Ruffaloni

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

Student success efforts often focus on traditional, undergraduate students. But there is value in being intentional with supporting the experiences of your graduate students and online learners as well. Similar to the results for graduate students, online learners perceive tuition worthwhile as a challenge.

Graduate Students 147

Graduate Students Retention Tuition Higher Education 147

The Enrollment Marketer

APRIL 15, 2025

Graduate enrollment marketing is undergoing a long-overdue shift. The days of blasting out digital ads and expecting prospective students to immediately inquire or even apply are fading. Todays graduate prospects are more discerning, more research-driven, and more skeptical of traditional marketing. Not the ads.

Enrollment 52

Enrollment Graduate Students Higher Education Programs 52

Ruffaloni

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

million undergraduates made the decision to enroll in all face-to-face (F2F) classroom students in 2021, after 5.9 million fewer all online students in 2021 in comparison with only 1.8 million more classroom students. million fewer all online students in 2021 in comparison with only 1.8 Schedule consultation 3.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Online Programs Graduate Students Grants 147

Ruffaloni

JANUARY 25, 2024

Traditional undergraduate challenges remain National Student Clearinghouse 2023 fall enrollment data indicate that undergraduate enrollment grew for the first time in several years (+2.1%), but nearly all growth was driven by community colleges (+4.6%) offering dual enrollment courses. Source: IPEDS degree conferral data.

Enrollment 162

Enrollment Semester Concentration Graduate Students 162

Ruffaloni

DECEMBER 16, 2024

First, consider programs with the strongest enrollment potential. You might also look at programs that generate interest but are underperforming in enrollment. Creating an individual page for each program offering will enable you to use focused keyword research and content that addresses specific student needs.

Programs 130

Programs Enrollment Out-of-State Graduate Students 130

Ruffaloni

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Millions of online undergraduate and graduate students may have been undercounted. Because online and graduate students are less committed to starting in the fall. The fall enrollment snapshot that we have relied on is undercounting online student by 75 percent among undergraduates and 44 percent among graduate students.

Enrollment 264

Enrollment Graduate Students Undergraduate Students Online Programs 264

Ruffaloni

JUNE 28, 2023

What is the long term impact of the pandemic on graduate enrollment? I wanted to hold off providing an answer until we have the 2021 academic year data, knowing that the real answer will only come with a few more years of enrollment trend data. Source: RNL Analysis of IPEDS Fall Enrollment Snapshot data.

Enrollment 130

Enrollment Grants Graduate Students Online Programs 130

Ruffaloni

APRIL 13, 2023

How do you deliver great video content that’s personalized to students without taking up valuable bandwidth of marketing and recruitment teams that are already stretched? Each will feel that their videos are tailored to their interests, increasing their engagement and making them more likely to keep progressing toward enrollment.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Financial Aid Ivy League Out-of-State 147

Ruffaloni

OCTOBER 26, 2023

More universities need to adapt to the new enrollment realities. The combination of the oncoming enrollment cliff and the pandemic’s abrupt and forced adoption of online learning has made more institutions than ever realize that the dramatic shift that everyone has been talking about for years is finally here. Are You Ready?

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Graduate Students Higher Education Undergraduate Students 147

Ruffaloni

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

How can you navigate the trends in graduate enrollment? As I did that, I wanted to address five statistics that keep coming up in my conversations with graduate enrollment leaders. Because CGS does not include some of the institutions with the largest online enrollment in the country, I had some concerns about these data.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Online Programs Out-of-State Graduate Students 147

Ruffaloni

JULY 11, 2024

Higher education is an increasingly competitive marketplace for each prospect that could be a future enrolled student at your institution. Talk with our digital and enrollment experts We’re to help you find the right digital marketing and recruitment strategies. Let’s set up a time to talk. Contact us 4.

