Click here to download the 2009 Fast Facts. (PDF) Data are derived from the most current information available as of January 2009.
Number and Type of Colleges
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,177
Public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988
Independent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Tribal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Enrollment
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 million
Credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 million
Noncredit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 million
Enrolled full time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40%
Enrolled part time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60%
Demographics
Average age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
21 or younger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47%
22–39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40%
40 or older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13%
Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58%
Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42%
Minorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36%
Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13%
Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16%
Asian/Pacific Islander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%
Native American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1%
First generation to attend college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39%
Single parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17%
Non-U.S. citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8%
Community college students constitute the following percentages of undergraduates:
All U.S. undergraduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44%
First-time freshmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40%
Native American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52%
Asian/Pacific Islander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45%
Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43%
Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52%
Employment Status
Full-time students employed full time . . . . . . . . . 27%
Full-time students employed part time . . . . . . . . . 50%
Part-time students employed full time . . . . . . . . . 50%
Part-time students employed part time . . . . . . . . 33%
Percentage of Federal Aid Received by Community Colleges
Pell Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31%
Campus-based aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8%
Average Annual Tuition and Fees
Community colleges (public) . . . . . . . . . $2,402
4-year colleges (public) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,585
Degrees and Certificates Awarded Annually
Associate degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612,915
Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328,268
Bachelor’s degrees—awarded by 31 public and 52 independent colleges