Enrollment continues downward trend
CSB+SJU's enrollment has reached recent record lows within the past year, following the national trend of declining enrollment for private colleges. With the Stronger Integration efforts and first joint president, administration is re-evaluating its marketing strategies.
CSB+SJU’s fall 2022 10th day enrollment numbers display a continued downward trend that many private institutions are facing across the country.
Current CSB first year enrollment is 329 students—78 students fewer than in fall 2021. Likewise, SJU first year enrollment is 394 students—44 students fewer than in Fall 2021. Total CSB and SJU enrollment numbers for full and part-time undergraduates are 1,443 students and 1,528 students respectively, totaling 2,971 CSB+SJU undergraduates. Spring 2022 was the first time that CSB+SJU’s combined enrollment fell below 3,000 students since 1973.
“There’s no sense of panic or desperation because we’re not in that situation. We are not panicked, and we are not desperate. We are appropriately aware of the current market, and we know that there’s work that needs to be done,” Interim Director of Admission Matt Beirne said.
To Beirne, continued work with recruiting and retaining students will come incrementally. The goal is to get CSB+SJU back on track within the next three to five years.
“While CSB and SJU are not alone in facing enrollment challenges, we feel confident that with a renewed emphasis on marketing and enrollment strategies, we can regain some of our lost ground over the next few years,” CSB+SJU Chief Marketing Officer Katie Alvino said via email.
Beirne also points to more people entering the workforce instead of going to college as a possible reason for this declining enrollment. Since 2011, there are 3.3 million fewer students in college than in 2022. Of those 3.3 million, there are 1.3 million fewer just between Spring 2020 to Spring 2022.
Not only does CSB+SJU face the challenge of marketing the value of a college degree against a market with fewer potential students, but they also have to sell the value of specifically the CSB+SJU experience.
“Now, with a joint marketing department and our first joint president, we can have a more unified vision and message for the broader market which will really set CSB and SJU apart from any other college in Minnesota,” Alvino said.
One way of marketing is Zippia’s ranking of CSB and SJU as the No.1 and No. 2 institutions in Minnesota to get a job coming out of college. Beirne said a college degree is a long term investment in students’ careers, compared to a short term investment through employment immediately after high school.
The Office of Marketing and Communications is focusing on more external marketing strategies to help boost enrollment. They are amidst an external brand research project that will help guide the brand strategic roadmap for 2023 and beyond.
“CSB and SJU have a compelling story to tell about our students and our graduates, and we are underscoring that message to our marketing efforts,” Alvino said.
Efforts, such as the Stronger Integration methods and the hiring of the first CSB+SJU joint president Brian Bruess, call into question how enrollment may be impacted by these changes.
“I see bright days ahead with the Stronger Integration model and having a unified marketing department,” Beirne said.
The downward enrollment trend is not uncommon specifically among other private institutions in the Midwest. Enrollments in the Federal Reserve’s Ninth District from Fall 2019 to Fall 2021 for private colleges fell by 6.9%. The Ninth District includes Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis points to the sharp drop in birth rates that began after 2008 as a future concern for post-secondary institutions. Known as the enrollment cliff among higher education professionals, a more severe enrollment decline is forecasted to begin around 2025 when this group becomes college-age.
Beirne said the most effective marketing strategy of all is the positive interactions that CSB+SJU students have with prospective students in recruiting them to CSB and SJU.
“We need our students to be our strongest advocates. I think that we have incredibly passionate students. That is our secret weapon. Our secret weapon are passionate students who love these places and want them to succeed,” Beirne said.
