More than 27.8 million people attended colleges and universities in the United States in 2013-14, according to preliminary federal statistics.
Those students were enrolled in 7,151 higher-education institutions—1,964 public, 1,827 private nonprofit, and 3,360 private for-profit. Four-year institutions accounted for 3,023 of the total; there were 2,132 two-year institutions, and 2,055 schools had programs of less than two years.
The numbers are contained in a newly released report on higher-education data from the U.S. Department of Education with the catchy title “Postsecondary Institutions and Cost of Attendance in 2014-15; Degrees and Other Awards Conferred, 2013-14; and 12-Month Enrollment, 2013-14.”
The report also found that average tuition and required fees for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates at public and nonprofit four-year institutions increased from 2012-13 to 2014-15 by 2.8 percent (adjusted for inflation) for in-state students [$7,716 to $7,934]. For out-of-state students, costs also increased about 2.8 percent [$17,416 to $17,905].
Private, nonprofit four-year schools reported increased costs in tuition and fees from 2012-13 to 2013-14 of 3 percent [$24,770 to $25,520]. Private, for-profit schools reported a 2.4 percent drop in costs [$16,100 to $15,713].
Colleges and universities reported that in 2013-14, they awarded more than 1.8 million bachelor’s degrees, more than 750,000 master’s degrees, more than 177,000 doctorates, and more than 287,000 associate’s degrees.
