NORFOLK, Neb. -- Colleges and universities in the U.S. have seen another enrollment decline in 2022.

According to a May 2022 National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report, postsecondary enrollment fell 4.1% or 15.2 million since last year.

Community colleges alone have suffered a loss of more than 350,000 students, but Northeast Community College has not been following the decline trend.

Just within the last fall semester, Northeast has its highest enrollment in the last decade of 5,219 students, with administration attributing some success to the school's rise in early college students.

Vice President of Student Services Amanda Nipp, said, "Some of the higher enrollments that we're seeing this fall is coming from our early college students. So, our high school students taking dual credit classes from us. That number, we're up about 9%."

Nipp also commented that when asked, students mention affordable rates as a key to their choice.

Other affordable schools like Wayne State College who have had frozen tuition costs for the past two years, have seen steady increased enrollment as well.

The University of Nebraska has frozen its 2022 tuition as well to draw in more students with affordability, as they have suffered a decrease in enrollment of over 2% according to a Nebraska CCPE report.

"Our Board of Governors focuses on accessibility as they're making decision about tuition and fees," said Nipp. "So, it's a conversation that we have every year when we're looking at tuition and fee rates, and trying to make sure that we are doing the right thing for the students in the region."

Nipp also credits the college's most popular programs for drawing student enrollment, including technical engineering, agriculture, and nursing as they have continued to reach capacity.

She said it is too early to see where enrollment numbers are for next fall at the moment, but she expects an upward trend.