There is no single issue of more concern to higher-education institutions in 2022 than enrollment.
Schools throughout the U.S. have been seeing declines in enrollment over the past few years. A March 2022 article in The Washington Post reported that American colleges have lost five percent of their student headcount since 2019.
While this news may be bleak, there are opportunities for colleges and universities to meet their enrollment goals.
Continue reading to learn more about market research and other ideas to combat declining college student enrollment.
Background
While the impact of COVID-19 was to blame for some of the loss, the trend of falling enrollments began before the pandemic.
A Fall 2021 report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that U.S. institutions across all sectors of higher education have been experiencing consistent year-over-year enrollment drops as far back as Fall 2017.
The enrollment challenge is notably more severe among certain population segments.
Schools have had difficulty attracting students from lower-income backgrounds. And males, as a group, are increasingly taking a pass on college. In September 2021, The Atlantic reported, “American colleges and universities now enroll roughly six women for every four men.”
💡 The Key Takeaway: COVID-19 isn’t the only cause for a drop in college enrollment. Research shows that consistent drops in enrollment can be traced back to Fall 2017.
Causes of the Decline
There are a number of factors contributing to the trend.
In addition to the immediate disruptions of the pandemic, there is the accompanying labor shortage, which has made skipping college and going straight into the job market more lucrative for many young people – at least in the short term.
Nationwide age demographics are also working against college enrollment, with more drops in the traditional college-student age groups being projected starting in 2025.
The most significant factor is the rising cost of higher education.
A 2021 report from CNBC is just one of many documenting the trend of young people opting out of college due to cost.
The cost issue goes beyond the simple ability to pay but has also led to an increasing number of young people and their families questioning the value and ultimate ROI of a college education.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Fewer options for jobs without college degrees and rising costs are among the top reasons for low enrollment rates, aside from the impact of the pandemic.
Communicating Higher Education’s Value Proposition
After decades of the value of higher education going largely unquestioned by the public, American colleges and universities are now at a point where they need to aggressively communicate their value proposition.
The good news is that higher ed does have a strong story to tell.
Despite the doubts and perceptions of some, there is a good deal of research to suggest that, for most graduates, a college degree does pay off in terms of better career options, higher earnings, and a variety of other outcomes.
The key is getting the message out and making it persuasive enough to break through the skepticism. Arriving at that message presents a challenge, but fortunately, there are a few ways market research can help in the process.
💡 The Key Takeaway: For institutions wondering how to increase college enrollment, spreading the word about statistically-backed benefits is key.
Getting Insights From Non-Students
Colleges and universities have traditionally had more advantages in researching their own customers than is the case with most industries.
Higher education institutions employ small armies of people with research skills and they have ready access to current students and recent graduates. Finding out the opinions and preferences of those groups is easy. But, answers to the problem of enrollment lie in the people who never attended.
Additionally, those who dropped out may have come away with negative feelings about their school, or even higher education as a whole.
An independent third-party research provider can bring both the access and the objectivity needed to get meaningful insights from that audience about how and what to communicate with them.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Teaming up with a higher education market research company can help schools learn how to get enrollment rates back up. Often, these teams will provide unique insight to craft actionable strategies.
Recommended Reading: How to Conduct a Non-Enrollment Survey
Market Research to Boost a Higher-Education Communication Strategy
There are many points in the communication-strategy process where there is an important role for market research. What follows are just three steps where research can help ensure that the process is on the right track.
Below, we’ll cover the following ideas:
- Implementing qualitative research
- Using surveys to obtain valuable insight
- Conducting concept research
All of these methods can be instrumental in a school’s enrollment strategies.
Step 1: Start with qualitative research
Qualitative research is a great way to understand the nuances and depth of people’s attitudes. For instance, it allows you to explore perceptions and feelings about the value of college among those who leave school or never enroll.
It’s a good starting point when formulating any communication strategy.
This would simply involve discussions with non-students to uncover their perceptions, their objections, and the emotions behind their decisions. The ultimate goal would be to develop some broad themes to inform the strategy.
Some basic preliminary message appeals could be tested at this point.
This is a case where a series of one-on-one in-depth interviews (IDIs) might be a better choice than focus groups. The group dynamics of a focus group could work against getting at the real picture of what many would consider a sensitive or emotionally-charged topic.
Additionally, social anxiety may be a reason some in this group have apprehensions about college, so the idea of talking to one interviewer may be less frightening than gathering for a group discussion - even one conducted online.
Step 2: Conduct survey research to quantify these attitudes
Qualitative research is a good starting point, but it won’t provide statistically-reliable data collected from a suitable sample size that helps segment the market. For that, a survey would be the best approach.
A survey of non-students provides the opportunity to test and quantify some of the insights from the qualitative stage.
For example, the IDIs might have revealed that some young people don’t enroll because their parents are skeptical about the value of college.
- But what percentage of non-students does that apply to?
- To what degree does that one factor play apart, compared to others?
- Are there identifiable sub-segments that are more likely to fall in that category than others?
A college enrollment survey could provide insights on all of those questions.
One of the main benefits of a survey is that it can help to segment the market.
Segmentation is the process of dividing a market into meaningful subgroups of people who share similar traits and are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing activity.
Additionally, segmentation is vital in communication strategy because messages will resonate differently among groups with different concerns or barriers to enrollment. One segment might respond to a message focused on ROI.
Another segment might be receptive to an appeal reassuring them about the social aspects of college.
Adult learners represent an entirely different segment with their own set of priorities. Survey data can help define and quantify all of those groups of potential students, as well as others.
Recommended Reading: Adult Learners Recruited to Participate in a Mobile Ethnography Study
Step 3: Test your message
Once the message has been refined and is ready to be put into action with a promotional campaign, it’s important to test the concept before launching.
Advertising is expensive, so it’s a good idea to do a check on the idea that has been developed either by an internal marketing team or an ad agency.
Among the aspects of an ad that can be effectively tested with research are copy, visuals, layout, media selection, and audience comprehension.
Concept research can be viewed as a check to make sure that all of the elements are as effective as they can be, that they work well together and that the intended audience is getting the intended message without any misunderstandings or unintended associations.
💡 The Key Takeaway: To learn how to increase college enrollment, schools need to spend time on a few core market research concepts. These include qualitative research, surveying, and concept testing.
Contact Our Higher Education Market Research Firm
There are many useful strategies for increasing student enrollment in higher education. Partnering with a third-party team will help narrow down which route to take.
Drive Research is a market research company based in New York. Our team of experts will work with your organization to create a thought-out plan designed to increase enrollment rates.
Want to learn more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the ways below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Vance Marriner
As a Senior Research Analyst & Training Consultant, Vance is involved in every stage of research projects at Drive Research and works with our staff to facilitate shared learning and best practices to better serve our clients.
Learn more about Vance, here.
