The Higher Education Industry: Three Strategies to Stay Ahead of Current Challenges

At some point, every industry undergoes a significant shift. While these shifts are challenging, they often bring about opportunities for growth and meaningful change. The higher education industry is no different.

Luckily, there are a few things you can do as an educational leader to prepare your university for changes in the industry.

In this post, we’ll discuss:

• Current challenges in the higher education industry
• Strategies to ensure continued success for your institution

Strategies to Overcome Current Challenges in the Higher Education Industry 

With the introduction of new technology, the perception around higher education, and changes to FAFSA that could lead to fewer students enrolling, the higher education industry, as a whole, could be in for a bumpy yet necessary transition. The key to smoothing out challenging transitions is to ensure your campus is ready to make necessary changes. 

Here are three current challenges in higher education that you should be aware of so you and your team can implement effective strategies to ensure your campus is a welcoming, supportive environment for each student. 

Create a Better Digital Experience for Students

71% of college-aged students use Netflix each week. While this stat might not seem relevant to the higher education industry, it is. Netflix has changed the way college-aged students think about technology. With Netflix’s instant gratification, impressive speeds, and graphics, 67% of students expect their college’s digital experience to be just as good, if not better, than Netflix, Facebook, and Amazon.

This means your campus needs to increase its digital presence, including increasing its staff’s availability to students. There are only so many hours in a day, though, and your staff cannot realistically be available 24/7. You can, however, increase availability by incorporating an AI chatbot and AI assistant into your campus website. AI chatbots and AI assistants can help answer student questions, gather feedback and other important information, and guide students through registering for classes or other events, like webinars and seminars. 

AI integration can improve the digital experience by giving students the instant gratification (or, in this case, answers) they want.

Revive a Positive Perception of Higher Education

As shocking as it is, the American public’s confidence in higher education has reached an all-time low of just 36%, according to a recent Gallup poll. And that’s concerning, considering 86% of new jobs will require a postsecondary education by the end of the decade. 

So, how can your campus positively promote the necessity of higher education? By continuing your marketing outreach efforts and ensuring your messaging fits the interests of prospective students.

Prospective students need to understand how a postsecondary education can benefit them in their long-term career goals. This is why showcasing the successes of current students and the career choices of former students is so important. By sharing their successes with incoming students, you’re helping spread awareness about potential career opportunities accessible through higher education.

Take some time to understand prospective and incoming students’ career goals. Once you know their aspirations, you can tailor your messaging to better target your students. You can use SMS messaging and customized recipient lists to ensure students only receive messages they care about.

Find Creative Ways to Gather Donor Support

The recent changes to the FAFSA have presented many challenges for prospective students and college campuses. The recent FAFSA rollouts have decreased the number of submitted applications by nearly 30%, directly impacting the number of students applying for college admission.

For many campuses, decreasing enrollment presents many other challenges, including financial instability. With fewer resources available from traditional revenue sources dependent upon student enrollment, colleges will need to rely more heavily on donor support.

Donors support your campus’ overall operations and the scholarship funds available to current and prospective students. As FAFSA awards remain uncertain, these types of scholarships will become necessary to help boost student enrollment. 

To help offset the financial instability of the changes to FAFSA, look for new ways to garner donor engagement. Giving Day is a fantastic way to reach new donors looking to support a worthy cause. Consider using strategic messaging, like SMS or WhatsApp, to advertise your Giving Day fundraising efforts.

But don’t just abandon your fundraising efforts once Giving Day has passed. Regular contact with your donors should be a high priority to help mitigate the challenges and effects of the FAFSA rollouts.

93% of donors trust the nonprofits they support to use their money wisely. And because your donors trust your institution to use their money wisely, it’s a sure bet they want to see messaging relating to how their money is spent. Targeted messaging to donors showcasing your students’ success can keep them engaged and giving to your cause.  

Navigate the Current Challenges of the Higher Education Industry with Cadence

It’s impossible to avoid the current challenges of the higher education industry. Because avoiding them isn’t feasible, your campus must have a game plan to mitigate challenges and implement necessary changes as they arise. Your university can overcome these challenges through meaningful communication and regular contact with current, prospective, and former students. 

There’s no need to complicate regular communication. Consider bringing Cadence to your campus to support and increase conversation and engagement with your students and donors. Cadence can help you streamline your engagement efforts and uncover insights to help you and your team plan for better, targeted messaging that you know will be received well.

Book a demo with our team to learn more about Cadence today.

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