If you’re leading admissions or enrollment today, you’ve likely asked yourself this question more than once: how do we actually increase student enrollment in such a competitive, shifting landscape? With declining demographics, rising skepticism about the value of higher ed, and transfer students making up nearly 40% of the market, the answer isn’t “more of the same.” It requires smarter systems, sharper strategies, and student-sucess mentality thinking.
In this article, I’ll walk you through research-backed strategies and practical insights to help you not only attract more students, but also convert them into enrolled learners.
What are you going to find in this article?
- What “increasing student enrollment” really means today.
- Practical strategies institutions are using now.
- The biggest trends shaping enrollment in 2025.
- Risks and mistakes institutions must avoid.
- A conclusion on how to build a lasting enrollment growth strategy
1. What “Increasing Student Enrollment” Really Means
When we talk about how to increase student enrollment, we can’t think only about numbers. Increasing enrollment today means enrolling the right-fit students, those who are more likely to persist, graduate, and succeed. According to a 2024 report from EAB, institutions focusing solely on top-of-funnel lead growth without aligning downstream processes often see no net enrollment gain. Why? Because the bottlenecks in transcript evaluation, financial aid response, or application completion cancel out the initial growth.
So, “increasing enrollment” is a holistic challenge. It means marketing smarter, engaging students earlier, and building processes that reduce friction at every step.
2. Practical Strategies to Increase Student Enrollment
The most effective institutions aren’t chasing quick fixes, they’re building systems that compound over time. Here are a few examples of what’s working:
Make Your Website a Lead Generator
Students begin their journey online. Research by Inside Higher Ed shows that 68% of students visit a college website multiple times before reaching out. But most higher ed sites still act as static brochures instead of lead-generation engines. By embedding tools like DegreeSight INBOUND, institutions transform curiosity into actionable leads, capturing information during credit evaluations or program explorations.
Prioritize Transfer Students
Transfer students are the highest-yield segment in higher ed, but many institutions underserve them. Offering clear transfer pathways and transparent credit evaluations not only drives inquiries but also increases applications. Schools that proactively market their transfer-friendliness see enrollment gains without spending heavily on traditional freshmen marketing.
Automate Follow-Ups Without Losing Personalization
One of the most consistent ways to lose students is by being slow to respond. A NACAC study showed that a delay of more than 48 hours in responding to an inquiry drops enrollment likelihood by 30%. Automation fixes this, but it has to be smart. A good enrollment management system doesn’t just send generic emails; it utilizes generative AI tools to create messages to the student’s behavior and intent.
Leverage Community and Employer Partnerships
Growth doesn’t always come from digital campaigns alone. Many schools are seeing success through articulation agreements with community colleges and partnerships with regional employers. Co-branded landing pages, dual advising models, and employer-sponsored degree completion pathways provide a steady stream of qualified students.
“At Roosevelt University, embedding DegreeSight’s Inbound tool turned credit evaluations into a steady flow of leads, averaging 32 per week, while freeing staff to focus on relationship-building rather than manual evaluations.”
3. Trends Shaping Enrollment Growth in 2025
Several major trends are shaping how institutions think about how to increase student enrollment in 2025:
- Personalization at Scale: Students now expect the same level of tailored communication they get from Amazon or Netflix. Institutions using CRM-driven personalization see significantly higher engagement rates.
- Mobile-First Marketing: With the majority of prospects starting their journey on mobile, enrollment processes that aren’t mobile-optimized lose leads instantly.
- AI in Enrollment: From OCR transcript processing to AI-driven chatbots, automation is speeding up bottlenecks that once cost weeks. Schools adopting AI-supported workflows report faster applicant conversions.
- Focus on ROI Messaging: Students are increasingly skeptical about the value of higher education. Marketing that emphasizes outcomes—career readiness, ROI, alumni success, performs better than generic brand campaigns.
“Oklahoma Christian’s transfer credit calculator (DegreeSight’s INBOUND) gave instant, transparent credit answers. Within 8 months, 51 students inquired and 8 deposited, demonstrating how transparency drives conversions.”
4. Risks and Mistakes Institutions Must Avoid
Here’s where many colleges stumble: they treat enrollment growth as a single-department problem. Marketing launches campaigns, admissions chases leads, and the registrar processes transcripts—all in silos. But students don’t experience silos; they experience friction. And every moment of friction risks enrollment loss.
Another risk is over-relying on technology without rethinking processes. A shiny new CRM won’t solve enrollment challenges if staff are still working in outdated ways. Likewise, automation without empathy can make students feel like just another number.
And perhaps the most dangerous mistake: ignoring transfer students. Overlooking this audience is one of the most expensive blind spots an institution can have. Schools that position themselves as transfer-friendly are seeing enrollment gains even as demographics decline.
“Oklahoma Baptist University avoided this mistake by embracing transfer-friendliness. Their use of DegreeSight drew in 139 prospects, most of them transfers, proving that meeting students where they are pays off.”
5. Building a Lasting Enrollment Growth Strategy
So, how do you increase student enrollment in 2025? By combining technology, strategy, and empathy. It means turning your website into a recruiter, investing in systems that personalize at scale, prioritizing transfer pathways, and building partnerships that sustain pipelines. But above all, it means aligning your marketing, admissions, and registrar offices around a single student-centered process.
Enrollment growth is no longer about working harder, it’s about working smarter.
If you’re ready to see where your enrollment funnel is breaking, and how to fix it, start with a Transfer Friendliness Assessment. It’s the first step toward transforming your system into a growth engine.