Revolutionizing Enrollment Requires All Agents of the Academic Community to Openly Communicate About Institutional Problems

by Dr. Benjamin M. Drury

Like many institutions of higher education, my school is experiencing a decline in enrollment…and no, we are not in a position where we can blame it on the pandemic any longer.

Unfortunately this is not happening at my institution. We need help.

We are in a place now where we need to reckon with the decisions made during the pandemic that are carrying lingering positive and negative effects that are unassessed.

Unfortunately this is not happening at my institution. We need help.

Declining enrollment within educational institutions often reflects deeper structural issues and a culture of epistemological arrogance that hinders effective communication and problem-solving.

Acknowledging that predatorily recruiting financially disadvantaged students to enroll in a private college without a full idea of how they are going to be able to pay for it is an egregious practice.

Last week, our Director of Admissions openly shared in a meeting this is a “common practice” and has “been done for years” at our school.