Fall enrollment numbers for the 2023-2024 academic year were brutal. Absolutely brutal. According to its October report, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said first year student enrollments plummeted by 5% over the previous year…
The largest annual drop in new freshmen enrollees since the pandemic.
As you know, many colleges and universities rely on NSCRC data for budgeting, planning, staffing, etc. So, when figures like this drop, so do jaws across enrollment departments.
However, it turns out the NSCRC data was wrong. And wrong in a big way.
On January 13, NSCRC Director, Doug Shapiro issued a statement about its October report saying:
“The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has identified a methodological error affecting its calculation of freshman enrollment in the preliminary enrollment report released in October 2024….
“Our subsequent research finds freshman enrollment increased this fall…
“The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center acknowledges the importance and significance of its role in providing accurate and reliable research to the higher education community.
“We deeply regret this error and are conducting a thorough review to understand the root cause and implement measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.”[1]
The apology aside, and no matter what the new data will show (expected to be released Jan 23), the NSCRS report was off by at least 5 points, which is statistically significant, and likely caused some serious stress among administrators.
But while new calculations are likely to reveal “good” news for higher education, there remains serious challenges, challenges outside of the demographic cliff.
Financial aid expert, Mark Kantrowitz told CNBC of the upcoming/revised NSCRC data, “We are not out of the woods yet… The new FAFSA should have yielded a significant increase in the number of applications by low-income and first-generation college students by making the form easier to file. It has not yet fulfilled this promise.”[2]
So, even if the new data shows first year college enrollments for that academic year grew by 2, 3, 4% or more, the writing is on the wall.
Traditional higher ed having a rough go of it, and “hoping” more FAFSA applications will be the savior is a recipe for enrollment disaster.
This is why institutions of higher education, especially online colleges, trade schools and career colleges should be heavily marketing their programs…
And marketing them directly to prospective students who are actually interested in enrolling.
Now, directly marketing your school to these prospects is precisely why your institution should partner with Conversion Media Group.
You see, not only are we “on top” of everything higher ed, but we’re among the nation’s leaders in new student enrollment initiatives.
Regardless of NSCRC data, regardless of the demographic cliff and regardless of FAFSA applications, we have the ability to increase enrollments in your school and its programs.
It’s all we do.
How do we do it?
How many new students can Conversion Media Group help get enrolled in your programs?
Well, give us a quick call at +1 800 419 3201 and we’ll go over our proven enrollment initiative methods, step by step, and we’ll discuss how we can help you achieve (or potentially exceed) your enrollment goals.
Or, if you’d like to schedule a call, instead of talking right now, click HERE and we’ll get one on the books.
[1] National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Finds a Methodological Error Affecting Preliminary Fall 2024 Higher Education Enrollment Reports | National Student Clearinghouse News
[2] Freshmen college enrollment did not fall: research group cites error