Enrollment 130

Enrollment Higher Education Out-of-State Online Programs 130

Ruffaloni

MAY 24, 2023

The RNL National Conference will dive into key graduate and online trends and strategies. I previously wrote about 30 Ways to Learn About Graduate and Online Enrollment Trends at the RNL National Conference. The presenters will share strategies for using these data to inform change on campus.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Graduate Students Programs Admissions 147

Ruffaloni

MAY 24, 2023

Given the expected and continuing shortfalls in traditional undergraduate enrollment, institutions continue to pivot to the graduate populations to replace the lost revenue from the declines of the traditional student enrollment. Imagine being able to track lead to enroll rates for channels like Meta and paid search.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Online Programs Graduate Students Applications 147

Ruffaloni

APRIL 27, 2023

What is the best way to ensure a healthy enrollment outlook? Planning: holistic strategic enrollment planning. Every president and campus leader knows that enrollment growth (or in some cases stabilization) is crucial to the financial viability of their university. That thing is true Strategic Enrollment Planning (SEP).

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Retention Transfer Higher Education 147

Ruffaloni

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

In my last blog, Creating an Environment for Success , I shared strategies that enrollment leaders should employ to effectively manage their teams while meeting the challenges brought by declining student enrollment. Multiple specialized units (graduate, undergraduate, online, accelerated, adult, etc.)

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Financial Aid Online Programs Transfer 147

Ruffaloni

APRIL 22, 2024

This year’s agenda is set and it full to the brim with sessions that will engage you, inform you, and prepare you to go back to your campus and affect change and advance enrollment. The stress and anxiety of the college anticipation don’t end with enrollment.

Enrollment 130

Enrollment Online Programs Higher Education Transition 130

The Enrollment Marketer

APRIL 1, 2025

As I transitioned into my first new company in 14 years, I was eager to see how the shift to inbound enrollment marketing would shape my perspective. For years, when it came to strategies for graduate enrollment marketing, the conversations were dominated by large-scale digital marketing and lead gen, lead gen, and more lead gen.

Enrollment 52

Enrollment Transition Graduate Students Higher Education 52

Ruffaloni

MAY 11, 2023

It is so exciting to be able to announce the publication of the third edition of Strategic Enrollment Planning: A Dynamic Collaboration. Why focus on strategic enrollment planning? Every bit of enrollment growth for one institution is likely to mean a corresponding decline at another. What’s in the new book edition?

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Financial Aid Higher Education Scholarships 147

Ruffaloni

APRIL 27, 2023

RNL’s graduate and online theme this year is “Scaling for Growth,” and our sessions will deliver techniques, tactics, and strategies to help you do just that. Here are a few key sessions that graduate and online enrollment managers will not want to miss. The full program is ready and it is jam-packed with content.

Enrollment 130

Enrollment Online Programs Graduate Students Programs 130

Ruffaloni

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

In fact, according to RNL’s 2023 E-Expectations Trend Report , college and university websites are the single most utilized resource for students—and 58 percent of undergraduate students use search engines to find a college’s website.

Higher Education 246

Higher Education Education Education Enrollment 246

The Enrollment Marketer

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Building an effective marketing and recruitment plan is still a crucial part of graduate enrollment management, but many of the rules have changed in today’s digital-first, virtual-is-normal reality. Find Out the Freshest Industry Benchmarks Do you know how prospective students are engaging with email? Look no further!

Enrollment 94

Enrollment Out-of-State Graduate Students In-State 94

StandOut College Prep

JANUARY 10, 2025

The Roothbert Fund Scholarships This offers up to $10,000 to graduate students as well as undergraduates who have completed at least 1 year of study and show academic excellence. Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarships This offers $12,000 to graduating high school seniors from a 14-county area of North Carolina. Learn more here.

Scholarships 98

Scholarships Bachelor's Degree GPA Higher Education 98

Ruffaloni

MARCH 30, 2023

This is valuable information for recruitment and enrollment leaders to consider in informing how to position your institution in marketing materials. Enrollment factors for graduate students In the survey, students are asked to indicate the level of importance they assign to a variety of potential factors in their decision to enroll.

Retention 147

Retention Financial Aid Online Programs Enrollment 147

Ruffaloni

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

New RNL research shows that graduate enrollment is normalizing , with a significant shift towards online education. But how can colleges and universities compete effectively and grow their enrollment? Flexibility is another crucial factor for graduate students. different programs, years of study, and backgrounds).

Programs 162

Programs Enrollment Higher Education Graduate Students 162

Ruffaloni

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Graduate students are more likely to enroll at the program that admits them first. Enrollment is everyone’s obligation, and good university leaders embrace the responsibility. This makes a student-centric, efficient, and personalized admissions process not just an option, but a necessity. Where do you start?

