Key points:
- There are four trends that will impact higher-ed admissions in 2024
- How AI will help admissions officers comb through college essays
- Here’s a new way to look at the enrollment cliff
- For more news on admissions, visit eCN’s Campus Leadership hub
Competition for students is intense, and student recruitment will become even more challenging in 2024, according to University and College Admissions Trends Report, the first annual admissions landscape report from Acuity Insights.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education admissions, the report offers insights into the transformative impact of pivotal events in 2023, forecasting emerging trends shaping the admissions landscape in 2024 and beyond.
The report also gives actionable tips for higher education institutions for successfully navigating the trends.
The report highlights four key trends influencing admissions strategies and decision-making processes. These include:
- Student Recruitment: As higher education institutions grapple with the enrollment cliff and navigate challenges stemming from affirmative action bans, the competition for high-potential applicants is intensifying. It is crucial to proactively engage non-traditional students and differentiate institutions with compelling messaging to attract a broad, diverse pool of applicants.
- Efficient Holistic Review: With an increasing number of schools adopting test-optional admission strategies and prioritizing holistic review methods, there is a growing need for reliable, efficient, and fair evaluation processes. Evidence-based review methods will alleviate staff burnout and ensure equitable assessment of applicants’ academic and non-academic skills.
- Student Retention: Recognizing the significant impact of admissions strategies on student retention underscores the importance of selecting applicants with the necessary skills for in-program and career success. Addressing the impending enrollment cliff and mitigating student turnover are critical priorities for maintaining institutional stability and reputation.
- AI in Admissions: As admissions teams seek to streamline the assessment of qualitative applications and reduce staff burden, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a promising solution. Acuity Insights acknowledges the complexities associated with AI implementation and emphasizes the importance of collaboration among institutions to navigate this new frontier responsibly.
To compile the report, Acuity Insights included feedback gathered through an admissions trends survey, which includes insights from senior leaders in higher education, including:
- Chief Admissions Officers
- Chief Enrollment Officers
- Vice/Associate Provosts
- Senior/Executive/Associate Vice Presidents
- Deans and Associate/Assistant/Director of Admissions
The majority of respondents were from the United States, representing central university admissions and faculties/schools.
Acuity Insights’s Co-Founder and VP, of Science & Innovation, Dr. Kelly Dore, says:
“As a company that is deeply engaged with the evolving dynamics of admissions, we’ve seen how quickly and significantly the landscape has shifted over the past few years, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic. These shifts have created new and complex challenges for admissions teams across higher education. Through our new Trends Report, our effort is to provide critical insights we have gained from our work and discussions with our partner schools as they navigate these changes, enabling admissions leaders to learn from peers and anticipate future challenges for their teams and applicants.”
This press release originally appeared online.
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