University and College Admissions Trends Report 2024
June 12, 2024
University and College Admissions Trends Report 2024
In 2024, higher education institutions will experience the transformative impact of pivotal events in 2023. New trends will surface, from innovative student recruitment approaches, efficient holistic admissions review, heightened emphasis on student retention strategies, and the increased role of AI as a pivotal tool in the admissions landscape.
What are the top admissions trends for 2024?
Trend # 1: Student recruitment
Recruitment faces intensified urgency amidst the enrolment cliff and affirmative action ban.
With a static number of schools and fewer applicants, competition intensifies. To tackle this, schools must proactively engage non-traditional students and maintain a well-rounded pipeline to anticipate future applicant volumes accurately.
What can institutions do?
Academic institutions need to create messaging that sets them apart from their competition and market themselves effectively to capture the attention of high-potential applicants.
Trend # 2: Efficient holistic review
Institutions must adopt reliable, efficient, and fair holistic review methods to inform decisions and retain staff.
An increasing number of schools are pivoting towards test-optional admission strategies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive research highlighting the inherent bias in standardized tests like the SAT, LSAT, and MCAT (Johnson, 2003). In order to avoid staff burnout and holistically review applicants, institutions must adopt evidence-based and efficient review methods.
What can institutions do?
Instead of complicating admissions with extensive personal essays, recommendation letters, and qualitative questions, institutions should prioritize efficiency in admissions processes, seeking sustainable long-term solutions.
Trend #3: Student Retention
Admissions teams will play a pivotal role in supporting student retention.
The approaching enrollment cliff, coupled with student turnover, will adversely affect tuition revenue, financial stability, and institutional reputation, underscoring the urgent need for institutions to prioritize retaining the students they attract and admit.
What can institutions do?
Admissions strategies have a direct impact on student retention. To ensure admission strategies help select students who have all the skills necessary to succeed in a program and beyond, both academic and non-academic skills must be evaluated. This, supplemented with effective student support, will be key to student retention.
Trend #4: AI in admissions
AI will be employed to automate admissions processes and reduce staff burden
The increased popularity of test-optional admission strategies has made the applicant assessment process more qualitative and, therefore, more onerous for admissions officers. Admissions teams will turn to AI as a tool to streamline the assessment of qualitative applications to reduce the burden on staff.
What can institutions do?
Determining how and at what stages AI should be applied within admissions is not a simple task, and it cannot be completed by one team alone. It’s critical that teams collaborate, both within the same school and with their counterparts at other institutions. This is a new frontier with many risks, given the high-stakes nature of admissions decisions.
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What Does 2024 Hold for University and College Admissions?
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