Last month we discussed how to proactively address student withdrawals, but obviously students are still going to stop attending classes. Just because they aren’t there at the moment, don’t forget about them! Withdrawals are a great (and large) source of returning students for your institution….and probably the most neglected group in most college’s enrollment plan.

Why students withdraw. The number of reasons students give for leaving an institution (provided you ask) are staggering. However, the ‘safe’ responses for students to give are ‘financial’ and ‘personal’. It is at this point that most staff members stop probing.

The reality is, you can’t keep them all. No matter how good or how aggressive your retention efforts, you will not keep 100% of your students. Circumstances occur that prevent them from completely their educational goals. These generally fall in to two categories:

Issues you CANNOT address. These are external circumstances that prevent students from continuing at your school. Life ‘happens’ for whatever reason and the resolutions and causes are completely out of your control.

Issues you CAN address. Obviously, this is where you will want to focus your time and resources. A large number of these are related to academic issues which may mean enhancing your tutoring availability, implementing more intervention techniques or providing workshops on study skills to name a few.

If you are working with non-traditional students you’ll have an entire list of other issues that will also come in to play. Adult students have jobs, children, spouses…many things that can have an impact on their willingness or ability to continue their education. The best thing you can do is to identify the issues early in the enrollment process—ideally before they ever begin classes. The earlier you can begin intervening on issues that could cause them to withdraw, the better.

Why You Should Make Withdrawals Part of Your Total Enrollment Strategy

It is not unusual for institutions who aggressively work student withdrawals to re-enroll nearly as many stop outs in a year as they do new students! The numbers can be dramatic and the benefits are clear: 1. It is easier to re-enroll a student than recruit a new one. You know them and they already know your school. The buying cycle is significantly reduced! 2. It is less expensive to re-enroll a student than recruit a new one. You don't have to spend as much on marketing or spend your time weeding through volumes of inquiries to find the students who are interested. 3. Your graduation rate will increase. If you bring them back in to complete their education, then your cohort group is maintained. 4. The potential to reduce your loan default rate is positively impacted. Students who complete their education are less likely to default on their student loans. 5. Your overall enrollment increases. By increasing this group of students you will see significantly higher enrollment over time. 6. Your revenue increases.

Track Reenters Separately. If you aren’t already tracking this group separately in your enrollment reporting, you should begin to do so. If you only include them in your normal returning student category then you will not have a true picture of your student persistence (continuous enrollment), which makes it difficult to provide accurate enrollment forecasting. If you are counting them in your new category after they have been gone from your institution for a specified time, then you aren’t getting an accurate picture of your marketing and recruiting numbers.

By measuring this group separately, you will begin to see some useful trends. You may find, for example, that the majority of your withdrawals reenroll after having been gone for 12-18 months. This will provide excellent information for you to develop specific strategies to get them back in to classes. You will also be able to accurately measure the effectiveness of any specific initiatives you have adopted.

Getting Them Back. Most students know when they withdraw that they really should be competing their education. In reality, many of them do…but not necessarily with you. Don’t forget, your competition is considering them prospects! So, just as you would in your own recruiting process, personal contact at appropriate intervals is always the best way to work this market. An occasional letter or postcard will not produce the best results. The good news is, you have an advantage over your competitors in this area because you already know a great deal about them!

The actual strategy you adopt should be something that fits your institution’s culture and has the best chance for accomplish the goals you establish. One thing we have consistently found is that if you make working the withdrawals part of someone’s existing job, you will not realize significant results. That’s why we highly recommend identifying individuals who have this function as a major part of their role. Colleges have utilized faculty, advisors or ‘ex’ admissions personnel in this area with great success. It is the person as much or more than their background. You need people who are problem-solvers, compassionate, goal-oriented and can effectively work across departmental boundaries.

You also need a plan. Develop a specific strategy, time lines and establish goals. Be sure your strategies include a personal touch. Utilize the information you have concerning their goals, their academic interests and background. Be consistent in your follow up—a one time contact isn’t enough. And most importantly, solve the issue that originally caused their withdrawal. That may mean pulling together resources from across the campus to ensure they have the best chance for success when they return.