The academic world changed forever after 2020. Institutions had to quickly find ways to reach remote students while competing with the rise of other education models.
Sought-after private and public universities continue to experience full enrollments each year, while other colleges, on the other side of the spectrum, are watching their enrollment rates drop. This year’s top trends will influence your institution’s ability to adopt new strategies and keep up with other universities’ enrollment counts.
What are the top 2023 college admissions trends?
The top trends in university admissions include an increased need for job preparation, higher learning standards, online class optimization, staff reductions and more direct admissions.
Understanding trends in higher education admissions can help admissions advisors — or anyone making decisions that affect the student enrollment pipeline — better track and achieve their goals. It will also help you recognize where efforts are not reaping the results you anticipated so that you can more quickly and efficiently refine your enrollment strategies.
1. Increased need for job preparation
College degrees are no longer essential to find jobs. Except a few fields (such as medicine), college degrees aren’t even essential to landing high-paying jobs. As a result, increasingly more adult learners are prioritizing faster, more affordable education options; even so, college is still hailed as the most well-rounded option available.
By ensuring students learn vital hard and soft skills for their industry of choice, institutions prepare them for the “real world” by equipping them with practical knowledge and skills. You’ll have to review your current programming and curriculums to identify where your process might be lacking.
2. Higher learning standards
Why wake up early to attend morning class when you can sleep in and watch the recording later in bed? Why pay more to be lectured in-person when you can pay a fraction of the price for vibrant mentorship via a bootcamp?
Universities can no longer afford to provide mediocre curriculums; too many other competitors and alternative training providers are ready to take your place in the food chain.
Assess your staff’s competency, efficiency and reputation. Perform technological upgrades or improvements where necessary; seek feedback from existing and potential students to learn more about optimizing their learning experience.
3. Online class optimization
Online classes are in higher demand than ever, with countless students choosing to receive their entire education virtually. Institutions that fail to incorporate modern software, easy-to-navigate portals, dashboards and adequate support from professors will likely continue to see a drop in admissions.
To stand out from the competition and accommodate a larger, more diverse learning community, universities must refine their online class elements.
4. Further staff reductions
We’ll likely see continued trends toward further education staff reductions. Technology will help improve staff efficiency, reducing the need for tasks like data entry. This could result in fewer positions for individuals fulfilling these tasks.
Further staff reductions are predicted to occur this year as institutions take the necessary steps to eliminate problematic staff and improve the overall learning and individual student experience.
5. More direct admissions
College is still largely an exclusive opportunity in the States, with a rigorous admissions process typically fairly selective.
Initiatives like direct admissions change the narrative of scarcity and exclusivity to one of opportunity and inclusivity. These abundant pathways to admission are expected to rise in the next year as universities try to reach students they might not have been able to reach otherwise.
University enrollment: how to stay ahead of the curve
Embracing ongoing training will separate top-performing admissions departments from those that have adopted a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality. No system is perfect, but that imperfection gives every organization the opportunity to refine further and improve its operations.
Not all training programs are created equal. Many of these educational providers offer generalized (and often ineffective) strategies through courses you must teach yourself. Self-taught programs can be beneficial, but they’re only so helpful when you need personalized, expert mentorship to take your outreach strategies to the next level.
Empower your admissions department today.
EnableU hosts a platform for admissions advisors to receive the training, coaching, tools and support they need to improve their outreach strategies and uplevel their team’s performance.
We’ve combined AI Enablement Mapping, 1:1 Coaching, and KPI dashboards to provide you with a well-rounded curriculum designed to support admissions officers of all experience levels.
Connect with our Solutions team today to speak with one of our advisors and learn more about our enablement services.