Art & Science Group’s Post

Another great #studentPOLL study from my company. With the election on the horizon, there are so many important considerations for for #collegeanduniversity leaders as the plan for the future of their institutions. Take a read below. #2024presidentialelection #studentPOLL #enrollment #colleges #universities #politics #2024election

How did you decide where to go to college? I remember thinking way too much about the weather, telling my family that the entire northeast was off the table🤦♀️. Unlike 28% of college-bound students today, politics didn’t enter my mind! Digging through the data with our research team, especially Lisa Simmons, Ph.D. and Olubukola Akanbi, D.Sc., to pull this issue of #studentPOLL together was fascinating. A few findings I thought were particularly interesting: - Reason most conservative students exclude states from their college search: “too Democratic” - Reason most liberal students exclude states from their college search: “too conservative abortion and reproductive laws” - Many top reasons students are excluding states have a significantly higher proportion of students saying they excluded states for that reason this year, as compared to last year. In other words, the intensity of feelings around these issues seems to have increased. We hypothesized this is due to a heightened political climate as Election Day approaches, but will have to see what we find in upcoming issues of #studentPOLL to know for sure!

The latest edition of #studentPOLL answers the questions: Who’s ruling out institutions for political considerations? At what point? For what reasons? Do prospective students think colleges and universities should participate in political issues, or stay neutral? How do prospective students view preference-based admissions policies (legacy, athletes, race-conscious admissions, etc.)? https://lnkd.in/eiwef5Di

A survey of high school juniors and seniors finds that the political climates of states increasingly influence their college admissions and decisions processes, additionally finding that about 1 in 4 will take their parents' political views into account when choosing colleges. #GreatCollegeAdvice #CollegeAdmissions #CollegeDecisions

The political climate of a college and its state is a consideration for 3 out of 4 prospective students. But how does politics compare to other key factors like cost and reputation? It turns out, political considerations make up about one-fifth of a student's college choice. That percentage doesn't vary much based on political leanings, race/ethnicity, or household income, although it does vary quite a bit based on students' level of political activity. (More active = more emphasis). Check out more of our findings in our latest report, Politics and College Choice: How Student's Political Views Influence Where They Enroll. Link in comments.

Interesting article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, showing significant declining enrollment in (all but La Roche and Chatham) Pittsburgh-region small colleges. Few thoughts. First, undergraduates are the bread-and-butter of most small colleges. If one just focused on those enrollments, for many of these small colleges the picture is even worse. Second, considering my own world more, for those colleges willing to work that niche of more conservative and religious parents and potential students, the situation need not be dire, even in cold, cloudy regions with less-than-ideal weather or local night life. This is apparent using user-friendly sites like the College Tuition Compare website (which compares a lot more than tuition). Places like Hillsdale College (undergraduates up from 1,490 in 2014-15 -- furthest back available on the site I used went -- to 1,573 in 2022-23 -- despite very low acceptance rates), Cedarville University (undergraduates up steeply from 3,238 in 2013-14 to 4,533 in 2022-23), and Franciscan University of Steubenville (undergraduates up steeply from 2,112 in 2013-14 to 2,785 in 2022-23) are proof of that. Being conservative and more religious does not guarantee sustained or improved enrollment, not at all. Not being so doesn't guarantee the opposite. But in this era where increasingly, students who are both more religious and more conservatives are more concerned than ever about finding compatible college slots in places known for serious education, being conservative and religious can be a pretty good niche if a college does the other things with excellence as well. Third, starting with the most recent enrollment high point and comparing the most recent enrollments to that often gives us a worse picture than what we see just from the negative percentages they report. You can see this in their trend charts, for example, Point Park. #geneva #gcc #franciscan #hillsdale #cedarville https://lnkd.in/eG_B2b_B

Politics impact college choice. These examples show how to adapt 👇 #highered #highereducation #InstitutionalStrategy #higheredleadership

Mythbusting In-State v. Out-of-State Universities Highlights: -Private or out-of-state schools may have better financial aid opportunities than your in-state public universities. -In many regions of the country, tuition discounts are available in neighboring states. -Some college majors will require your student to attend school out of state or in a different region. -Admitting more out-of-state students brings diversity that might not be there otherwise. https://buff.ly/3I6Oxdr