Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

Transcription

1 2012 National Research Report Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice An analysis of traditional-aged What matters to when deciding where to enroll? There are a variety of factors that influence a student s decision to enroll. Factors such as cost and the availability of financial are universally important at all types of s. However, other factors can vary widely by type, demographics, class level, and whether the student enrolled at his or her top choice. Every year, hundreds of campuses administer the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) to their. In addition to more than 70 items rated for importance and satisfaction on the general student experience, the SSI includes nine items that address factors in a student s decision to enroll. During the fall of 2011, more than 55,000 from more than 100 public and private fouryear and two-year s completed the SSI. These rated the factors to enroll items on a scale of one (meaning not important at all) to seven (very important). This report details the responses from the nationwide pool of data. In particular, this report has a special emphasis on the nearly 22,000 first-year who responded in order to see which items scored higher with ratings of important or very important (a ranking of six or seven on the answer scale). Comparisons with upperclass and between at their first-choice versus those attending their second- or third-choice are also provided. In addition, the report highlights trend results in enrollment factors as originally reported in our recent 15-year satisfaction trend reports.

2 This study includes a comparison between first-year and who have been enrolled two years or more (upperclass ). About the study The study is based on data gathered from who completed the Student Satisfaction Inventory during the fall of 2011 at colleges and universities nationwide. Table 1: Participants Institution type Four-year private colleges and universities Four-year public colleges and universities Community, junior, and technical colleges Two-year career and private schools Number of s Total number of student records 63 25, , , ,607 Total ,813 The full list of contributing s can be found in the appendix. These schools provide a cross section of the student experience. The focus of the data is from the fall semester because that is when enrollment factors are likely to be most current in the minds of, especially first-year. This year s study provides comparisons between first-year and who have been enrolled two years or more (upperclass ). There is also a comparison between two groups of first-year : those who perceive themselves to be at their first-choice and those who identify the as their second or third choice. This report focuses on traditional college. A separate study is available on the factors to enroll for in adult learner undergraduate or graduate programs and enrolled in online learning programs Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

3 Demographic mix of respondents Class level for all at all s Institutional choice (first-year only) 58% 42% 36% 64% First-year Upperclass First-year, first-choice First-year, second- and third-choice Specific information regarding the demographic distribution by type is included in the appendix. What factors are considered? The following list describes each available factor that rate on the Student Satisfaction Inventory. : Addresses how important tuition was in the student s decision to enroll. : Takes into consideration the financial package that was offered to the student. : Reflects what the student thinks he or she knows about the academic quality of the. the : Indicates how important the size of the, either large or small, was to the student. ations from family and friends: Reflects the importance of comments and encouragements from family members. : Addresses campus location as a factor because of distance from home as well as the of the school (urban, rural, etc.). Campus appearance: Considers how the campus looks to the student and may also reflect perceptions of campus maintenance. Personalized attention prior to enrollment: Indicates the student s perception of how he or she was treated through the admissions process. These factors may also have influence for specific s: Opportunity to play sports: For four-year and community college campuses, examines how critical the opportunity to compete athletically was to the student. Employment opportunities: Reveals a factor unique to the career and private school version of the Student Satisfaction Inventory and indicates the student s perceptions regarding career options with a degree from the Noel-Levitz, Inc. 3

4 Factors to enroll: First-year % 84% 79% 81%83% 81% 78% 79% 75% 71% 84% 63% 64% 49% 45% 68% 72% 63% 58% 56% 62%63% 54% 75% 68% 61% 59% 82% Four-year private first-year Four-year public first-year Community college first-year Career school first-year, financial, and academic were the top factors across all types. from family Campus appearance Personalized attention prior to enrollment This chart lists the eight enrollment factors that are consistent on the Student Satisfaction Inventory across all four types. The percentage reflects indicating that the item is important or very important. What is most important to first-year?, financial, and academic were the top enrollment factors across all types. These three variables appear to play a critical role in influencing enrollment decisions. The other factors included in the list of choices were all more important to at career schools than they were to at four-year private and public colleges or community colleges, especially personalized attention prior to enrollment. It should be noted that employment opportunities, which is a unique item on the career-school survey and is not included in the chart above, was the top enrollment factor for these s, with 89 percent of indicating it was important or very important to their decision. Certainly the cost of attending a college regardless of the type of attended played a role in enrollment decisions. With attending public four-year and two-year campuses, cost was the dominant factor. At four-year private colleges, it ranked third behind academic. At two-year career schools, cost while still important with an 81 percent score was fifth behind employment opportunities, financial, academic, and personalized attention. joined cost at the top of the enrollment factors and was the top issue for at four-year private campuses. At two-year private s, financial was a close second behind employment opportunities, with nearly 86 percent saying it was important. Clearly, economic issues how much will their educations cost, how will they pay for it weigh heavily on the minds of. Even the top enrollment factor from at career schools, future career opportunities, indicates a strong economic concern. was also a strong factor, ranking as one of the top three enrollment factors across all types, with at least 70 percent of indicating it was important or very important Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

