3 higher education recruitment trends to boost enrollment

From demographic shifts to rapid digital acceleration driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, reimagining the higher education recruiting model has never been more valuable for colleges and universities. The silver lining to pandemic-related disruptions is that the creative and agile solutions they spurred form a strong foundation for innovation. Emerging higher education recruitment trends provide a roadmap to success in an uncertain future, while also addressing problems that have plagued admissions long before 2020.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, postsecondary enrollment has dropped 2.6% since fall 2020, representing a total 5.8% drop since fall 2019. Institutions of all types and sizes have been drastically impacted by the pandemic, but community colleges have been hit hardest, facing a 15% decline in full- and part-time students.

Understanding the “great enrollment crash”

While the pandemic created major new hurdles in higher education, it also revealed existing signs of an inevitable “great enrollment crash.” In a market flooded with competition from a host of new educational models, institutions must not only convince prospects to choose their school, but to pursue a postsecondary degree in the first place.

These circumstances—along with the economic recession and a projected drastic decline in the U.S. birth rate—would have impacted enrollment regardless, but along with the pandemic, their effect on institutions varies widely. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that while application volume rose 10% in 2021, the increase is more indicative of a steady quantity of applicants applying to a wider range of schools, namely selective private colleges and large universities that have dropped standardized testing requirements.

In parallel, 2020 reports from the Common App “sounded the alarm in response to troublingly low application activity among first-generation and fee waiver–receiving applicants.” Those numbers have improved somewhat in 2021, but still point to significant opportunities for recruiters to close those gaps.

Competition for new students will be fierce in the years ahead. Institutions, whether public or private, large or small, can future-proof their recruitment strategy by exploring forward-thinking trends transforming the industry.

Trend 1: Virtual recruiting

In 2020, it felt like there would never be a satisfying replacement for in-person recruitment experiences on college campuses, but both students and staff found a way. DIY tours sprang up on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, while admissions and enrollment teams connected with prospects via email, chat, text, virtual meetings, and even old-fashioned phone calls.

While most campuses are now open for in-person learning again, these digital tools are here to stay, with 75% of institutions saying the pandemic has changed the way they use technology to support recruitment and enrollment. Face-to-face engagement may be the ideal, but remote solutions will continue to serve recruiters, particularly in reaching international and low-income students who may not have the opportunity to visit campuses.

The infrastructure behind electronic communication is also rapidly evolving, with more than half of institutions reporting that cloud services will enable their enrollment and admissions management in the years to come. With the cloud’s capacity to strategically process high volumes of data, recruiting staff can capture every touch—from emails and texts to chatbot interactions and internet forms—to better lead prospective students on a personalized journey.

Next moves

1.     Follow the lead of your student employees who conduct campus tours and utilize social media. They know which platforms and stories will be authentic, entertaining, and compelling, and their testimonials are what prospective students want to hear.

2.     Train staff on CRM and virtual meeting tools so they can easily meet and stay in touch with candidates.

3.     Even with campuses open for in-person learning, continue virtual tours to provide more inclusive access to prospective students who might not be able to visit due to distance, finances, or a lack of transportation.

Digital transformation in action

Today, having a social media presence is a given for higher education institutions. How those channels are leveraged is what sets colleges and universities apart. Prospects are more likely to engage with communication personalized to their needs, and the same holds true on social media. For McGill University, this means running more than 40 accounts dedicated to different aspects of student life, with additional community-run pages on which off-campus students can connect.

Broader social media strategies not only serve a greater range of student needs, but also speak directly to groups underserved by traditional recruitment methods. McGill’s annual First-Generation Week is a prime example, providing panels and networking activities that anyone can attend via Zoom. The opportunity to hear directly from currently enrolled, first-generation students gives prospects access to critical decision-making information, such as what kind of financial aid is available and how to apply for it, while providing a glimpse into the kind of community resources they might engage with on campus.

Trend 2: Digitized and automated student services

The flexibility, convenience, and cost savings of virtual services has made digitization an essential step for the future. Even pre-pandemic, services requiring paper forms, in-person visits, or long wait times were quickly being modernized to meet the expectations of students in an on-demand world.

