After a year of budget deficits thanks to low enrollment, Ashland University saw a leap in its freshman class’s numbers this year. According to Keith Ramsdell, AU’s vice president for enrollment management and marketing, 508 freshmen students enrolled this fall. That’s up from 466 new students compared to last year.
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For years, higher education institutions across the nation have been turning to analytics to manage unpredictable enrollment and rising recruitment costs. According to a report by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 69 percent of post-secondary schools were already using some form of data analytics as early as 2012.
Although graduate enrollment increased by 4.3% compared to spring 2020, the pandemic and a constrained federal budget have introduced new uncertainties for university enrollment in the years ahead.
In a private press panel convened by Othot earlier this year, higher education leaders from Arkansas Tech University, Ashland University in Ohio and St. Mary’s College of Maryland gathered to share how data analytics has helped them buffer unpredictable enrollment at their respective institutions.