insidetrack ebook: the decision-making behavior of post-traditional students

1 Confidential © InsideTrack, 2013

The decision-making behavior of post-traditional students An analysis of coaching data from InsideTrack


The data in this presentation is drawn from records of in-depth coach:student interactions

We reviewed records from InsideTrack Coaching of more than 140,000 prospective and enrolled post-traditional students to assess their: • Reasons for pursuing a degree

• Institution selection criteria

• Concerns with online learning

• Non-start reasons

• Drop reasons


Reason for pursuing a degree


Most post-traditional students are pursuing a degree to advance in their current career

55%

18%

12% 10%

Career Advancer Career Starter Career Changer Personal Goal

Top Reason for Pursuing a Degree (n=29791)

More post-traditional students seek Career Advancement as

their primary goal than all other options combined

But, make sure your marketing messages don’t ignore the other

45%.


Online students are more likely to be Career Starters than campus-based post-traditional students

54%

23%

13% 11%

61%

14% 14% 11%


Top Reason for Pursuing a Degree (n=29791)

OnlineGround

Online students 64% more likely to be Career Starters

Consider differentiating

marketing messages for

ground and online programs.


Female post-traditional students are more likely to be Career Starters than males

56%

22%

11% 11%

62%

14% 13% 11%


Reason for Pursuing a Degree (n=18865)

FemaleMale

Females 57% more likely to be Career

Starters Consider

differentiating marketing

messages for male and female prospects.


Online students at selective institutions are more likely to be Career Advancers

80%

6% 2%

13%

57%

16% 12% 12%

53%

21%

12% 10%


Reason for Pursuing a Degree (n=29791)

Highly SelectiveInstituionSemi-SelectiveInstitutionOpen AccessInstitution

Online students at highly selective institutions far more likely to be Career

Advancers and far less likely to be Career Starters or Career Changers

Know how your selectivity affects the motivations of

students you attract.


Age and military service also impact reasons for pursuing a degree

Specific distinctions include: Post-traditional students under age 25 are more likely to be Career Starters; students age 40+ more likely to be driven by a Personal Goal. Current and former military service members are more likely to be Career Changers; non-military more likely to be Career Advancers.


Institution selection criteria


Prospective post-traditional students often select institutions based on reputation and convenience

39% 39%

12%

Institutional Reputation Convenience Academic Program Quality

Top Institution Selection Criteria Among Prospective Post-Traditional Students (n=28722)

The importance of Academic Program Quality varies by

student type, but is always 3rd on the list

Know when to focus marketing messages on the program vs the

institution.


Campus-based post-traditional students care more about specific academic program quality

40% 41%

10%

27% 30%

25%



OnlineGround

Ground students more than twice as likely to base

decisions on Academic Program Quality

If the same program is

available online and on campus, you may need to

market each differently.


The less selective the institution, the more convenience and academic program quality matter

62%

30%

7%

45% 46%

8%

36%

49%

12%



Highly SelectiveInstituionSemi-SelectiveInstitutionOpen AccessInstitution

Prospective students at less selective institutions 60% more likely to value Convenience

Highly selective institutions should

remember that convenience is still

very important.


Current and former military service members value Convenience most

39%

54%

7%

67%

26%

6%



MilitaryNon-Military

The importance of Convenience and Institutional Reputation

opposite for Military and Non-Military post-traditional

students

Service members and vets want to

know that they can fit your program into a busy and geographically

mobile life.


There are no significant differences in selection criteria based on age or gender

Based on our analysis: Both male and female post-traditional students value Convenience most, followed closely by Institutional Reputation, with Academic Program Quality a distant third. Older students care slightly more about Convenience than younger students, but the order and general magnitude of selection criteria are consistent across age groups.


Concerns with online learning


Online students are most concerned about their ability to get a quality education online

19%

16% 15%

13%

8% 8% 7%

5%

3% 2% 2% 2%

1%

Top Concerns with Online Learning (n=2813)

Many also concerned that their diploma will say it is from an online degree program, due to

employer perceptions

Addressing these concerns in the

admissions process results in

stronger commitment to

completion.


Concerns about time management in online learning increase significantly with age

24% 26% 25% 25%

19%

37%

22% 25%

19%

45%

18% 17%

Fear of theunknown

Time management Online degreenoted on diploma

Quality ofEducation


<25 yrs old25-40 yrs old40+ yrs old

It’s important to proactively

address time management with younger, less self-aware prospects.

