Strategy Roundup: Jan 14, 2022

January 14, 2022

Undergraduate Enrollment is in a Freefall

As colleges and universities navigate year two of COVID, enrollment in undergraduate programs is declining at historic rates, the pandemic proving to be the perfect accelerant to a trend driven by soaring costs and a ballooning student debt crisis.

“This could be the beginning of a whole generation of students rethinking the value of college itself. I think if that were the case, this is much more serious than just a temporary pandemic-related disruption.”

-Doug Shapiro, Research Lead at the National Student Clearinghouse

What does this mean? For colleges and universities expecting things to bounce back to normal post-COVID, there’s no easy answer. They’ll need to rethink their strategies for driving enrollment or face the financial reckoning. On a broader level, it means the talent crunch we’re facing likely won’t be going away anytime soon.

The Dilution Effect

In one of the Strategy team’s recent learning and development sessions, we watched Organizational Psychologist Niro Sivanathan’s Ted Talk where he discusses the power of brevity in persuasion. Essentially, when you make an argument, your evidence is not additive, it’s averaged. So stick to your most powerful point, and make your case quickly and clearly. Good to keep in mind as we build our presentations, or when clients are pushing for all 12 RTBs to be included.

Smart Ad of the Week: TurboTax — You Do Your Thing

Armed with the insight that when life gets complicated, people ditch TurboTax, Intuit looked to flip the craziness of the last few years from a liability into an opportunity. “An interesting life can mean an even greater refund” is a smart and effective proposition for those who assume their lifestyle has outgrown the do-it-yourself service.

What I’m Reading: Think Again by Adam Grant

What I’m Watching: HBO’s new Alanis Morissette Documentary, Jagged

What I’m Listening To: The Moon & The Stars: A Prescription for Dreamers by Valerie June