January 2010 Lawlor Focus

Trends and Observations for 2010

The Lawlor Group offers this synthesis of the five marketplace conditions we predict will have significant impact on student recruitment and enrollment efforts at independent colleges and universities during the coming year.

1. Frugality—The Great Recession has brought about a shift in consumer behavior and perceptions, ushering in more frugal spending habits and more skepticism about colleges’ value propositions. What’s more, the reshaped economic landscape, characterized by diminished net worth and tightened access to credit, is causing more and more families to struggle with not only their willingness, but also their ability to pay for a college education.

2. Practicality—The current high rate of unemployment, coupled with a substantial average debt load among those graduating with student loans, has focused families’ attention on the cost-benefit calculation of earning a college degree. Many are considering “buying down” to a less expensive option, whether it be a less “prestigious” institution, a college closer to home, a two-year college before transferring to a four-year institution, or online courses with the intent of transferring those credits to brick-and-mortar institutions.

3. Multiplicity—The “traditional” student who enrolls at a residential college upon graduating from high school and attains a bachelor’s degree within four years is not actually the norm. Today’s students represent a wide variety of ages and backgrounds, attend multiple institutions on their way toward a degree, and take longer than four years to earn it. Demographic projections are demanding that colleges and universities prepare for students who are more diverse in terms of age, ethnicity and nationality.

4. Authenticity—With innovations in communication technology, the public, which is heavily engaged in stealth behavior, is placing a high premium on transparency and demanding that colleges and universities provide relevant and authentic information about their educational offerings and their campus atmospheres. As a cynical marketplace seeks unfiltered information, engaging in word-of-mouth marketing and joining the conversational fray of online social networks have become essential undertakings for higher education institutions.

5. Necessity—The recessionary economic climate is highlighting the role of higher education in America’s global competitiveness, as well as its function as an engine of socio-economic upward mobility for Americans. With political pressure coming to bear on institutions’ accessibility and affordability even as financial pressures constrain their operational budgets, innovative thinking and systemic changes are required to arrive at sustainable solutions.

Lawlor Recommends

Several facts and statistics that provide evidence of these trends can be found by downloading a .pdf of The Lawlor Group’s handout “Trends & Observations for 2010: Five Realities of the Higher Education Marketplace and 10 Recommendations for Managing Them,” which was introduced this month at the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute.

The document also explains why private colleges and universities must take the following actions to deal with the realities of today’s marketplace:

• Demonstrate that the investment is worth it.
• Pay attention to retention.
• Demonstrate successful outcomes.
• Highlight experiential learning.
• Remove barriers to access.
• Intensify transfer recruitment efforts.
• Be transparent and empower the influencers.
• Pay attention to the campus visit experience.
• Be distinctive and articulate your mission and values. 
• Be innovative and creative.

In the news

In “Taking the Gamble Out of Student Loans,” the Washington Monthly highlights the web site HumanCapitalScore.com, which allows high school students to predict their future income for 10 years after college graduation, based on which college and major they choose. The article notes that this tool can “help people decide how much money is appropriate to borrow to go to college.”

Did you know?

The Conference Board has found that only 45 percent of workers are satisfied with their jobs, and among those under the age of 25, the level dips to 36 percent.

Source: CollegeRecruiter.com