Avoid “fight-or-flight” reactions by redesigning the onboarding experience

EAB researchers interviewed hundreds of community college students across the country to understand their experience during onboarding, the period of time between application and the first day of class. What emerged was a wide range of stressful situations the typical new student encounters during his or her first few interactions with the college. Unfortunately, these stressors often elicit “fight-or-flight” responses that threaten students’ enrollment and long-term success at the institution.

College leaders can guide students to make optimal enrollment decisions and ultimately increase the likelihood of enrollment and completion by leveraging lessons from behavioral economics to redesign the onboarding experience.