Higher ed enrollment is 15% below its 2010–2011 peak — and all signs currently point to this decline continuing beyond 2025.
With fewer students opting for traditional higher ed, and more shifting toward an education aligned with job preparedness, institutions are beginning to rethink their enrollment approaches, shifting toward more creative and innovative methods. So, the big question at the center of this dilemma remains: how do institutions prepare for, and ultimately move past, the enrollment cliff?
“The time to think about your strategic enrollment strategies is now…”
In his whitepaper, “Growing Enrollment in the Decade Ahead: New strategies for a sustainable future,” bestselling author and education expert, Jeffrey Selingo, provides four tested strategies for surviving this enrollment cliff. And future-thinking institutions are already applying them with success:
- Build more opportunities for online learning
- Find ways to accommodate nontraditional and adult learners
- Award credit for prior experience
- Align with student’s workforce goals and needs
“The prevailing conversation about higher education right now is one of retrenchment given the demographic cliff. College and university leaders need to think more broadly about elements of the approaches presented here and how they can provide additional products for institutions and pathways for students through their institutions.”– Jeff Selingo