5 Factors to enroll: Comparison of first-year and upperclass While enrollment factors may be top of mind to first-year, it is also interesting to observe the perceptions of upperclass (sophomores, juniors, and seniors at four-year s and secondand third-year at two-year s). It should be noted that upperclass responses could reflect either original decision to enroll or their current decision to continue their enrollment into the coming year the survey does not specifically ask if they are ranking their original enrollment factors. Either way, the responses provide an indication of the relative importance of these factors to upperclass. Four-year private s: First-year vs. upperclass % 76.2% 83.9% 83.8% 79.1% 77.8% 62.9% 56.4% 33.7% % 48.7% 57.7% 51.6% 62.4% 53.9% 68.1% 62.7% Four-year private first-year Four-year private upperclass Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement At four-year privates, the factors of financial and family recommendation were relatively unchanged as enrollment factors when comparing class levels. All of the factors were as or more important to first-year. Campus appearance had the biggest movement between first-year and upperclass with an 8.5 percentage point shift down in importance, followed by a 6.5 percentage point shift down in importance for size for upperclass. Four-year public s: First-year vs. upperclass % 79.2% 79.6% 77.5% 74.9% 75.2% 64.2% 60.5% 33.2% % 45.5% 63.1% 66.2% 63.4% 55.6% 61.3% 56.3% Four-year public first-year Four-year public upperclass Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement For at four-year publics, the perception of academic was unchanged based on class level. actually became more important to upperclass by 3.1 percentage points. The opportunity to play sports had the biggest drop in importance between firstyear and upperclass with a 10.2 percentage point shift down, followed by campus appearance with a 7.8 percentage point decrease in importance to upperclass Noel-Levitz, Inc. 5

6 Community colleges: First-year vs. second- and third-year % 76.3% 71.2% % 49.3% 45.3% 44.8% 60.2% 55.8% 53.6% 53.6% 59.1% 57.5% Community college first-year Community college second- and thirdyear 23.7% 22.1% Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement With a potentially shorter span of time for first-year at community colleges to in their second or possibly third year, there were fewer shifts in perceptions for factors in the decision to enroll, with many items maintaining the same percentage. The one exception is geographic, which was slightly more important by 4.4 percentage points for second- and third-year as compared with first-year. Career and private schools: First-year vs. second- and third-year % 85.7% 83.5% 83.5% 80.7% 69.6% 66.8% 89.2% 86.1% % % 74.6% 71.5% 81.7% 77.7% Career school first-year Career school second- and thirdyear Future employment opportunities from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement First-year at two-year career and private schools indicated slightly higher importance scores on all items, with the recommendations from family and friends as well as personalized attention prior to enrollment reflecting the greatest difference by 4 percentage points compared with second- and third-year. Again, the percentages stayed relatively consistent across the class level designations Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

7 Factors to enroll: Comparison for first-year at their firstchoice vs. second and third choice Students who perceived themselves to be at their first-choice s were typically more satisfied with their overall experience than who perceived themselves to be at their second- or thirdchoice. While we don t know why an was a first or second choice for a student, we can see which factors may have influenced enrollment when we slice the data for just first-year with the additional indicator of al choice. Four-year private s: First-year, first choice vs. first-year, second and third choice % 77.4% 84.1% 83.7% 81.4% 74.5% 64.4% 60.1% 39.4% 50.5% 45.6% 57.5% 57.9% 62.5% 62.2% 70.1% 64.3% Four-year private first-year, firstchoice Four-year private first-year, secondand third-choice 30.6% Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement Interestingly, the perception of financial as a factor in the decision to enroll was basically the same for at their first choice and those at their second or third choice. The opportunity to play sports was 8.8 percentage points more important to at their second- or third-choice school, followed by cost with a higher importance of 3.2 percentage points. was 6.9 percentage points more important to at their first-choice followed by the personalized attention prior to enrollment, which was more important by 5.8 percentage points. Four-year public s: First-year, first choice vs. first-year, second and third choice % 83.8% 76.8% 83.8% 75.5% 73.7% 65.5% 61.8% 51.1% 47.6% 67.5% 56.2% 65.4% 60.3% 61.4% 61.1% Four-year public first-year, firstchoice Four-year public first-year, secondand third-choice 38.7% 29.6% Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement For at four-year public s, the perceptions of academic and personalized attention prior to enrollment were the same across al choice, but geographic was 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc. 7

