Student Success Archive

Why don’t we consider the parent on equal footing as a buyer? How can we do better?

Pandemic-induced enrollment declines have reshaped the composition of freshman classes. Eduventures’ 2022 Admitted Student Research™ sample shows a decline of 11% among first generation students and 13% among those from low-income households, compared to a 67% increase in students from high-income families between 2019 to 2022.

Beyond the loss of social connections and extracurriculars, recent data also estimates academic learning losses. Given these challenges, should we expect them to transition into college life just as students have in the past? Probably not.

Beyond the loss of social connections and extracurriculars, recent data also estimates academic learning losses. Given these challenges, should we expect them to transition into college life just as students have in the past? Probably not.

“Colleges cash in on real estate” was a recent headline in Inside Higher Ed, describing how some institutions have sold property to generate cash flow. Enrollment challenges, inflation, and exhausted stimulus funds are driving sales, and property prices are at record levels coming out of the pandemic.

Graduate enrollment growth appears as a ray of sunshine in the pandemic storm. As undergraduate enrollment slumped by 4.4% in fall 2020, graduate student numbers grew 2.9% year-over-year despite a global health crisis—momentum twice as fast as the year prior. But...