An Increasing Population Fills Future Classrooms The US Census Bureau projects a population increase of 2.92% from 2016 to 2020; however, most of this increase will be among Americans 65 and older (+13.83%), while the number of those younger than 18 will only increase 0.33%, mostly younger than 5. Even so, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projects enrollment in pre- kindergarten through grade 8 will increase 2% through 2025, to 40.0 million, and enrollment in grades 9–12 will increase 3%, to 16.5 million. NCES projects a 3% increase in public elementary and secondary schools and a 6% decrease in private elementary and secondary school enrollment through 2025.

The Changing Nature of the Student Body As of 2018, the majority of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools won’t be Caucasian Americans for the first time, or 49.6% of the student population. This percentage is expected to decrease to 45.4% by 2025. The percentage of African American students is expected to remain steady at approximately 15.1%. Latino American students will increase to 29.5% and Asian American students 6.2% by 2025. High-school dropout rates decreased for Latino Americans, from 34% to 10% during 2016; African Americans, from 16% to 7%; Caucasian Americans from 8% to 5%; and Asian Americans from 5% to 3%.

Following Decrease, College Enrollments Increase The National Center for Education Statistics estimated 20.97 million students enrolled in colleges and universities, with 12.9 million, or 61.7%, attending full- time and 8.0 million attending part-time, during 2017. Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows fall 2017 enrollment decreased 1% from 2016. For 2018, NECS projected 2-year enrollments to increase 2.1% and 4-year enrollments to increase 2.0% from 2017 levels. In general enrollment, females outnumber males, accounting for 57.9% of the student body, and are expected to earn 61% of associate, 57.7% of bachelor, 58.4% of masters and 52.0% of doctorate degrees during 2018.

Career Training Options After a decrease in public school funding for high school career and technical classes from the 1980’s through 2009, there is now more funding and interest in providing these kinds of classes. Montana doubled and Nevada tripled their CTE funding. High-school CTE programs are associated with higher wages. For each additional year of coursework in addition to introductory classes, graduates earned an extra 2% in wages. There are approximately 8.4 million students pursuing postsecondary certificates and associate degrees in CTE fields. The cost of attending technical or public community colleges averaged $3,470 during 2016/17, compared to $9,670 for a public 4-year college.

A College Education is Costly, But Valuable Average published tuition for in-state, public 4-year universities increased 3.1% from the 2016/17 school year to the 2017/18 school year; out-of-state, public 4-year increased 3.2%; and private, 4-year non-profit tuition increased 3.6%. During the 2017/18 school year, the median tuition and fee price for students at private non-profit institutions was $34,740, for public in-state, it was $9,970 and for public out-of-state, it was $25,620, not including room and board. Slightly more than half (51%) of young workers 25–39 with a bachelor degree and outstanding student loans think the lifetime benefits of their degree outweigh the costs.

Online Learning According to The Learning House and Aslanian Market Research’s Online College Students 2017 report, the number of students enrolled in wholly or majority online programs increased 4% during 2016, to 3.75 million. From 2013 to 2015, the number of online degree and certificate program increased more than 25% to 25,000, from both non-profit and for-profit institutions. The top ways online students recall seeing advertising/information when initially searching for an online program are search engines, 30%; TV commercials, 29%; email, 29%; ads on Websites they visited, 25%; and college fairs, 22%.

Advertising Strategies If your private school or university has a high graduation/completion rate, emphasize it in your marketing messages. Show how this was accomplished (engaged faculty, peer mentoring, an outstanding counseling program, etc.). Although younger adults, who are the target audience for community colleges and technical schools, don’t watch as much legacy TV as older adults, it is still an excellent medium for branding and complementing more targeted digital advertising. Financial institutions that offer student loan program can use TV to brand themselves with parents of high school and younger students and promote a series of seminars for parents and students to improve their understanding of their options.

New Media Strategies Videos of students of various ethnicities explaining why they chose a private school will both show the diversity of the student body and generate interest among parents and students. Post the videos on the school’s Website and social media that reach parents and students. Post helpful content on a blog, social media or with videos on important educational topics, such as how to choose an area of study, what factors to consider, how to obtain financial aid, etc., and featuring students sharing their experiences. Post videos from your most dynamic faculty on what most excites them about their field and their school.