Higher education is rapidly changing.

There are three common challenges most higher educational institutions face.

  1. Enrollments are lower than desired.
  2. Retention of enrolled students is lower than desired.
  3. Financial difficulties due to low enrollments and retention rates.

As a leader of a higher education institution you may be aware of the massive flood of new competition from online programs that is headed your way.

While most colleges and universities are seeing a decline in enrollments, the leading online university has seen its enrollments grow ten-fold over the last decade, an annualized growth rate of about 26%.

There are over 400 ranked colleges/universities in the US. Some will survive and flourish, but those which do not make necessary changes risk failing.

These are the 10 most important questions for leaders who wish to increase enrollments and retention:

1) How do I increase enrollments? What are the factors that lead a prospective student to choose one college/university over another? Is the internet presence of my institution optimal? Does my institution’s website provide prospective students the information that will encourage them to enroll?

2) How do I increase the student retention rate?

3) Are my costs rational and how may they be reduced? The infrastructure cost of providing an online class can be as low as 10% of a traditional face-to-face class. Also, many students greatly appreciate the convenience of online classes. 

4) What are the best practices for successful online teaching?

5) What training may be provided to faculty for superior online teaching?

6) How should the curriculum be designed to provide successful online classes?

7) What external certifications should I align my degree programs with the goal of increasing enrollments and retention? Possible external certifications are: Certified Financial Planner; Certified Public Accountant; AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner; Microsoft 365 Fundamentals; Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Excel etc.

8) What cost-effective career services should I provide to my students?

9) Should I use the free Moodle Learning Management System or a paid one like Canvas?

10) How can I measure my advertising Return on Investment (ROI)? Should I advertise my degrees on the internet or on traditional media like radio and newspapers?

Sierra EdTech Consultants will provide you the best answers to the above questions tailored to the specific circumstances of your institution.

I am Dr. Jayanta Sen, Sierra’s lead consultant.

  1. I have over 30 years of experience in higher education at institutions like University of Chicago, Ohio State University and University of Maryland.
  2. I have a MA from Yale University, and a PhD from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
  3. I worked at University of Maryland, University College (later Global Campus) for 14 years in various roles including Program Director and Program Chair.
  4. I was one of the online education pioneers, having created videos for teaching Finance and Accounting in 2006.
  5. I am the author of the book “Humanity’s Next Thousand Years”, https://store.bookbaby.com/book/humanity’s-next-thousand-years

Sierra EdTech offers higher education institutions a menu of consulting services for success in increasing enrollments and retention. The services range from a preliminary assessment of opportunities and answers to the above 10 questions (for only $7,500) to a detailed plan for success.