Recruiting graduate students can be difficult. And finding the right students for a graduate program can be costly and time-consuming. GPRS provides services that attract “your students” to your program and helps them understand the value of a graduate degree from your institution.
GPRS provides services to help graduate program leaders overcome the following enrollment challenges:
Competition
The war for talent is not just in the workplace. It has arrived in higher education, and it is here to stay. Like the workplace, graduate programs must differentiate themselves from the competition to attract quality applicants that are fit for your program AND consider your program their #1 choice.
Demand
Interest in pursuing a graduate degree has waned in recent years. Enrollment has declined as learners choose substitutes for master’s degrees or decide that they can ascend in their careers without a graduate degree. Graduate program leaders need to demonstrate the unique value and potential ROI their programs deliver for the students and alumni.
Environment, Social, and Government (ESG) Considerations
There are some challenges that are out of the control of graduate program leaders like economic downturns, social injustice/unrest, global pandemics, war, and government regulations – just to name a few. These and other ESG factors can discourage working professionals from returning to campus to further their education. Graduate program leaders must implement recruiting processes that position their program to be top of mind when prospective students find themselves still thinking about returning to school despite being faced with real reasons not to enroll.
Staff
Graduate program staffs have been reduced in recent years. Attrition, budget cuts, and consolidation are some of the causes reducing the resources available to recruit great students. Graduate program leaders must become more efficient and adopt the use of automation to continue to reach enrollment goals with smaller staff.
Financing
In addition to environmental, social, and government related challenges, there is the real issue of financing graduate education. Tuition rates continue to increase despite the economic pressures caused by COVID-19 and other global issues. Graduate program leaders are required to think about tuition as an investment and thus provide prospective students with a prospectus on the potential ROI during the recruiting process.
Client Fact
The University of South Alabama received 400 inquiries and 81 applications for its PhD program in business administration in their first 6 months as a GPRS client. In the previous year, prior to partnering with GPRS, they only generated 63 inquiries.
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