8 more important to at their first choice by 11.3 percentage points, with campus appearance having the next biggest difference of 5.1 percentage points. For at their second or third choice, the opportunity to play sports was more important by 9.1 percentage points, financial more important by 7 percentage points, and the perception of cost more important by 5.5 percentage points. Community colleges: First-year, first choice vs. first-year, second and third choice % 79.4% 75.7% 73.7% 66.3% 51.3% % 58.5% 50.7% % % Community College first-year, firstchoice Community College first-year, secondand third-choice 39.2% 21.9% 27.1% Opportunity to play sports from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement First-choice at community colleges placed a higher importance on the recommendations from their family and friends by 9.2 percentage points, followed by geographic (7.8 percentage points) and academic (7.4 percentage points). The one area that was more important to at their second or third choice is the opportunity to play sports by 5.2 percentage points. Career and private schools: First-year, first choice vs. first-year, second and third choice % 78.5% 87.3% 83.1% 85.7% 79.9% 71.7% 65.8% 90.6% 87.1% 70.2% 64.3% 74.4% 67.7% 76.7% 71.1% 83.5% 78.7% Career school first-year, firstchoice Career school first-year, secondand third-choice Future employment opportunities from family Campus Personalized appearance attention prior to enrollement At career and private schools, first-choice all had higher importance scores than who indicated that they were at their second- or third-choice. had the highest importance difference between the two groups with 6.7 percentage points Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

9 Fifteen-year trends on enrollment factors In 2011, Noel-Levitz published a series of reports focusing on the importance and satisfaction trends on s over the past 15 years. These reports included a review on the shifts in enrollment factor perceptions over the course of that period. The relevant findings include: Four-year private s: Students in indicated much higher importance scores on cost (6.8 percentage points), campus appearance (5.6 percentage points), and financial (5.1 percentage points) than in Four-year public s: All factors increased in importance between and , with the biggest jumps coming for financial (15.1 percentage points), personalized attention prior to enrollment (10.9 percentage points), and recommendations from family and friends (10.3 percentage points). Community colleges: All of the factors increased in importance for between and , with financial reflecting the largest jump at 8.7 percentage points, followed by the opportunity to play sports (8.1 percentage points) and recommendations from family and friends (7.8 percentage points). Career and private schools: Several factors had double-digit increases in importance between and : ations from family and friends (16.0 percentage points), school appearance (15.7 percentage points), geographic (13.5 percentage points), and size of (12.2 percentage points). For more information on how the priorities of have changed over time, please see the 15-year reports, available at: How these findings impact your work in student recruitment and retention What do these results signify for campus professionals? The results suggest three priority action items: 1. Prospective and current want to know how much their education will cost. Your Web site and other campus communications should make this information accessible. If you are changing tuition, communicate this clearly to current, as well as why tuition is changing and how will benefit from the change. Be sure to make full use of federally mandated tuition calculators to provide complete, current information to prospective and current on your Web site. 2. Make financial information easy to obtain. This goes beyond the first year of enrollment likely want to know how much financial assistance will be available during their entire campus careers. Information on other financial resources, such as scholarships, is also important. 3. Use your academic to express the value of your educational offerings. Students need to know that an education from your is worth the investment. Making the strengths, features, benefits, and outcomes of your academic offerings clear will go a long way toward helping prospective decide to enroll with you, as well as convincing current to persist and graduate. Your faculty and staff should also express your s academic excellence in their interactions with. In addition, keep in mind that personalized attention prior to enrollment also plays an important role, especially at private s. Delivering personalized attention at every point of contact in the mail, online, over the phone, and on campus can make a big difference in persuading a student to enroll and to persist. It s also an area where your campus has a unique opportunity to differentiate itself from other s. Location, size and, while not unimportant, do not rank nearly as high as these other factors. Tell what it will cost, what financial assistance will be available, and the value of your educational offerings, and you address these top three elements that impact enrollment decisions Noel-Levitz, Inc. 9

