Access programs have long taken root in undergraduate postsecondary education—from the introduction of the Pell Grant and the proliferation of programs like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) within K-12 systems, to the adoption of holistic review in college admissions and the practice of covering tuition for low-income students. Indeed, access is a pillar of institutional identity for many undergraduate-serving colleges and universities that have opened more doors to higher education for more students.  

At the graduate level, however, the access conversation has been less robust. Eduventures recently looked at the emerging practice of performance-based admissions—an initiative that may suggest that access is knocking on the master’s market’s door in ways it hasn’t in the past. What did we learn?

An Emerging Graduate Access Model? 

First, what exactly is performance-based admissions (PBA)? PBA is an admissions model that promises increased access to a master’s program, emphasizing current ability (or performance) above one’s previous academic track record. Eduventures has tracked an uptick in schools implementing performance-based admissions within their master’s program portfolios. We estimate that about 10 schools have introduced the practice thus far. 

How does PBA work? Typically, students enroll in and complete two or three pre-determined courses (no application necessary). Upon completion of these courses, while maintaining a certain GPA threshold, students are automatically admitted to the full degree program if they can verify having previously earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.   

Schools implementing PBA focus on three themes: removing educational barriers, diversifying classrooms, and ensuring student success through performance.  

What else did we learn about how PBA has developed to this point? Here are some key characteristics of the current landscape:  

• Brand-name publics are out in front. Most schools implementing PBA are large public institutions like the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Clemson University, but Northeastern University and Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education also use the practice—the latter being perhaps the longest tenured practitioner in this space.  
• Selective programming. Most schools implementing PBA limit the practice to 1-4 master’s programs, primarily in business and technology-aligned fields. A major exception here is Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, which implements this practice across the portfolio.   
• Tied to online. PBA is tied to online master’s programs and is typically, but not always, the sole admissions pathway for the program. Many of the master’s programs offering PBA are on the Coursera platform. Northeastern has made recent moves developing its own process called the “fast app.” 
• Paired with radical pricing. In many cases, PBA is typically paired with low price points from quality brands. Clemson University’s Master’s in Computer Science, for example, is $20,280, CU Boulder’s Master’s in Data Science is $15,750, Illinois Tech’s Master’s in Information Technology is $15,000, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Master’s in Management is $12,492.  
• Signs of success? Because many PBA programs have only recently launched, performance data is lacking, but some success is evident. For example, CU Boulder reports enrolling more than 1,300 students in its Master’s in Data Science program. Northeastern reported that, when given an option, 99% of applicants chose the performance-based admissions process when it was piloted for the two engineering-aligned programs.  

On this last point, success or scale of programming cannot be solely attributed to PBA. But it may signal an emerging access model for the master’s market as shown in Figure 1.  

Figure 1.

When combined with a strong brand name, these three features convey a powerful message to the market: 

1. Online: They can reach students wherever they are. 
2. Radical Pricing: They address the single most important program feature for prospects via affordable tuition and fees. 
3. Performance-Based Admissions: They eliminate up-front barriers like applications, recommendation letters, transcript retrieval, and more that may dissuade a prospect from applying to a program.  

What the Research Says 

Indeed, prospective graduate students are looking for fewer barriers to entry. Eduventures’ Adult Prospect Research™ indicates that about half of prospective graduate students consistently rate “affordable tuition and fees” as a top three program feature of importance when considering an academic program.  

This looks quite different, however, when you consider a prospective student’s likelihood of enrolling: 42% of committed graduate prospects, those most likely to enroll in a program, ranked “affordable tuition and fees” as a top feature in 2024. This jumps to 54% for hesitant prospects—those expressing strong enrollment interest if time and money were no object.  

When looking beyond affordable tuition and fees, we see more evidence that barrier reduction (e.g., time and money) may help tip the scale, moving prospects from Hesitant to Committed.  

Figure 2 provides insights from our 2024 Adult Prospect Research on program features, aside from affordable tuition and fees, that would increase Hesitant graduate prospect interest in enrolling. 

Figure 2.

Among the top seven responses (16 are offered), at least 20% of prospects selected responses related to program modality and structure that offer increased flexibility, like self-paced courses, fully online coursework, and accelerated completion options. Additional price sensitivity is also evident with 25% of respondents citing “reduced prices around learning materials.” There are also 23% of respondents who selected “receiving credit based on knowledge and skills they already possess”—a feature that saves both time and money.  

The year 2024 also marks the first time that Eduventures included alternative admissions processes (like PBA) as a program feature in our Adult Prospect Research. At this point in time, just 8% of prospects selected it as a feature that could increase their enrollment interest—likely due to the novelty of PBA and prospective student lack of awareness (recall that an estimated 10 schools are actively doing this). But this is perhaps another signal that PBA on its own will not lead to success.  

The Bottom Line 

Eduventures has highlighted many challenges in graduate market enrollment, noting falling enrollment rates, changing prospective student preferences, and critical differences in consumer behaviors. In 2025, as colleges address the impact of the demographic cliff on undergraduate enrollment, they should also consider that in four years, these pressures will impact the graduate market too. Regarding PBA, improving access now could ensure long-term enrollment sustainability. 

At the same time, PBA will not be a cure-all for any widescale enrollment woes. For one, PBA is thus far making top-brand schools more accessible with its linkage to Coursera (which emphasizes partnerships with R1 and R2 schools). These partnerships could increase enrollment pressures even more for other kinds of schools looking to compete.  

Of course, PBA programs do not come without risk to the student. Students pay for pathway course sequences prior to being accepted to the full master’s program. To minimize student risk, schools must ensure a smooth process from pathway courses to degree programs and clearly communicate all requirements. 

Eduventures predicts that the use of PBA will grow over the next few years, either through Coursera partnerships or in-house, as schools seek new audiences and stay competitive in a tightening market. We expect that prospective student preference for this program feature will also budge upward as the practice becomes more widespread.