To serve adult learners effectively in a highly competitive market, institutions must first invest in their internal capacity to reach and support this unique student audience. Leaders must understand the spectrum of unit structures, their strengths, and their limitations.
When marketing resources and expertise reside solely within a team primarily recruiting first-time, first-year or transfer students and managing institutional branding, adult-serving programs often don’t receive the dedicated attention needed to build segment-specific messages. Marketing staff focused specifically on adult and online offerings highly correlates with revenue growth.
COE units that maintain marketing support functions can optimize their marketing approach to pursue non-traditional students, but at a higher cost to the unit itself. Yet members say taking on the cost of marketing themselves often more than justifies the investment.
Executing on growth strategies, such as launching revenue-positive new programs or developing rewarding industry relationships, requires dedicated effort that staff cannot sustain ad hoc. As COE units grow, these responsibilities must receive assigned attention, rather than relying on occasional staff capacity.