Recruiting Intelligence

If only for a cohesive, supportive team.

Almost 1,000 Edu trustees and presidents attended the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) annual conference in San Diego a few weeks ago. 80% were university trustees – volunteers who help keep the US higher educational system running. That’s an impressive thought right there.

As you can imagine, conference sessions addressed big ideas. Yet, consistent themes came to life in almost every session I attended.

• Team approach is in short supply between trustees and university administrations.
• Pressure to change the higher ed business model is growing, yet few institutions have the wherewithal to address it as quickly as needed.
• Most have been avoiding the difficult conversations facing all of us. This is making things worse, even dire.

A bit of a downer. But stick with me. The ideas matter.

The higher ed business model has long needed to change. According to AGB, 25-35% of US institutions are experiencing a negative cash flow. Let that one sink in.

Quick math: the US has ~4,000 higher education institutions. 25% of 4,000 = 1,000. Mmmm hmmm.

Negative cash flow. 1,000+ institutions.

So that, along with the fear-inducing age demographics we are all grappling with (fewer traditional US students ahead), there is reason to be concerned and reason for the conference presenters to continue to ring the warning bell that has been sounding for nearly a decade. This has all been predictable and predicted.

Which brings us back to point #3 above: human beings don’t really like difficult conversations.

Which leads us to the importance of a cohesive team. The challenges we all must face right now, this year, and for the foreseeable future, require an aligned team. Those without that alignment are going to falter, a lot.

On the brighter side, it’s not as if human beings have never faced challenges before. The history of the world is full of stories of challenges faced and overcome. We have a responsibility to face the challenges before us now as those who came before us faced theirs – giving us the opportunities we have ahead.

Frederick Douglass: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

Below you’ll find inspiring exploration of where we all go from here to make our institutions rise despite the challenging times. I’ve grabbed some of the best insights from the sessions that prompt us to explore, evaluate, plan…and then, since these are trustees, they hand it off to others to deliver. (That means you ; -) And don’t worry. We’re right by your side. We are up for it and eager to dive in.

To get the inside scoop on how your institution will face the future, read on…

Let’s talk about how your institution seals the deal with non-traditional students. It is all about the planning and execution – both the marketing, and the heavy lifting that happens before the marketing. You are going to need the goods in place before the campaigns roll so that you are able to deliver on the marketing promises made.

Briefly Reviewing the Opportunity

This is our third post in our three-part series about students who have Some College, No Degree (SCND) non-traditional students. In last week’s blog post, we discussed the segment within these 36 million Americans who are most likely to return to school—Potential Completers.

Now, just because they have a high likelihood of re-enrolling, doesn’t mean they actually do it. But, since the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s original report in 2014, about 940,000 SCND students have since re-enrolled and have completed their degrees. That is roughly the same number of international students currently studying in the US – another valuable student segment we love to talk about.

There’s the projection that non-traditional students will double the enrollment growth of traditional students by 2022. This is why, a number of years back, the Intead team applied our targeted marketing research and execution skills to this growing segment. Our aim: position your institution to take advantage of the trends that matter. You've grabbed our non-traditional student marketing ebook from us by now, right? 

A Challenging Reality

We all know academic industries are slow to change and move. Convening the right team and presenting them with the data that supports change is how things get done. The team at Intead is often sought to facilitate that transition and help set a cogent and actionable plan for student enrollment growth...based on data.

There are many factors to consider as you evaluate how to maintain or expand your enrollment numbers in the face of significant market shifts. It is all about how you plan and execute.

Over the next two weeks, the Intead team, Patricia, Alicia, Stephanie and Ben, are attending a number of our industry’s major conferences: TABS, ICEF and AIRC. We will be sharing data on international and domestic student mobility at the high school and university levels and the digital marketing tools that can truly change your institution’s position in the competitive market – from peer-to-peer platforms, to artificial intelligence, and the ever shifting pay-per-click campaigns that engage your target audiences.

Developing an Actionable Plan

So, about those planning and execution tips to help you enroll non-traditional students AND a preview of all the market research we are about to drop.

Want to get a jump on it? Reach out: info@intead.com and Read On…

The future is digital. We’ve heard that in so many ways that we don’t really hear it any more.

Well, here’s a reminder: the future is digital.

We now hold so much computing power in the palm of our hand. Here’s an indicator: if you used a time machine and took one of today’s mobile devices back to 2010, just 10 years ago when the first iPad came out, and showed the development team what you could do with it, what and how you can connect with others around the world, most would be wowed.

Yet, a few would respond with, “That’s it?”

Leaders saw all of this coming and took the steps to usher it into reality.

Last week we discussed the increasing number of university and college closings. These institutions had a very hard time being even slightly nimble. Their leadership teams somehow misread economic trends and the difficulties we are all grappling with became insurmountable.

If you're seeing the warning signs we mentioned last week, our global research is a great resource to tap into and we're always here to help. This week we launched a new, highly affordable Intead Plus subscription option. Check out what the new Intead Plus Bookshelf Membership has to offer and get back to us. 

What we all need are more visionaries to help us navigate to the future. We need the folks who are thinking far ahead, envisioning future opportunities and then developing the executable plan to get us there.

Are you up for it?

Read on for some tips on maintaining a future focus for long-term growth.

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