Brenna FoleyResearch AnalystNAIS
Inflation, unemployment, national and regional economic trends, and housing costs significantly impact your school community. This session is designed to explore the implications of these economic factors on your families, staff, and faculty. You will gain insights into current and projected economic conditions and understand how these dynamics influence the affordability and accessibility of education, staff retention, and overall community well-being.
Amada TorresVice President for ResearchNAIS
A combination of factors continues to contribute to the declining numbers of students in the country. Lower fertility rates since 2008 have resulted in a slower population growth. Shifts in individual decisions about where to live were exacerbated during the pandemic and contributed to the relocation of families to more affordable areas, especially in the South. In addition, competitor school models (charter, homeschooling, etc.) and changes in immigration are impacting enrollment numbers. Recognizing that these trends are not evenly affecting schools across the country, independent school leaders will benefit from monitoring these shifts, understanding the way they are manifesting in their own school areas, and devising strategies to navigate the changing landscape.
Looking at trends in key demand markers like applications, acceptance rate, and admission yield can offer insight into whether families’ willingness to seek out and enroll in independent schools is softening or strengthening. When demand softens, how can or should enrollment leaders unpack and pinpoint the root causes to identify strategies for turning demand around? When it strengthens, how can you help other school leaders learn what’s working and how to leverage that success for future enrollment stability and growth? Let’s look at what “pre-pandemic” and “since-pandemic” data suggest about how demand for our schools is evolving and engage in conversations about the dynamics and drivers we must attend to for future enrollment success.
How can schools effectively analyze and interpret key demand markers such as applications, acceptance rates, and admission yield to understand shifts in families' willingness to enroll in independent schools, particularly in the context of changing societal dynamics?
In the event of softening demand, what strategies can enrollment leaders employ to identify and address the root causes, thereby revitalizing interest and enrollment in independent schools?
Conversely, in the case of strengthening demand, how can schools share successful enrollment strategies with other educational institutions and ensure future stability and growth across the sector?
What insights can be gained from comparing pre-pandemic and post-pandemic data regarding demand for independent schools, and how can this information inform future enrollment strategies and decision-making processes?
Mark MitchellVice PresidentNAIS
Every school’s tuition sticker price – and the willingness or ability of families to pay it – is among the most important dynamics that impact enrollment realities. Leveraging tuition discounting as a tool for meeting mission and creating economically diverse communities is often a primary charge for enrollment directors and their teams. When that goal becomes a competing priority against the goals of filling seats and generating the revenue the school needs, what tradeoffs need to be made and who gets to decide? What imperatives exist for expanding the use of financial aid into supporting belonging and inclusion efforts that also meet enrollment and retention goals? What is the role of the admission director in advancing conversations around affordability from an equity and justice perspective?
Do you know the primary purpose of your financial aid investment (and the decisions you make with it)? Who gets to set that purpose and is everyone (board, staff, etc) in agreement or alignment with that?
Are your goals more “mission-driven” (e.g., access or economic diversity) or “market-driven” (e.g., filling as many seats as possible or generating as much net revenue as possible)?
What data would you use to explore if your outcomes in financial aid spending are consistent with your stated purpose? What would you do if they are not consistent and you need new approaches?
What opportunities exist in your work (and the work of others in school) for supporting inclusion and belonging of financial aid recipients in the full experience of the school?