How to compete in today’s higher ed enrollment, research, and talent landscapes
Higher education leaders have long been attuned to disruption—the demographic cliff, the threat of widespread closures, and the “unbundling” of the degree, to name a few—and its role in shaping the market. And the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent events have certainly demonstrated the wide-ranging impact that disruption can have on institutions.
While bracing for disruption, it’s easy to overlook how much competition has fundamentally reshaped the higher education landscape. In particular, the emergence of three competitive market forces is already raising the stakes for institutions and altering what it means to “win” in key markets:
- Winner-take-most dynamics are concentrating certain markets as a small number of institutions capture a disproportionate share of graduate enrollments, talent and funding.
- The competitive set—for both students and employees—is rapidly expanding. Institutions are no longer only competing with each other, but with the private sector and off-campus obligations.
- The pool of higher education consumers is shrinking, as demographic declines reshape the enrollment and labor landscapes.
In a July 2022 roundtable, Cracking the Code on Competition: How to Win in New Enrollment, Research, and Talent Landscapes, EAB experts discussed this year’s State of the Sector research and explored how these competitive forces are redefining three key terrains, as well as what market leaders must do to distinguish themselves in the years to come. Explore the takeaways below.
Review the key takeaways
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Established graduate programs join the online revolution
Despite a long-term anticipated slowdown in professional graduate programs, enrollment grew at a rate of over 2% in 2020 and 2021, largely driven by growth at primarily online institutions. While exacerbated by the pandemic-induced shift to remote instruction, this recent growth follows a decade-long expansion in the online graduate market.
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An increasingly winner-take-most research funding market
“Winner take most” dynamics have also shaped the market for federally sponsored research over the last decade. Since 2011, the top 50 institutions grew their own research investments by 140% while all other institutions increased their spending by 34%. Concentration of funding and expenditures at a small number of research institutions has contributed to the growth of a hub and spoke model of research development.
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Talent crisis poses student experience risks
Over the past several years, the talent market within higher education has been defined by pandemic-induced whiplash. What these trends don’t capture is high turnover across functions and institutions. This only further strains higher ed talent management functions.
Cabinet and executive leaders should use this briefing to identify the market shifts that are most likely to impact their institutions, as well as the strategic opportunities to improve their competitive positioning. Use the discussion questions to guide cabinet-level conversations and the additional EAB resources provided to make progress on key institutional priorities.
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