Understanding Today’s Graduate and Adult Learner Market
Before your team gets started with marketing to potential graduate and adult learners, it’s important to understand what’s happening in the market, and how graduate students’ commitment, fields of study, and modality preferences have made noteworthy shifts.
The Eduventures Adult Prospect Research™, highlighted at a high-level throughout this chapter, was collected in July 2019, October 2021, October 2022, and October 2023 from a national sample of adult prospects from different income levels, racial and ethnic groups, employment statuses, regions, and educational levels.
Market Changes
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, graduate enrollment declined in the fall of 2022 (-0.9%), but had a slight rebound in the fall of 2023 (+0.6%). Overall, Master’s enrollment is down 1% from its peak in the fall of 2021.
After analyzing NCES, IPEDS, and CPS data, Eduventures is predicting that the Master’s market will settle after a decade of growth.
Commitment
When assessed over time, Eduventures researchers found that degree interest has declined while non-degree credentials have increased. Despite this, those who have indicated their commitment (e.g., definitely/probably will enroll) to a program want a master’s degree.
Fields of Study
Health, business, education, and technology are the top fields of study for graduate students; business and education had enrollment declines between 2017 and 2022. Master’s prospects are heavily focused on business while non-degree prospects prefer computer science programs.
Modality Preferences
Graduate prospects prefer a hybrid modality, but the post-pandemic shift to fully online was at the expense of hybrid courses. Below indicates the top three reasons adult prospects prefer a hybrid learning model. Across this same audience, asynchronous with optional synchronous sessions were mostly preferred.
In the coming chapters, we’ll discuss how to personalize your marketing with the Eduventures Adult Learner Mindsets and highlight which digital marketing tactics will help your brand stand out.
