How Marketing Can Help Ahead of the Enrollment Cliff
Carrie Phillips
February 8, 2023
Four strategies to mitigate anticipated enrollment declines.
Two years. That’s how long colleges have to prepare for the enrollment cliff predicted by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. Beginning in 2025, they anticipate that there will be approximately 400,000 fewer traditional-age students graduating from high school and enrolling in universities. With many universities dependent on tuition revenue, this cliff represents a significant disruption for the industry.
As part of my dissertation to understand how institutions are preparing, I visited with chief marketing officers at 15 universities across the Southeast United States to learn more about how they’re approaching this reality, the challenges they see coming and how marketing can play a role in combating this unprecedented challenge.
