ACE and UCLA Ed&IS Release HERI Report Highlighting Key Trends Among First-Year College Students
The American Council on Education (ACE), in collaboration with the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), releases a new report today, Understanding the Entering Class of 2024: Key Insights from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024. The report highlights the growing diversity of first-year college students and explores their experiences, backgrounds, and other key features.
ACE and the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies (UCLA Ed&IS) in 2023 announced a partnership to strengthen and lead HERI, administered by CRESST, a research and development center within UCLA Ed&IS. By leveraging their collaboration, ACE and UCLA Ed&IS are elevating and expanding HERI’s research and reach through ACE’s extensive capacity and expertise in faculty and presidential-level data collection and research.
Based on survey responses from more than 24,000 students across 55 colleges and universities, the report aims to help higher education leaders, educators, researchers, and policymakers better understand the students starting higher education and respond meaningfully to their needs. Instead of summarizing the entire survey, this report highlights key insights and notable findings that capture the depth and scope of the data.
“As the composition of today’s college students continues to evolve, institutions must have a clear understanding of who their students are and what support they need to succeed,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “This report provides exactly that insight. While the findings highlight the strengths and diversity of this new generation of students, they also underscore persistent gaps that institutions must address to ensure all students can thrive. We are grateful for UCLA’s partnership on this critical work, a critical part of ACE’s commitment to democratizing postsecondary data and insights to drive evidence-informed decision-making in higher education.”
“The UCLA School of Education and Information Studies is proud of nearly six decades of research from the HERI project, a testament to our school’s research initiatives’ enduring strength and practicality,” said Christina A. Christie, Wasserman Dean of Education & Information Studies, UCLA Ed&IS. “As we approach the 60th administration of the CIRP Freshman Survey in 2025, this long-term commitment to understanding the evolving landscape of higher education underscores the critical role of data in shaping policies and practices that support student success. The insights from this report reflect the complexity of today’s first-year students and highlight the importance of sustained, evidence-based research in creating learning environments for students.”
The report found that higher education institutions have become increasingly diverse not only in terms of race and ethnicity but also with respect to various other parts of students’ backgrounds. For example, about 10 percent of surveyed students reported that English was not their primary language; first-generation students made up more than 12 percent of the overall population; and 8 percent of respondents were military students. Other key findings include:
- Shifting College Choice Patterns: College application behaviors varied widely across demographic groups. For example, Asian/Pacific Islander students were more likely to apply to seven or more colleges than their peers but were admitted to their first-choice institution at lower rates.
- Financial Pressures and Equity Gaps: The majority of respondents (56.4%) expressed at least some or major concern about affording college. Financial worries were particularly pronounced among Hispanic/Latino (81.4%) and Black/African American (69.6%) students. Students of color relied on need-based grants and scholarships at higher rates than their White peers.
- Academic Confidence and Preparation: Women outperformed men academically before entering college but reported lower confidence in their mathematical and intellectual abilities.
- Mental Health and Well-Being: The survey highlights growing concerns about student mental health. More than half of women (51.1 percent) reported feeling overwhelmed, more than double the rate of men (24.1 percent). At the same time, students who identified outside of the gender binary faced the most significant struggles with well-being and mental health.
As student demographics and expectations shift, data from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024 provide essential insights for colleges and universities seeking to improve student success, foster inclusion, and address financial and mental health challenges. The findings offer a roadmap for institutional leaders to develop policies and programs that align with today’s students’ needs.
“This report gives institutional leaders a clear view of today’s first-year students—their backgrounds, aspirations, and challenges—so they can better support learner success,” said Hironao Okahana, vice president and executive director of ACE’s Education Futures Lab. “Centering student experiences in higher education policy and practice is essential, and these findings help colleges and universities create environments where all students can thrive.”
“Data is the cornerstone of informed decision-making in higher education. By leveraging comprehensive insights from initiatives like the CIRP Freshman Survey, we can better understand the evolving needs of today’s students and design policies that promote fairness and success of our students and institutions,” said Li Cai, director, The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). “This report underscores the power of data-driven research to transform higher education and ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive.”
ACE is a membership organization that leads higher education with a united vision for the future, galvanizing our members to make change and collaborating across the sector to design solutions for today’s challenges, serve the needs of a diverse student population, and shape effective public policy. As the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, our strength lies in our diverse membership of more than 1,600 colleges and universities, related associations, and other organizations in America and abroad. ACE is the only major higher education association representing all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on X (formerly known as Twitter) @ACEducation and LinkedIn.
About the partnership: The UCLA School of Education and Information Studies (UCLA Ed&IS) and the American Council on Education (ACE) are in partnership to strengthen and lead the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). HERI administers the longest-running, most comprehensive data collection of institutes of higher education, including data on more than 1,900 institutions, over 15 million students, and more than 500,000 faculty. CRESST, a research and development center within UCLA Ed&IS and the administrative home for HERI, partners with ACE to carry out HERI’s portfolio. Through this partnership, ACE and UCLA Ed&IS will elevate and expand HERI’s research and reach through ACE’s extensive capacity and expertise in faculty and presidential-level data collection and research and CRESST’s knowledge and expertise in assessment and methodology. ACE and CRESST are collaborating on data sharing, research design and development, and supporting higher education institutions’ leadership and the students they serve. For more information, see the partnership announcement.
This press release was originally published by ACE, here.
