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Follow on Google News | Ten Demographic Trends Offer Unprecedented Challenge and Opportunity for Colleges and UniversitiesEducationDynamics’ Market Research and Advisory Services identifies key growth areas.
By: Nikki Martin Like most changes, however, the coming trends offer opportunity. “For those schools both smart and nimble enough to respond, we see some major areas for competitive advantage based on our student market assessment,” 1. Higher education is a growth market at both ends of the degree spectrum. The greatest enrollment growth (25 percent) will be among the 25 to 34-year-old cohort. Graduate-level and associate degrees will see exceptional growth: 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Opportunity: 2. Employers have realized the value of ongoing training to their bottom line. They currently spend close to $130 billion annually on employee development. Opportunity: 3. Men in both traditional and adult-education programs are under-represented. Women outnumber men in traditional U.S. undergraduate programs and among adult learners, according to Aslanian’s student market assessment. Opportunity: 4. Global demand for college study is growing significantly. No surprise, the increasingly competitive global economy is driving demand for higher education throughout the world, with the need for postsecondary education strongest in developing nations. Opportunity: 5. College students increasingly approach higher education as consumers. Comparison shoppers, they increasingly make college choices based on consumer-related issues and concerns: researching cost, convenience, quality, and job placement rates. Opportunity: 6. Age has less and less impact on how students learn. Student market analysis indicates that more and more students of all ages find convenience the key factor in where, when and how to study, and want more options and career relevance in their studies. Opportunity: 7. An increasing number of traditional- 8. Enrollment in online high school courses is growing rapidly. In fact, it is growing faster than online college enrollments. The “online-experienced” 9. Enrollment demand in the two-year public sector will exceed supply. Given state and local budget shortfalls, costs may increase as well. Unfortunately, unemployment and the recession make vocational, occupational and technical education especially critical. Opportunity: 10. More older Americans, a rapidly increasing demographic, are considering college. Sixty million Americans today are 55 or older; by 2025, more than 100 million will be over 60. For many, retirement isn’t on their to-do list, but education is. Opportunity: “While we believe that the demographic trends identified by our student market analysis pose significant challenges to the higher education industry,” notes Aslanian, “knowing what to expect allows schools to start repositioning for opportunity now.” # # # About EducationDynamics EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is higher education’s leading marketing services company dedicated to helping institutions find, enroll and retain students. Through its Market Research and Advisory Services division, the company brings a decade of proprietary research, unparalleled market and student intelligence, and best practice insights to its clients. Its content-rich and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and its more than 50 special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of Web-delivered services proven to drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com. End
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