The Recession: the Prospective’s Perspective
According to a survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics, leading forecasters predict the end of the recession to be imminent: “About 74 percent of the forecasters expect the recession-which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II-to end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent predict the turning point will come in the final three months of this year, and the remaining 7 percent believe the recession will end in the first quarter of 2010.”
But while it lasts-and even after it’s over-what kind of impact will the economic downturn have on college enrollment? We marketing and admissions consultants and institutional professionals have had plenty of time to think about our points of view and ponder some of the big questions, such as: What will happen to admission trends in the next 10 years? Is there going to be a marked shift in the admissions landscape?
Meanwhile, consider the perspective of future students and families looking to send one or more children to college. They are worried about their own challenges. Loans have been much harder to come by and many households have one or more breadwinners out of work, so finding affordable ways to send students to college is a common source of frustration for American families.
Sometimes hearing personal stories is the best way to understand how the recession is affecting the people our institutions serve.
I found this collection of NPR stories and streaming audio from the last 11 months. If you’re interested in hearing a series that takes an empathetic approach to telling the story of the recession from the point of view of students and families who want to send their child to college at a bleak point in the American economy, check out the link. The streaming audio gives you the freedom to listen while you work .. after all, we’re not out of the recession yet!
Thanks for posting this Doug. There are no easy answers, but I really do think we’re on the verge of a real shift in the way higher ed markets in the next decade and I don’t think it’s on enough people’s radar.
Posted on June 11, 2009 by Ron
Hey Ron - thanks for the comment! Good luck with edustir.com - I’m really digging it so far.
I noticed that you had a related article on student debt and college tuition and I encourage people who are interested in this topic to visit edustir.com to read it.
Posted on June 12, 2009 by Doug Gapinski
Money for college is always a great deal, thanks God,i had already got through it
Posted on March 13, 2010 by Order Writing Services