Media Library Testing Blog
11/14/2023
For nearly three decades of my career, I have been involved in the higher education space. Throughout that time, the most significant period of change that I’ve witnessed has happened in just the past few years.
With continued population, demographic, and enrollment changes on the horizon, remaining competitive as an institution will depend on your ability to adapt to another new normal. Below, I touch on four topics that should be top of mind when developing an effective communications strategy.
1. The impending enrollment cliff
From 2007-2009, The Great Recession saw many adults delay or decide against having children due to economic uncertainty. Eighteen years later, fewer births means fewer high school seniors — a once-guaranteed funnel into higher institutions. Children born between 2007 and 2009 are turning 14-16 this year. They are entering the stage of college exploration, testing, and preparation, and they are beginning to show up on higher-education prospective student lists.
As the number of high school students decreases steadily over the next few years, the pool of traditional prospective college freshmen will also decrease. And, in 2025, when those born in 2008 turn 18, the traditional student demographic will begin a population decline with no end in sight, an event often referred to as the “enrollment cliff.”
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the situation. Faced with mandated lockdowns and the uncertainty of the future, droves of students paused their higher education pursuits, embarked on careers without a degree, or pivoted to online-only certification programs.
Forbes reports that higher education enrollment as a whole has fallen by nearly 7.5% since 2019. Even as things return to a post-pandemic “normal,” recent NSC research shows that undergraduate enrollment still declined in the fall of 2022 when compared to the fall of 2021.
Institutions will only continue to face lower enrollment numbers and less demand in the years to come. Is your recruitment and enrollment strategy aggressive and proactive enough to win over students in a smaller pool of candidates?