Are college students students negotiating tuition prices?
We live in a new era where there are more education opportunities than ever before. In contrast, generationally declining numbers of high school students each year means that the are fewer students. Additionally, the proportion of high school graduates that choose to attend college dropped from 70% in 2016 to 63% in 2020. This is a supply and demand challenge and a new chapter for higher education.
There are a few solutions to these changing market dynamics such as attracting returning adult learners, re-enrolling students who previously did not complete degrees, and offering non-degreed programs for upskilling, training, and certifications.
Another strategy which many colleges and universities are forced to engage in is scholarship, discount, and benefit negotiations.
High published tuition rates are contributing to a continual, steady decline in enrollments. A pre-pandemic Sally Mae survey indicated that 67% of students excluded colleges and universities from their options after receiving financial aid letters in 2019. Post-pandemic the rate increased to 90% of students in 2022.
In addition to increasing price sensitivity, the student loan crisis is not being addressed at the root cause. New students and parents are becoming more discerning shoppers and even re-considering the value of traditional higher education altogether.
As families see that enrollments are declining and colleges and universities are offering larger and larger scholarships, they will continue to shop around and look for the best prices at the best ROI for the academic programs that match their interests. They will be leveraging offers from other institutions as well as their experience and what qualities they bring to the table for the universities.
Student recruitment and admissions is becoming more and more of a negotiation process.
Is your admissions team trained on negotiating? Do you have a data-based strategy so that you can enroll students without over paying?
College and university leaders need to continually adapt to the new market dynamics. Some schools will merge or be acquired, others may specialize in their offerings and focus on differentiation. The universities we work with will be developing new recruiting, enrollment, and financial aid strategies to be competitive in this new market dynamic, which inevitably will include setting a data-based negotiation strategy to enroll the right students for your institution.
