The ability of any school to sustain itself goes beyond just being able to fill empty classroom seats. It requires the involvement of the school leaders to set up and carry out an effective growth strategy. Explained below are three important components to take note of when creating an effective and long-lasting enrollment growth plan.
1. Maintaining the Right Standards
A successful school enrollment growth plan starts with the administrators’ effort and commitment to upholding the right standards. Schools with the aim to grow are always mission-focused, they know who their target audience is, and that includes families that are in sync with their values and mission.
It goes beyond just filling your empty classrooms with any kind of student. That is why the admission process includes entrance examinations and interviews. This is to ensure that only families who can uphold the school’s academic standard are enrolled.
It is crucial that you communicate with your staff and also strive to keep to your standards. Do not lower them just to fill empty seats. You run the risk of losing your current students if you do this.
2. Select the Right Students
Not every prospect you attract to your school is the right one. But getting the right student all starts from attracting the right prospects. This involves maintaining the constant flow of prospects via the enrollment funnel and monitoring their journey to the point where they make their decision.
Even if not all your prospects will eventually enroll in your school, it is crucial to support all prospects through their journey. Note that the decision to enroll is not the parents’ own alone, helping through the whole process will help both you and the parents identify if the school is a good fit for the student.
Even though your school might not be the best fit for the student, the parents might know who the school is perfect for. They won’t recommend your school unless you were good to them through their own process. This is the power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing.
Click here to read on Understanding your Prospects Enrollment Journey
3. Retain the Right Students
The current students are the right ones for your school. So when it comes to retaining them, you need to please the families. It all boils down to keeping them satisfied by meeting their expectations and solving any problems they may have. Do everything necessary to make them want to come back every year.
An effective and sustainable enrollment growth goes beyond just adding new students. It involves keeping the right standards, selecting the right students, and retaining them.