10 Appendix I: List of s Four-year private s Abilene Christian University, TX Azusa Pacific University, CA Bethel College, IN Bethel University, MN Bethune-Cookman University, FL Biola University, CA Bryan College, TN California Baptist University, CA Cedarville University, OH Coker College, SC Concordia University Texas, TX Corban University, OR Cornerstone University, MI Covenant College, GA Cox College, MO Crown College, MN Eastern University, PA Evangel University, MO Fresno Pacific University, CA Geneva College, PA Gordon College, MA Goshen College, IN Grace College and Seminary, IN Graceland University, IA Greenville College, IL Hope International University, CA Houston Baptist University, TX Huntington University, IN Indiana Wesleyan University, IN John Brown University, AR LeTourneau University, TX Lincoln College, IL Lipscomb University, TN Manhattan Christian College, KS McPherson College, KS Mid-America Christian University, OK Milligan College, TN Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, WI Mississippi College, MS Montreat College, NC Northwest Christian University, OR Northwest Nazarene University, ID Northwest University, WA Northwestern College, MN Ohio Dominican University, OH Pacific Northwest College of Art, OR Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL Rockhurst University, MO Siena College, NY Simpson University, CA Southern Nazarene University, OK Southern Virginia University, VA Southwestern Adventist University, TX Spring Arbor University, MI St. Edward s University, TX Tabor College, KS Taylor University, IN Trinity Christian College, IL University of Tampa, FL Valley Forge Christian College, PA Warner University, FL Waynesburg University, PA Williams Baptist College, AR Four-year public s Dakota State University, SD Mississippi State University, MS Montana Tech - North, MT Salem State University, MA South Carolina State University, SC South Dakota State University, SD University of Michigan- Dearborn, MI University of Minnesota Duluth, MN University of Nebraska, NE Community colleges Augusta Technical College, GA Bucks County Community College, PA Coffeyville Community College, KS Cypress College, CA Eastern Idaho Tech College, ID Fox Valley Technical College, WI Heartland Community College, IL Highland Community College, IL Kilian Community College, SD Lanier Technical College, GA Montana Tech - South, MT Piedmont Technical College, SC Spokane Falls Community College, WA Tri-County Technical College, SC Career and private schools Anthem Career College- Memphis, TN Anthem Career College- Nashville, TN Anthem College-Atlanta, GA Anthem College-Dallas, TX Anthem College-Denver, CO Anthem College-Fenton, MO Anthem College- Kansas City, MO Anthem College-Maryland Heights, MO Anthem College-Milwaukee, WI Anthem College-Minnesota, MN Anthem College-Orlando, FL Anthem College-Phoenix, AZ Anthem College-Portland, OR Anthem College- Sacramento, CA Anthem Institute- Cherry Hill, NJ Anthem Institute- Jersey City, NJ Anthem Institute-Las Vegas, NV Anthem Institute- Manhattan, NJ Anthem Institute- North Brunswick, NJ Anthem Institute- Parsippany, NJ Anthem Institute-Springfield, PA The Bryman School of Arizona, AZ City College of Altamonte, FL City College of Ft. Lauderdale, FL City College of Gainesville, FL City College of Hollywood, CA City College of Miami, FL Laurel Business Institute, PA Morrison University, NV Pima Medical Institute- Mesa, AZ Salter College, MA Taylor Business Institute, IL Note: This list reflects only the s which administered the Student Satisfaction Inventory between September 1 and December 31, Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

11 Appendix II: Demographics Table 2: Class level by type Institution type Four-year private colleges and universities Four-year public colleges and universities Community, junior, and technical colleges Two-year career and private schools First-year student counts Upperclass student counts 8,023 16,145 2,709 7,608 5,600 5,147 5,519 1,784 Total 21,851 30,684 Table 3: Institutional choice by al type (first-year only) Institution type Four-year private colleges and universities Four-year public colleges and universities Community, junior, and technical colleges Two-year career and private schools First-year, first-choice student counts First-year, second- and thirdchoice student counts 5,166 2,798 1,652 1,045 3,588 1,947 3,495 1,970 Total 13,901 7,760 Note: Overall student counts reflect all in the data set, but not all indicated a class level or an al choice Noel-Levitz, Inc. 11