Admissions 147

Admissions Enrollment Higher Education Graduate Students 147

HEM (Higher Education Marketing)

MARCH 26, 2025

Reading Time: 11 minutes Student retention is one of the most critical challenges faced by colleges and universities. While recruitment is essential to maintaining a thriving institution, keeping students engaged and enrolled until they complete their programs is just as vital. Struggling with enrollment? Why is that?

Retention 81

Retention Higher Education Education Education 81

Ruffaloni

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Their IPEDS snapshot data showcase how many students were enrolled in different types of programs on a given fall semester day. While these are important data, I have previously written that the best data on format preferences reflect enrollment over the full 12-month academic year. Undergraduate In 2022 more than 2.2

Education 162

Education Education Enrollment Transcripts 162

Ruffaloni

JANUARY 26, 2023

While the November blog indicated that Snapshot Data undercounted total enrollment by nearly 6 million students in 2019 (the last pre-pandemic year), I didn’t go too far into where these missing students were hidden. This can all be found when you look at those enrollment differences by instructional format chosen by students.

Higher Education 147

Higher Education Education Education Enrollment 147

Ruffaloni

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Earlier this month, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released their annual “Graduate Enrollment and Degrees 2012-2022” report. The headline in Inside Higher Education was that graduate enrollment contracted by 4.7 My two go-to data sources are IPEDS and National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

Education 147

Education Education Enrollment Graduate Students 147

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 15, 2025

At UCLA, nearly half of undergraduates pay no tuition at all while around of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, federal aid for students from low-income families. In fall 2023, 22% of enrolled undergraduates at USC received Pell Grants. Transfer students had an acceptance rate of 21.6%. enroll now APPLYING TO USC VS.

Early Decision 86

Early Decision Tuition Bachelor's Degree Grants 86

BestColleges

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

colleges and universities have seemingly recovered from the pandemic-era lull in international enrollments, a new report found. The Institute of International Education's (IIE) Open Doors 2023 Report , which surveyed approximately 3,000 institutions, found that over 1 million international students studied at U.S. Ghana 6,468 31.6%

Enrollment 80

Enrollment International Students Out-of-State In-State 80

Ruffaloni

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

This may sound simple, but higher education—and in particular graduate education—has been guilty of ignoring market trends and expectations, and then applying engagement and communication strategies that fit the academic environment rather than the needs and demands of prospective students. Ask for a free consultation with us.

Enrollment 147

Enrollment Higher Education Graduate Students Education 147

Ruffaloni

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Phil Hill : A big part of writing both the blog on the 2019-20 data and the 2020-21 data blog (on the need to focus on 12-month unduplicated enrollment rather than fall snapshot) was to point out how much we’ve needed this type of data. Here is an abridged summary of our conversation.

Non-Degree Students 182

Non-Degree Students Online Programs Enrollment Financial Aid 182

Ruffaloni

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Consulting engagements like deep audits of current communications and implementation of newly designed message flow architectures can seem like a “sure thing” for improving enrollment numbers, but enhancing more foundational strategic elements is likely necessary before these moves can be completely effective.

Enrollment 130

Enrollment Graduate Students High School Out-of-State 130

Ruffaloni

AUGUST 30, 2023

Regardless of the common misperception that prospective graduate students do not click on digital ads, they do click, and therefore digital lead generation really does work. I wrote on just this topic in RNL’s recently released RNL 2023 Graduate Student Recruitment Report. The answer?

Programs 130

Programs Graduate Students Enrollment Higher Education 130

Ruffaloni

MAY 24, 2023

Understanding program portfolio performance is a key to enrollment growth. In my work with partner institutions, I often see competing priorities come to light as the marketing team, the enrollment team, and the academic team all have different evaluation tactics for program growth. Program Director: “Invest in my programs!”

Programs 162

Programs Retention Enrollment Financial Aid 162

EAB

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Blogs 4 takeaways from marketing to graduate students in 2023—and predictions for 2024 Insights from a former higher ed CMO I recently returned from the Windy City, where I attended the American Marketing Association ’s (AMA) annual higher ed symposium. New growth and centralization of services mandates were imposed on PCO leaders.

Graduate Students 59

Graduate Students Enrollment Higher Education Policies 59