One of the most proven ways to attract prospective students is for campuses to highlight the ROI of their degree. Over the past ten years, 62% of the conversation focused on the post-graduation path—students and families want to know the degree is worth the cost.
A partnership with Jeff Selingo for his book Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right For You, prompted us to explore recent online college admissions conversation. The insights and themes we uncovered prompted us to return to our analyses of the college decision-making journey over the past ten years.
Jeff Selingo’s book guides students and families to look beyond elite schools by identifying seven measurable dimensions of a “good school” that most rankings don’t capture. Campus Sonar developed actionable strategies from our research to help campuses improve their student-centric approach by focusing on recruiting and enrolling students based on individual fit, ensuring future success for students and sustainable institutions.
Actionable strategy
Highlight the ROI of your degree
When students talk about college admissions, almost two-thirds of their conversations are about what happens after graduation. Many students no longer view a degree as a guaranteed path to success. Instead, they’re prioritizing job readiness, practical skills, and a clear return on their investment. As a result, they’re increasingly seeking out institutions with strong internship programs and career placement rates.
Campus Sonar’s recommendation is to communicate how your campus achieves the clear outcomes students and families value. They want to understand the utility of their degree in relation to job placement and real world skills.
The recommendation overlaps with the Dream School dimension of “outcomes that punch above the school’s weight.” We encourage you to read the book’s appendix to learn more about your institutional data that may support our recommendation.
Take action: Promote your outcomes
Alongside real examples of graduates’ early career journeys, highlight your job placement rates, graduate school admissions, and alumni salaries to help students and families understand the post-graduation value they’ll receive from your campus.
A large public university in the West wanted to strengthen their mission-aligned, outcomes-driven strategy, including showcasing the personal and professional benefits of earning a degree from their institution.
Strategic support
“High return on investment” is one of the university's three action commitments from their strategic plan. They used social intelligence to understand the brand metrics of their action commitments, or brand pillars. The insights measured if their messaging and pillars aligned, and supported recommendations to elevate the brand pillars, prevent misconceptions, and clearly communicate the value of their degree.
The university's enhanced strategy included sharing stories from current students and alumni to leverage positive campus experiences and facilitate greater interest. The extra step of showing the value of pursuing a degree removes barriers, keeps the process accessible, and promotes increased engagement.
The strategy shift resulted in increased brand equity metrics, reflecting the university's increased position in the marketplace and mindshare of target audiences.
Take action: Partner with employers and organizations
Create clear pipelines from education to employment to demonstrate how you help undergraduates succeed. Integrate employability skill-building opportunities wherever possible.
A small, private college in the East needed data and insights to support a graduate program development strategy and increase enrollment.
Strategic support
With multiple years of enrollment decline, the college needed support in growing new markets, including expanding graduate programs. Mixed method research used social intelligence and traditional focus groups to assess comparator programs, evaluate the market, and analyze future graduate students’ needs. The results informed the college’s decision to develop and grow specific programs and successfully position a degree in the regional market, including integrating employer partnerships in the launch of their new graduate programs.
More actionable strategies
