25082,11631,52713,29318,234
2015-16171,770140,86559,80781,05830,90513,05817,847
2016-17168,298137,42658,09479,33230,87213,11717,755
2017-18165,673132,61455,50477,11033,05914,05319,006
2018-19153,053122,63350,96871,66530,42012,73517,685
2019-20148,801116,57348,33168,24232,22813,19019,038
2020-21148,196102,37641,03061,34645,82017,97627,844
2021-22136,82699,51639,69159,82537,31014,59222,718
2022-23129,50498,28838,96559,32331,21612,68318,533
2023-24128,68896,69238,75857,93431,99612,57619,420
2024-25131,927105,22442,06563,15926,70310,50116,202
Average150,603150,60348,49769,192150,60313,43419,480
Puerto Rico Colleges Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the past 11 years is 27,155. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Graduate students decreased by 3,315 from 28,195 to 24,880.

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

YearTotalFulltimeParttime
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2014-1528,19518,8686,81512,0539,3272,9936,334
2015-1628,46319,1156,86512,2509,3483,1616,187
2016-1729,09719,7767,12912,6479,3213,1026,219
2017-1828,71821,6187,61214,0067,1002,4354,665
2018-1927,80020,3127,09413,2187,4882,5074,981
2019-2027,96120,1786,92513,2537,7832,5225,261
2020-2127,60919,8996,83913,0607,7102,4135,297
2021-2226,28419,1296,24512,8847,1552,2574,898
2022-2324,91118,1776,08612,0916,7342,2324,502
2023-2424,78917,4895,68711,8027,3002,3574,943
2024-2524,88018,5105,99412,5166,3702,0774,293
Average27,15527,1556,66312,70727,1552,5515,235
Puerto Rico Colleges Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 1.29% and the percentage of black students is 1.54% at Puerto Rico Colleges. 0.10% of enrolled students is Asian.

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

YearAmerican Indian or Native AmericanAsianBlackHispanicNative Hawaiian or Other Pacific IslanderWhiteTwo or More Races
2014-1591135169197,33211490126
2015-16116128178193,98116588143
2016-1744137184192,04631679167
2017-18149112474189,12129533108
2018-1915086592174,9491947067
2019-2019384778170,5171443155
2020-212521181,686166,663381,064143
2021-223271091,874155,367301,051151
2022-232891261,945146,819321,138171
2023-243421382,099145,549441,367223
2024-253241532,424148,725382,037265
Average2071211,128171,00627895147
Puerto Rico Colleges Student Population by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

21,187 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 13% of total students. The number of online students has increased 274.00% since 2013.

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

YearTotal EnrollmentOnline CompletelyEnrolled in Some Online CoursesNot Enrolled in Online Courses
2012-13205,5895,66531,834168,090
2013-14204,3808,63643,533152,211
2014-15202,0887,38739,590155,111
2015-16200,2337,84032,073160,320
2016-17197,3958,37127,868161,156
2017-18194,3918,44035,212150,739
2018-19180,8539,34934,159137,345
2019-20176,76210,39938,409127,954
2020-21175,80424,44272,06579,297
2021-22163,11022,93677,85562,319
2022-23154,41515,13475,69763,584
2023-24153,47713,64169,82370,013
2024-25156,80721,18766,55969,061
Average181,94612,57149,591119,785