What Higher Ed Marketers Need to Know About the ROI of Prevention - And How to Reimagine Enrollment Management Through a Social Impact Lens

Higher education is facing enormous financial challenges that began long before the pandemic - declining enrollment, rising costs, increased competition, and ongoing debate over the value of a degree. Add to that, today's generation of students are socially conscious and activism inclined. They make values-based consumer decisions, including whether and where to go to college. They are putting tremendous pressure on campus leaders to make their community safer and more inclusive and to take a strong stance on the social issues they care about.

These issues-ranging from harassment to racial injustice to sexual assault-are directly connected to the mission and business of higher education. Preventable harms and high-risk behaviors are derailing student success and persistence, with enormous costs to institutions, their brands, and applicant volume.

On this week's episode, Rob Buelow, the Senior Vice Preside of Higher Education and Impact at EVERFI, argues that heads of enrollment must reimagine who and how they are recruiting, and bring student affairs partnerships to the fore as they manage risks and opportunities across the student lifecycle. Social impact is a critical part of the playbook for the future of strategic enrollment and lifecycle management: differentiating your institution, increasing your pipeline of prospective students, ensuring their success on campus, retaining them to graduation, preparing them for their career, and engaging them as alums.