Enrollment Trends for South Carolina Colleges

Student Population Changes

The average number of students over the past 11 years is 160,150, and 179,932 students were attending the schools in the academic year 2024-2025.

Of the total students, 82.81% are undergraduate students and 17.19% are graduate students. Over the past 11, the number of undergraduate students increased by 24,198, and the graduate student enrollment increased by 4,980.

The women to men ratio is 1.46 to 1, meaning that there are more women students enrolled in South Carolina Colleges than men students.

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

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Level Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	150,367	124,477	54,117	70,360	25,890	10,447	15,443
2015-16	152,575 2,208	126,605 2,128	55,325 1,208	71,280 920	25,970 80	10,373 -74	15,597 154
2016-17	153,939 1,364	127,596 991	55,392 67	72,204 924	26,343 373	10,377 4	15,966 369
2017-18	154,854 915	128,415 819	55,296 -96	73,119 915	26,439 96	10,298 -79	16,141 175
2018-19	156,064 1,210	129,318 903	55,393 97	73,925 806	26,746 307	10,482 184	16,264 123
2019-20	157,817 1,753	129,866 548	55,062 -331	74,804 879	27,951 1,205	10,853 371	17,098 834
2020-21	156,178 -1,639	126,775 -3,091	53,482 -1,580	73,293 -1,511	29,403 1,452	11,143 290	18,260 1,162
2021-22	156,732 554	126,309 -466	53,079 -403	73,230 -63	30,423 1,020	11,311 168	19,112 852
2022-23	169,924 13,192	139,780 13,471	58,693 5,614	81,087 7,857	30,144 -279	11,275 -36	18,869 -243
2023-24	173,270 3,346	142,791 3,011	59,387 694	83,404 2,317	30,479 335	11,211 -64	19,268 399
2024-25	179,932 6,662	148,675 5,884	61,352 1,965	87,323 3,919	31,257 778	11,730 519	19,527 259
Average	160,150	131,873	56,053	75,821	28,277	10,864	17,413

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the past 11 years is 131,873. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Undergraduate students increased by 24,198 from 124,477 to 148,675.

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

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	124,477	111,662	49,105	62,557	12,815	5,012	7,803
2015-16	126,605	113,253	49,974	63,279	13,352	5,351	8,001
2016-17	127,596	114,571	50,472	64,099	13,025	4,920	8,105
2017-18	128,415	115,589	50,270	65,319	12,826	5,026	7,800
2018-19	129,318	115,959	50,366	65,593	13,359	5,027	8,332
2019-20	129,866	116,020	49,975	66,045	13,846	5,087	8,759
2020-21	126,775	113,151	48,427	64,724	13,624	5,055	8,569
2021-22	126,309	113,166	48,119	65,047	13,143	4,960	8,183
2022-23	139,780	119,465	50,858	68,607	20,315	7,835	12,480
2023-24	142,791	122,795	51,969	70,826	19,996	7,418	12,578
2024-25	148,675	127,749	53,544	74,205	20,926	7,808	13,118
Average	131,873	131,873	50,280	66,391	131,873	5,773	9,430

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the past 11 years is 28,277. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Graduate students increased by 5,367 from 25,890 to 31,257.

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

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	25,890	15,027	6,687	8,340	10,863	3,760	7,103
2015-16	25,970	15,219	6,696	8,523	10,751	3,677	7,074
2016-17	26,343	15,320	6,717	8,603	11,023	3,660	7,363
2017-18	26,439	15,303	6,686	8,617	11,136	3,612	7,524
2018-19	26,746	15,371	6,761	8,610	11,375	3,721	7,654
2019-20	27,951	15,838	6,965	8,873	12,113	3,888	8,225
2020-21	29,403	16,601	7,063	9,538	12,802	4,080	8,722
2021-22	30,423	17,224	7,060	10,164	13,199	4,251	8,948
2022-23	30,144	16,721	6,883	9,838	13,423	4,392	9,031
2023-24	30,479	16,483	6,727	9,756	13,996	4,484	9,512
2024-25	31,257	17,605	7,101	10,504	13,652	4,629	9,023
Average	28,277	28,277	6,850	9,215	28,277	4,014	8,198

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 62.13%. The percentage was 64.56% 10 years ago and South Carolina Colleges still has a high percentage of white students. 3.00% of enrolled students is Asian and 17.42% is black students.

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

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
	2014-15	459	2,646	32,255	5,134	146	97,081	3,584
2015-16	462	2,770	32,212	5,455	143	98,935	4,006
2016-17	460	2,823	32,158	5,790	164	99,509	4,248
2017-18	480	3,013	31,501	6,197	167	100,427	4,622
2018-19	482	3,088	31,554	6,748	162	99,910	4,830
2019-20	496	3,233	30,790	7,504	151	100,774	5,188
2020-21	458	3,741	29,475	7,895	150	100,169	5,333
2021-22	472	4,035	28,207	8,518	180	100,524	5,427
2022-23	483	4,402	29,931	10,578	185	106,847	5,880
2023-24	436	4,256	29,684	11,669	187	108,026	6,269
2024-25	442	5,394	31,283	13,039	186	111,547	6,881
Average	466	3,582	30,823	8,048	166	102,159	5,115

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

28,482 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 16% of total students. The number of online students has increased 393.28% since 2013.

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

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart