7 facts we’ve learned about students in 2010; a summary of Noel-Levitz research findings

Noel-Levitz conducted numerous studies in 2010 to further understand the behaviors and attitudes of prospective and current students in higher education as they related to student success, student retention, and new student enrollment. Here are some highlights from what we learned:

1. More of today’s freshmen are pursuing two-year degrees

In our 2010 National Freshman Attitudes Report, we found that, in the current economic climate, most freshmen remain motivated to earn a college degree, but more are pursuing two-year programs, consistent with the increased enrollments at two-year institutions nationally.

2. Student satisfaction on two-year public campuses has been rising for four of
the past five years

In our 2010 National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report—which offers extensive information on student satisfaction in higher education at four-year and two-year campuses nationwide, public and private—we took a close look at the rising satisfaction levels at community colleges, including which students tend to be most satisfied and some factors that are contributing to the trend.

3. College Web sites need to provide detailed information on academics and costs

In our latest E-Expectations study, we found that more than 50 percent of college-bound high school students placed a higher value on academic and cost information on college Web sites than on all other Web site content. Many other online expectations are also documented in this report.

4. Private colleges face increased pricing pressure

In our 2010 Discounting Report, we found that the average discount rate at private colleges and universities in the Noel-Levitz sample jumped to 36.1 percent. This was especially notable after a decade of stability when overall discount rates ranged from 32.3 percent to 34.1 percent.  This report also identifies several changes in students amid the uncertain economy.

5. New student enrollment and retention grew for more than half of institutions in fall 2010, led by private colleges

In our Fall 2010 Enrollment Census Data Report, we found that, with more aggressive goal-setting evident, both new student enrollment and student retention rose this fall for more than half of institutions, but there were significant differences by institution type (public or private, two-year or four-year), enrollment size, and quartile.

6. Up to a third of prospective students are now “secret shoppers”

In our 2010 E-Recruiting Practices Report, we found that, instead of inquiring, up to one-third of prospective students are now waiting until they apply to make themselves known to admissions offices. This report documents this emerging trend and many other important trends in electronic recruiting.

7. Several yield rate and admissions office trends that will affect 2011 enrollments and beyond

In our latest report, 2010 Admissions Funnel Benchmarks for Four-Year Public and Private Institutions, we identified several trends that enable admissions offices to better predict outcomes in 2011, including rising inquiry conversion rates, declining yields, an upswing in incomplete applications, and verification of the increase in “secret shoppers” among first-year and transfer students. The report offers nearly 130 new benchmarks.

You can find more higher education papers and reports on our Web site, including a study that shows significant demographic declines expected in most states now through 2014-2015. In this summary of research from WICHE, our white paper, Strategic Enrollment Planning for the Coming Demographic Change, identified that, over the next five years, the number of graduating high school seniors is projected to decline in 39 states, and the number of Caucasian and Asian high school graduates, the highest college-going groups, will drop significantly.