Enrollment Diversification and why the Academy for Emerging Enrollment Leaders

The December 3, 2024, Fitch Outlook for Higher Education for 2025 cited a “deteriorating” environment for the sector caused by factors related to, “Uneven enrollment dynamics, rising competitive pressures and continuing margin pressures” (Fitch Ratings Incorporated, 2024).  To add fuel to the fire, the December 11, 2024 InsideHigherEd article, by Liam Knox entitled, “A Long Way Down” describes the pending demographic shift in higher education (InsiderHigherEd, 2024).

Given this outlook, what are higher education institutions to do?

Spoiler alert…

This, among other topics, will be covered at the upcoming Academy for Emerging Enrollment Leaders (AEEL) at the University of Miami on January 6-7, 2025.  To learn more and register, go to: AEEL.

From my perspective, much of the approach involves working to enroll different populations of students via different streams that bring different sources of tuition revenue.  Traditionally, the primary source of new enrollment revenue is via the traditional means of first-time fall students.  To begin, the institutional mission and vision via value proposition needs to be leveraged and built out while messaged coherently such that it resonates with prospective students.  Analyzing data as to where students are enrolling from and what are emerging demographic trends helps the enrollment manager assess where more time should be spent cultivating and building out new prospective student markets.  Similarly, labor force or student interest demand may serve as a source by which new programs can be offered that would grow enrollment revenue.  Finding programs where demand exists, where current faculty capacity can be leveraged, could result in enrollment growth without additional faculty hiring. 

In addition, considering different enrollment terms for new students serves as an opportunity.  A number of institutions are now working to enroll new students during the spring semester when they have additional residence hall capacity.  At many institutions, summer is generally a time where enrollment on campus is small.  This may be the result of faculty teaching contracts or construction on campus.  However, current students may be taking courses at other institutions near their home in the summer.  An assessment of what courses current students transfer in could result in additional course offerings in the summer.  Also, developing on-campus summer academic or enrichment programs for high school students or adult learners serves as an alternate source of enrollment revenue.  Tied to this, given the COVID-19 pandemic when courses were offered online or via hybrid modality, offering summer online courses or, in general, offering more online or hybrid courses serves as an increased enrollment opportunity; especially if classroom capacity is a factor.  If considering offering courses via online modality, considerations need to be made about whether to build the online technology platform for course offerings within the institution or whether partnering with a third-party vendor, who offers an online technology platform, is more cost effective. 

Also, transfer student enrollment serves as an opportunity to diversify enrollment. As only about 1/3 of community college students transfer to a four-year institution, enrolling an increased number of community college students serves as an opportunity.  Articulation agreements with community colleges for ease of course transferability is an opportunity as the topic of transfer equivalency and transfer credit flexibility is often a barrier for transfer student enrollment.  A number of institutions have looked to international student enrollment as an opportunity to diversify enrollment.  While certainly a consideration, given the increased challenges with international student visas, this avenue does not serve as the productive enrollment opportunity it was in the past.  Another source of enrollment diversification pertains to the part-time or full-time adult learner population.  Offering badging, certificate, or credentialling courses, that can be stacked, leading to some type of vocational outcome that already may be a part of the curriculum serves as a cost-effective alternate enrollment opportunity. 

Outside of the undergraduate level, an additional opportunity for enrollment growth lies on the graduate side.  Similar to offering new programs at the undergraduate level, assessing labor market demand or the current graduate school market in the region could result in enrollment growth via new graduate level programs.  Again, current faculty capacity and expertise can be leveraged in the development of graduate programs where demand exists that would result in additional enrollment revenue.  Considering modality of graduate courses offered is an additional consideration given the greater flexibility associated with online or hybrid modality courses. 

The last opportunity in building out institutional sustainability via new enrollment revenue streams is what I consider the golden ticket – growing student persistence to graduation.  As most institutional mission or vision statements are grounded in some form of student success or student outcomes language – so working to improve student persistence is incredibly mission driven.  More current students remaining enrolled at the institution translates to additional tuition revenue from a sustainability perspective. 

In short, there is no one magic enrollment vehicle to offset Fitch’s assessment or the pending demographic shift.  Being creative and entrepreneurial in the approach, while perhaps counter to what has been done in the past, is essential in continuing enrollment sustainability.

Again, this topic, amongst others, will be covered at the upcoming Academy for Emerging Enrollment Leaders (AEEL) at the University of Miami on January 6-7, 2025.  To learn more and register, go to: AEEL.