Students age 40+ nearly twice as likely as students under age 25 to cite “time management” concerns


Females are more likely to cite a “fear of the unknown”, Males “being new to online learning”

11%

20%

58%

12%

17% 15%

54%

14%

Fear of the unknown New to online Time management Self-study


MaleFemale

Males 33% more likely to

cite “newness”

Females 55% more likely to

cite “fear” The language you use plays an

important role in how your message

is received.


The selectivity of the institution and age of the student also influence areas of concern

Specific distinctions include: When it comes to concerns about: • whether their degree says that it is from an online program • the quality of the online education they will receive • the responsiveness of professors Online students at highly selective institutions are more concerned. Online students over the age of 40 are less concerned.


Non-start reasons


If they don’t start at your institution, the most likely reason is that they went somewhere else

25%

19%

15% 14%

12%

8%

3% 2% 2% 1%

Top Non-Start Reasons (n=16391)

Often cited in prospect surveys, finances

account for a small portion of non-starts

One-quarter of conversion losses due to

competition

Though most prospects don’t

consider suitability (fit) and

commitment to graduation, these

are critical to avoiding drops

later – be proactive in addressing

them.


Females are more likely not to start due to financial issues; males are more often unresponsive

24% 23%

3%

11%

8%

15%

2% 3% 3%

1%

25% 23%

4%

11% 12%

9%

2% 2% 4%

2%


MaleFemale

Females 50% more likely than males to not start due to financial issues

Males 67% more likely to be unresponsive after

inquiry

It may be necessary to

adjust contact rate goals by prospect

gender.


Current/former military service members typically start somewhere once they inquire

51%

14% 14%

8% 4% 3% 3%

38%

25%

16%

11%

2% 4%

1%


MilitaryNon-Military

Current/former military service members significantly less likely not to start or to face issues with

external commitments Service members

and vets are typically committed once they inquire and may be

worthy of added focus.


The selectivity of the institution and age of the prospect also influence non-start reasons

Specific distinctions include: Competition only accounts for 7% of non-starts at semi-selective institutions, but 27% and 30% at highly selective and open access institutions, respectively. 24% of non-starts at semi-selective institutions are due to Qualification/Academic Requirements versus 10% at highly selective institutions. Prospects under age 25 are more than twice as likely as those age 40+ to not start due to Qualification/Academic Requirements. Prospects age 40+ are more than twice as likely as those under age 25 to not start due to External Commitments.


Drop reasons


Difficulty managing non-academic commitments is the main reason post-traditional students drop

25%

20%

13%

9% 8% 8% 7%

Top Drop Reasons (n=117,018)

Academic issues account for less than

10% of drops

More than 1/3 of drops come from difficulty managing and

following through on commitments Addressing

potential obstacles during admissions

is critical to ensuring

persistence.


Campus-based post-traditional students are more likely to drop due to effectiveness issues

25%

20%

12%

9% 8% 8% 7%

27%

16%

20%

7% 5%

10% 9%


OnlineGround

Post-traditional ground students 2/3 more likely to drop due to lack of follow-through on commitments

Short-term (weekly) accountability mechanisms

enhance persistence.


Female post-traditional students are more likely to drop due to health and support issues

20%

17%

14%

9% 10%

11%

8%

23%

18%

16%

10% 10%

6% 7%


FemaleMaleWomen 83% more

likely to drop due to Health and Support

Back-up plans for elder and child

care reduce female student attrition.


Institution selectivity, military status and student age also influence drop reasons

Specific distinctions include: 18% of drops at semi-selective institutions involve students taking a planned session off. Current and former military service members are more likely to drop due to External Commitments and less likely to drop due to Effectiveness issues. Students under age 25 are more likely to drop due to Finance and Effectiveness issues. Students age 40+ are more likely to drop due to Health and Support issues or lack of Commitment to Graduation.


Increase enrollment, retention and graduation by 15%. • 1:1 coaching for prospective and enrolled students

• Actionable insights on student perceptions and needs

• Systems to ensure measurement and accountability

InsideTrack works with you to implement a system for continuous improvement

InsideTrack is the only college dropout prevention initiative to meet WWC evidence standards

Increase student and institutional success.

Contact us: [email protected]

415.243.4468 www.insidetrack.com

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.insidetrack.com/