Ithaca College: Navigating Enrollment Trends Through Data and Strategic Initiatives
Ithaca College, like many higher education institutions, is currently navigating a complex landscape of enrollment trends amid a broader national context of shifting demographics and evolving student preferences. While facing challenges, the college is actively implementing data-driven strategies and innovative approaches to attract and retain students.
National Enrollment Trends: The Enrollment Cliff
The higher education sector is experiencing what is often referred to as an "enrollment cliff." This refers to a projected decline in the number of college-bound students, primarily driven by demographic shifts. A report by the Chronicle of Higher Education indicates a prevailing consensus that the nation would reach a peak of approximately 3.5 million high school graduates around 2025, after which a decline is expected. This shrinking pool of prospective students intensifies competition among colleges and universities.
Graduate Enrollment: A Counter-Cyclical Trend?
Interestingly, Ithaca College's graduate enrollment presents a contrasting picture compared to national trends. While graduate enrollment nationally experienced a 4.7% decline in 2022, Ithaca College saw a 3.3% increase between Fall 2021 and Fall 2022. This divergence could be attributed to various factors, including the college's specific program offerings and strategic recruitment efforts.
Traditionally, graduate enrollment has been considered counter-cyclical to the economy. According to Ricardo Ortega, from an organization that exclusively focuses on the development and research of advanced degrees, during times of economic prosperity and readily available job opportunities, graduate enrollment tends to decrease. Conversely, during economic downturns, more individuals may pursue advanced degrees to enhance their skills and job prospects.
However, Margaret Shackell, Associate Professor and Director in the Department of Accounting and Business Law of Graduate Business Programs, observed a steady decline in students in the Masters Program for Accounting, going from 35 to 7. Shackell also noted that this is a national trend.
Read also: Mastering Canvas at IC
Undergraduate Enrollment: Addressing the Decline
Despite the positive trend in graduate enrollment, Ithaca College is actively addressing a decline in undergraduate enrollment, which outpaces the national dip. To counter this, the college is implementing several strategies aimed at attracting prospective students and stabilizing enrollment numbers.
Data-Driven Recruitment Strategies
Ithaca College is leveraging data to inform its recruitment strategies and target prospective students more effectively. Each year, the school purchases the names and demographic data of approximately 200,000 high school students, primarily from the College Board’s Student Search Service. This service gathers data through the administration of standardized tests like the PSAT, SAT, and AP exams, offering a valuable source of information for colleges seeking to identify and engage with potential applicants. Participation in the College Board’s Student Search Service is voluntary for students, ensuring that the data collected is from individuals who have expressed interest in higher education.
Embracing Social Media and Storytelling
Recognizing the importance of reaching students where they are, Ithaca College is placing greater emphasis on social media and online advertising. Mark Eyerly, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, explained that this shift represents a departure from theme-driven campaigns, which may not be as effective in generating engaging content for social media platforms.
“[Themes] don’t necessarily generate good content for social media, which needs to be current and in the moment,” Eyerly said. “The strategic change we’re undertaking is to put more emphasis on storytelling."
The college aims to create a "steady drip of great stories" that resonate with prospective students and showcase the unique experiences and opportunities available at Ithaca College. This approach seeks to foster a sense of connection and inspire students to envision themselves as part of the Ithaca College community. In November 2023, the college partnered with ZeeMee, a social networking app designed for students applying to colleges and universities. "[We] are trying to be in the spaces that students are in,” said Searle.
Read also: Location of Ithaca College
Focus on Student Engagement and Curriculum Enhancement
Ithaca College is also focusing on enhancing student engagement and making its academic programs more relevant and appealing. Shackell mentioned the importance of reaching out to high school students early in their decision-making process and highlighted efforts to revamp introductory accounting classes to make them more interesting and relevant.
Stabilizing Enrollment: A Three-Year Plan
Eversley Bradwell, said the school hopes to stabilize enrollment by bringing in and graduating approximately 1,200 students each year. The college aims to stabilize enrollment by bringing in and graduating approximately 1,200 students each year. Hall anticipates that achieving this goal will be a three-year process, with the expectation of seeing gains in the coming year.
“[It’ll] be about a three year process, but this next year I want to see some gains,” Hall said.
The plan is not to grow back to over 6,000 students.
Physical Therapy Doctorate: Expanding Access
Eversley Bradwell also noted that the college is accepting students into the Physical Therapy Doctorate program regardless of whether they hold an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College. This move expands access to the program and potentially attracts a wider pool of applicants.
Read also: Navigating Ithaca College
Leveraging Underutilized Graduate Programs
Rakin “Rock” Hall, Vice President of Enrollment Management, pointed out that the college’s graduate programs are currently underutilized. Recognizing the potential for growth, the college is exploring ways to attract more students to these programs.
“We know that we can’t ask someone to stop their life and come back to Ithaca,” Hall said.
Additional Resources for Data and Statistics
For those seeking to further explore data and statistics related to higher education and other areas, several resources are available:
Statista: This platform offers a wealth of statistical information, data, infographics, and tables, with a focus on business and marketing topics. It includes data on consumer goods, media, politics, sports, and country information, including demographics and economic statistics.
Data USA: This open platform transforms public data into accessible knowledge.
CISER: CISER maintains an extensive data collection with emphasis on labor, political, and social behavior, demography, economics, and health.
United Nations Statistics Division: This division provides international data on a wide range of topics.
The National Center for Education Statistics: The primary federal entity for collection and analysis of education data.
Annual reports from the CDC/National Center for Health Statistics: These reports present detailed vital statistics data, including information on births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the United States.
Bloomberg: A terminal-bound financial services platform that provides analysis and quotes for equities (stocks) and indices, company and economic data for the countries of the world, real-time and historical industry and market news, and advanced analytical and data functions. It is an industry standard in the financial services and investment banking industries.
Mintel: Provides adult (18+) consumer data on product and brand usage, spending behavior, and media habits. Users can create custom reports to analyze demographic and/or psychographic characteristics of product users and their media behavior.
Organization of academic and research organizations: Offers reports and statistics across cultures, internationally, arranged by themes such as aging, demographics and race.
Public opinion data from the European Commission.
Only database to cover the Wall Street Journal: Search using the drop down menu box. Go to Company Dossier (upper left). Search Find a Company by name/ticker symbol. Be sure to check Headquarters Only. There will be links to news, legal information, description of the company including primary and secondary S.I.C./N.A.I.C.S.
Industry Overview: This database also contains information on publicly traded companies including financial, analysis and S.E.C. Contents: Analysis of 40 domestic industries (2x-yearly) and 12 international industries (1 x-yearly) with each industry given a Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Go to Research, Report Type>Industry Overview, Date Range>Last 12 months, Click on the Industry you want, choose Industry Overview (.pdf image) on the right to open. You can then print or download.
Full-text NY Times articles: Full-text NY Times articles, including New York Times Book Review (1988-present), New York Times Magazine (1997-present), New York Times Online (2015-present), and New York Times Video (2018-present).
tags: #ithaca #college #infographic #statistics