Digitizing enrollment services helps create a seamless experience for students as they apply for college and financial aid, submit their deposit, register for classes, pay tuition, and check on requirements as their college career progresses. Modernization also eases work for staff and faculty, trading paperwork and outdated technology for more time with students, enabling the high-touch communications that build successful connections between students and institutions.

Next moves

1.     Replace the “pivot” with planning. Assess current tools and identify best practices for digitizing services. Are the digital tools purchased in the rush to go remote the best options? What functional silos still exist and how can technology eliminate them? Which manual recruitment activities can be improved?

2.     Support automation that lets staff and faculty focus on mission-critical work. Chatbots can answer simple questions to free staff for more complex requests. Digitizing basic functions like filling out paperwork, chasing down signatures, and entering data allows people more time to innovate and handle higher-level tasks.

3.     Personalize communications with data. Whenever you can capture data about prospective students—through outlets such as the FAFSA, scholarship applications, on-site forms, or emails with recruitment staff—you build a better picture that can help your institution personalize outreach and chart a path to future success.

Digital transformation in action

In the past, Garden City Community College (GCCC) had to process applications manually, a cumbersome task that occupied 60-70% of the admission team’s time. Automation has transformed the way GCCC’s staff engages with prospects, freeing up time for personalized communication and streamlining the admissions process.

While efficiency gains provided immediate, tangible benefits, optimization has also demystified admissions for students. With user-friendly dashboards, prospects know exactly where they stand in the process and what steps they still need to take. Additionally, automated follow-up emails help students keep up with deadlines and—when integrated with other student-focused services—maintain continuity and momentum from application to enrollment.

Trend 3: Data and integration

After 2020, recruitment and admissions officers can no longer rely on historical data. Moving forward, data needs to be drawn together from previously siloed functions, communications, web forms, financial aid, and more.

By broadening your data pool and access to it, you can look beyond the traditional lead sources that have been disrupted (such as testing services), drive predictive analysis to inform planning, and uncover new targets for recruitment, such as different geographic areas or transfer students. Similar to how institutions with integrated systems were better equipped to adapt to remote learning, integrated analytics programs will help admissions teams solve enrollment problems, both now and in the future.

Far beyond enrollment, shared data enhances the entire student lifecycle. When information can flow smoothly between departments, institutions are better equipped to meet constituent needs efficiently and effectively. Digitized services help accelerate this process, but it also requires a shift in culture. Fostering responsible data ownership and communication campus-wide will enable collaboration and help ensure students are supported from recruitment to graduation and beyond.

Next moves

1.     Integrate data across campus. One of the most important ways to improve data use is to look for solutions that break down digital silos, so that each prospective or current student has a complete, non-compartmentalized data set.

2.     Democratize access to data. Easy-to-use dashboards help staff find what they need quickly as well as discover information they may not have found otherwise. Flexibility in building reports, creating dashboards, and drilling deeper is crucial as technology expertise and needs range across roles and offices.

3.     Support creative solutions with data. Better data access can spark fresh approaches to old problems and support new innovations. Pilot programs, such as chatbot deployment or social media campaigns, can be easily assessed and tweaked as data develops. 

Digital transformation in action

In an evolving market, data has become higher education’s most valuable tool for keeping up. In an interview with EdTech Magazine, Bucknell University shared how advanced analytics modernized and scaled their recruitment strategy, taking a proactive approach to projected demographic declines.

“Advanced analytics has been critical in changing enrollment management and helping us better understand our existing populations and think about new populations,” says Vice President for Enrollment Management Lisa Keegan.

Using a predictive data strategy, Keegan’s team assessed their current outreach to be too heavily concentrated in the surrounding region. Due to limited resources, however, they had to be strategic about expanding their scope. Through analytics, Bucknell can identify best-fit prospects in other regions, and then strategically use their resources to maximize their chance of enrollment.

Digital innovation creates new recruitment opportunities

Enrollment success in a post-pandemic world will require recruiting professionals to think globally, locally, and digitally. The wants and needs of tomorrow’s students will continue to shift, so the ability to recruit on a variety of platforms, digitize services, and capture new data will be critical for making ideal matches between students and institutions.

Recruitment professionals have the unique opportunity to establish an institution’s relationship with students and their families. By harnessing data, they can create a foundation for success from the start.

Learn more about what digital transformation can do for your recruitment and enrollment efforts.