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College Affordability and Preparedness

Amid Falling College Enrollments, Online Programs Present New Financial Stability

Photo: Courtesy of Kiyun Lee

In these hard financial times, it is easy to lose hope. Will this economy ever turn around? Will the politicians ever team up to support good policy? Will my institution survive this economic downturn?

Seeking answers

History has shown that successful colleges have relied on having a set of diverse, quality programs delivered via alternative formats to pull them through the hard times. They build a quality brand name for themselves, and they market that brand name in the good times and the bad. They deliver their programs through traditional, adult and online learning systems.

They use both face-to-face instruction and online learning systems to deliver the content. In addition, they market themselves via multiple avenues. 

They tell the story of their college through both traditional (print television, radio, magazines) as well as online advertising. Marketing of both traditional and online learning programs is essential for promoting the growth of any institution. Increase of enrollments Online learning enrollments have been increasing while enrollments in traditional programs have been decreasing. The Chronicle of Higher Education (August, 2011) highlighted a traditional college in New England that has integrated online learning into their high-quality program mix.

The college has grown tremendously since 2008 while other colleges have experienced decreased enrollments and many have closed their doors. In summary, quality programs delivered in diverse traditional and online learning formats and marketed through multiple avenues will increase enrollment and enable the college to prosper.

Denzil Edge, [email protected]

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