12 Appendix III: Complete tables for each data set Table 4: Comparison across type for first-year only Enrollment factors Four-year private first-year Four-year public first-year Community college first-year Career school first-year 78.5% 80.5% % 79.6% 78.1% 85.7% 79.1% 74.9% 71.2% 83.5% 62.9% 64.2% 49.9% 69.6% ations from family 48.9% 49.7% 45.3% % 63.1% 55.8% 72. Campus appearance 62.4% 63.4% 53.6% 74.6% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 68.1% 61.3% 59.1% 81.7% Table 5: Four-year private s: First-year vs. upperclass Enrollment factors First-year Upperclass 78.5% 76.2% 83.9% 83.8% 79.1% 77.8% 62.9% 56.4% Opportunity to play sports 33.7% 29. ations from family 48.9% 48.7% 57.7% 51.6% Campus appearance 62.4% 53.9% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 68.1% 62.7% Table 6: Four-year public Institutions: First-year vs. upperclass Enrollment factors First-year Upperclass 80.5% 79.2% 79.6% 77.5% 74.9% 75.2% 64.2% 60.5% Opportunity to play sports 33.2% 23. ations from family 49.7% 45.5% 63.1% 66.2% Campus appearance 63.4% 55.6% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 61.3% 56.3% Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

13 Table 7: Community colleges: First-year vs. second- and third-year Enrollment factors First-year Second- and third-year % 76.3% 71.2% % 49.3% Opportunity to play sports 23.7% 22.1% ations from family 45.3% 44.8% 55.8% 60.2% Campus appearance 53.6% 53.6% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 59.1% 57.5% Table 8: Career and private schools: First-year vs. second- and third-year Enrollment factors First-year Second- and third-year % 85.7% 83.5% 83.5% 80.7% 69.6% 66.8% Future employment opportunities 89.2% 86.1% ations from family % % Campus appearance 74.6% 71.5% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 81.7% 77.7% 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc. 13

14 Table 9: Four-year private s: First-year, first-choice campus vs. first-year, second- and third-choice campus Enrollment factors First choice Second or third choice 77.4% 80.6% 84.1% 83.7% 81.4% 74.5% 64.4% 60.1% Opportunity to play sports 30.6% 39.4% ations from family 50.5% 45.6% 57.5% 57.9% Campus appearance 62.5% 62.2% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 70.1% 64.3% Table 10: Four-year public s: First-year, first-choice campus vs. first-year, second- and third-choice campus Enrollment factors First choice Second or third choice 78.3% 83.8% 76.8% 83.8% 75.5% 73.7% 65.5% 61.8% Opportunity to play sports 29.6% 38.7% ations from family 51.1% 47.6% 67.5% 56.2% Campus appearance 65.4% 60.3% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 61.4% 61.1% Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice

15 Table 11: Community colleges: First-year, first-choice campus vs. first-year, second- and third-choice campus Enrollment factors First choice Second or third choice % 79.4% 75.7% 73.7% 66.3% 51.3% 47. Opportunity to play sports 21.9% 27.1% ations from family 48.4% 39.2% 58.5% 50.7% Campus appearance % Personalized attention prior to enrollment % Table 12: Career and private schools: First-year, first-choice campus vs. first-year, second- and third-choice campus Enrollment factors First choice Second or third choice 82.5% 78.5% 87.3% 83.1% 85.7% 79.9% 71.7% 65.8% Future employment opportunities 90.6% 87.1% ations from family 70.2% 64.3% 74.4% 67.7% Campus appearance 76.7% 71.1% Personalized attention prior to enrollment 83.5% 78.7% 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc. 15

16 Questions about this report? We hope you found this report to be helpful and informative. If you have questions or would like more information about these findings, please contact Noel-Levitz at or About Noel-Levitz A trusted partner to higher education, Noel-Levitz helps systems and campuses reach and exceed their goals for enrollment, marketing, and student success. Over the past three decades, the higher education professionals at Noel-Levitz have consulted directly with more than 2,700 colleges and universities nationwide in the areas of: Student retention Staff and advisor development Student success Marketing and recruitment services Research and communications Institutional effectiveness Noel-Levitz has developed an array of proven tools and software programs; diagnostic tools and instruments; Web-based training programs; and customized consultations, workshops, and national conferences. With the Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys, including the Student Satisfaction Inventory, the firm brings together its many years of research and campus-based experience to enable you to get to the heart of your campus agenda. Except where cited otherwise, all material in this paper is copyright by Noel-Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to redistribute information from Noel-Levitz, Inc., either in print or electronically. Please contact us at ContactUs@ noellevitz.com about reusing material from this report. How to cite this report Noel-Levitz (2012). Why did they enroll? The factors influencing college choice. Coralville, Iowa: Author. Retrieved from P Noel-Levitz, Inc National Research Report: Why Did They Enroll? The Factors Influencing College Choice ContactUs@noellevitz.com