Once a prospective student enrolls in college, it’s game over. They’ve committed the next four or five years to that institution, and even thinking about marketing your school to those committed students would be a tremendous waste of money, right?
Well, not so fast.
New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) shows that college transfers are on the rise. Meaning the opportunity to attract transfer students to your school is on the rise as well. But you have to take advantage of it now, while it’s still trending this way.
Some key highlights from the NSCRC report include:[1]
- The number of students who transferred into a new institution in fall 2024 grew 4.4 percent compared to fall 2023. Transfers represented 13.1 percent of all continuing and returning undergraduates, up from 11.9 percent in fall 2020.
- Starting in fall 2023, returning transfer students have made up the majority of transfer enrollment due to higher growth rates for students transferring after returning from a stopout.
- Two-to-four-year transfer students account for the majority of transfer enrollment (41.7% in fall 2024). However, this pathway’s share of all transfer students declined 3.5 percentage points from fall 2020 to fall 2024 due to larger declines in two-to-four-year transfers at the start of the pandemic and a recovery that only started in fall 2023.
- Black and Hispanic students saw the largest increases in transfer enrollment (+8.3% and +4.4%), whereas White students were the only race/ethnicity group to see a decline in transfer enrollment in fall 2024 (-1.3%). The fall 2024 increase in Black and Hispanic student transfer enrollment and decline in White student transfer enrollment is also reflected among non-transfer students.
So, why are so many college students “on the move”? Well, according to NSCRC director, Doug Shapiro, as reported in Inside Higher Ed…[2]
“The growth in transfers this fall is a further indication that students are adjusting their postsecondary goals in response to changing education and labor market conditions” to find institutions that “better meet their needs.”
The Inside Higher Ed piece also brought up some interesting facts. Facts that institutions that offer four year online degrees should really pay attention to.
The Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College (CCRC) found that over half of community college students who planned to transfer to a four year school, didn’t.
Meaning there is a huge pool of past (and current) two-year school students who were interested in obtaining a bachelor’s degree but never did.
The CCRC’s John Fink said, “This is a signal for four-year colleges struggling with enrollment that there is a lot of room for growth from the transfer pipelines. Look at how fast transfers are growing. Imagine how much higher that could be if there’s more intentional investment in those pathways?”[3]
Now, we do believe Mr. Fink’s assertion that there is a huge amount of enrollment growth opportunity for four-year-colleges with this demographic of students, and schools should be investing in those “pathways.”
But…
He did not mention the fact that institutions that offer four-year degrees, fully online, should consider targeting these students too. It’s a no-brainer…
But of course, that’s easier said than done. To have a real impact on new transfer student enrollments into your online programs, you need a proven higher education enrollment initiative partner.
You need Conversion Media Group. See, CMG is a national leader in helping online colleges boost enrollment. How?
Well, give us a quick call at 1-800-419- 3201 (or click HERE) and we’ll go over our proven processes with you.
Like we said earlier, marketing your online programs to students who want to get a four year degree is a no-brainer…
And so should be partnering with Conversion Media Group.
[1] Transfer Enrollment and Pathways | National Student Clearinghouse Research Center
[2] Transfer enrollment ticked up 4.4% in the fall, report finds | Higher Ed Dive
[3] Transfer enrollment ticked up 4.4% in the fall, report finds | Higher Ed Dive