Why Redesign Admissions?
Helping more Americans earn bachelor’s degrees that position them for further learning and new careers, promotions, and higher wages is essential to meeting the nation’s talent needs. This work is especially important at minority-serving institutions and regional colleges and universities, where students of color and adult students from low- and middle-income families are most likely to start their degrees.
And yet, bachelor’s degree programs are losing students at astounding rates. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, bachelor’s-granting institutions have lost 5.7 percent of students ages 24 and younger, representing 663,000 students, and an additional 570,000 adults 25 and over. Undergraduate enrollment decreases were especially pronounced among students of color: 2022 alone saw a 4.2 percent decrease in Black student enrollment, a 2 percent decrease in Native student enrollment, and 0.5 percent decrease in Hispanic and Latino student enrollment. These patterns will only worsen when the long-anticipated demographic enrollment cliff hits in 2025.
In addition to enrollment declines, the admissions landscape is experiencing once-in-a-generation upheavals. Test-optional policies have become the norm: more than 80 percent of colleges do not require the SAT or ACT for admissions. This creates opportunities for students, particularly students of color. However, one challenge of test-optional admissions policies is the resulting drop in prospective high school student information available to college and university admissions officers. This further complicates the job of admissions and recruitment practitioners, as they have to find different ways to reach students
Many colleges and universities are also reconsidering their application requirements and review processes following recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings limiting race-conscious admissions. As colleges and universities respond, they must avoid placing increased burdens on prospective students.
While navigating this new, under-resourced environment, admissions offices are underwater, experiencing pressures and expectations as never before. Data from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources revealed that admissions department turnover rates are among the highest in higher education.
These conditions are converging to create a window of opportunity for transformational change in admissions systems that removes barriers to college access. Fixing the process can benefit all students by positioning colleges and universities to meet their needs, which in turn will benefit struggling institutions.
Making complex systems more straightforward is no easy task. Without intentional, transformational, and robust intervention, admissions systems will remain as they are or become even more complex—and more challenging for today’s students. Now is the time to invest in transformational change that will create opportunity for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, age, income, or family status.
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