The numbers are nothing short of startling. Over the past decade, over 500 private, nonprofit colleges have shuttered their doors. This year alone, it’s been estimated that roughly one college either shuts down or merges with another, every week…
And hundreds more are flashing financial warning signs.[1][2][3]
Fact: Over the past 13 years, undergrad enrollments fell from 18.1 million students, to 15.8 million…[4]
And with nearly one in four freshmen dropping out of college within their first 12 months, simply retaining students fully through graduation has become a task all its own.[5]
Brass tacks, too many traditional brick and mortar schools are struggling to both matriculate new students and to retain them long enough to earn a diploma.
But why?
Well, although the numbers are indeed alarming, Conversion Media Group, a national leader in higher education enrollment initiatives, will share the real reason why we’ve been experiencing such a dramatic drop in overall enrollments…
And we’ll also show you a way your institution can buck the trend and potentially meet or even exceed its enrollment goals.
Now, we’ve been told that Americans are “losing faith” in higher ed, and because of the costs associated with a traditional four year degree, the perceived return on investment has “scared” off many prospective students from even considering enrolling.
Of course, the cost of earning a traditional four-year degree has risen over 140% over the past 20 years, so the ROI argument does have merit.
However, the “loss of faith”, and a declining confidence in the institution of higher education itself, simply does not.
In fact, according to a Gallup poll, higher education is still among the most trusted institutions in America. Only the police, the military and small business polled as more trusting.[6]
So…
Why exactly have we seen such drastic declines in enrollments…
And why exactly are so many schools closing down?
It can’t all come down to the drastic rise in tuition, right?
Well, The Chronicle of Higher Education may have put it most succinctly, saying, “Fewer people are going to college, but that is because there are fewer people to go to college.
“In 2008, there were 4.4 million American 17-year-olds, the peak of the millennial demographic wave. It was the largest class of high-school seniors in the nation’s history, and there’s a good chance there will never be as many prospective college students again.”
See, while hundreds of articles have been written, pointing the enrollment decline finger at the rising costs of college, and a loss of trust in the institution itself…
The real reason we’re seeing enrollment declines is, well, simple. There are fewer prospective students who can enroll.
However, this doesn’t mean your school can’t buck the demographic trend. This doesn’t mean your school can’t meet or exceed its enrollment goals.
In fact, if you offer an education fully online, you could already have a strong advantage over brick-and-mortar only schools when it comes to matriculating new students.
Online college: Where perception meets reality.
You see, many people already believe online college is more affordable than traditional college. And, as you know, in many cases they’re right. So, if you’re offering degree programs fully online, you could already have that strong advantage.
But how can you potentially meet or even exceed your online degree program enrollment goals?
There’s another simple answer to this seemingly difficult question.
Partner with Conversion Media Group. Our singular focus is helping schools enroll new students for online programs. It’s what we’re experts at.
How do we do it?
Well, simply give us a call at 1-800-419-3201 and we’ll explain exactly how we do it…
And we’ll show you how many highly qualified new student leads we can deliver directly into your enrollment department.
[1] A New Problem With Four-Year Degrees: The Surge in College Closures – WSJ
[2] Colleges are now closing at a pace of one a week. What happens to the students? – The Hechinger Report
[3] Analysis finds hundreds of colleges show serious financial warning signs (hechingerreport.org)
[4] US College Enrollment Decline – 2024 Facts & Figures – College Transitions
[5] College Dropout Rate [2023]: by Year + Demographics (educationdata.org)
[6] Americans’ Confidence in Higher Education Down Sharply (gallup.com)