Overcoming the Enrollment Cliff: 3 Digital Strategies That Work

Now that the dreaded enrollment cliff has arrived, it’s time to make the most of the powerful digital tools that have emerged since today’s college prospects were born. The demographic reality is stark—many institutions are seeing double-digit declines in applications over the past three years. But while the student landscape has shifted, so have the ways to reach them. 

Here are three digital strategies I recommend prioritizing:

1. Fix Your Website Search

Leading the digital team at my last university, we uncovered a critical issue: 65% of visitors who used our website search left without clicking on any results. Even worse, students searching for specific programs were often shown irrelevant or outdated information. Our search function wasn’t just limiting results—it was driving potential students away.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this: natural language processing (NLP). Schools that implement NLP are seeing up to a 25% increase in time spent on their sites and measurable growth in completed applications. 

With NLP, students can ask questions in their own words—like “How much does it cost to attend?”—rather than having to decode higher ed jargon like “comprehensive fees.” This is especially valuable for first-generation students, who may be unfamiliar with institutional language.

Small technical upgrades like this can lead to major engagement gains—the kind of intuitive, personalized experience today’s students already expect from platforms they encounter on a daily (let’s face it, constant) basis.

2. Apply a Unified Digital Strategy

Personalization isn’t just about using the right tech—it’s about removing barriers and anticipating student needs. Which is where a unified digital strategy can help. 

For example, one mid-sized private university built a centralized data platform that connects information from admissions, academic departments, and student services. The result: personalized website experiences and communications based on students’ academic interests, geographical location, and previous interactions. When visiting their website, a prospective engineering student from California will see stories about California alumni working in Silicon Valley, information about engineering scholarships, and upcoming virtual events specific to the engineering program—all without having to search for this information.

Another university focused on key decision points in the student journey. By analyzing website behavior, they found that students who visited their financial aid section often had questions about affordability but rarely reached out directly. Their solution: targeted chat prompts specifically for these users. As a result, they have seen a 45% increase in financial aid consultations and higher yield rates.

Strategic interventions like these help ensure the right message reaches the right student—at the right moment.

3. Harness AI to Bridge the Gap

If improving search and personalization seems daunting—especially for institutions with limited resources—AI can be a gamechanger.

One state flagship institution uses an AI-driven orientation platform to create customized schedules and content recommendations based on each student’s academic program, interests, and needs. Their first-generation students receive additional resources about navigating university life, while transfer students see content specific to their transition experience.

Meanwhile, a liberal arts college in the Northeast has implemented an AI-powered content recommendation engine that dynamically adjusts what prospective students see based on their browsing behavior. A student exploring multiple arts-related programs, for example, will receive information about their interdisciplinary arts curriculum and student gallery exhibitions.

What makes these AI implementations particularly valuable is their ability to improve over time without requiring additional resources. The systems learn from user behavior, continuously optimizing search results and content recommendations.

Charting a Path Forward

I’m reminded of a conversation I had with the president of a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. Five years ago, faced with declining enrollment, they considered drastic cuts—including eliminating several academic programs. Instead, they chose to invest in a comprehensive digital strategy focused on improving their website experience, implementing AI-powered search, and personalizing communications.

“It wasn't cheap,” he told me, “but it was far less expensive than the cost of continued enrollment decline.” Today, while many of their peer institutions continue to struggle, they've stabilized enrollment and increased their yield rate by 12%.

As we navigate the enrollment cliff together, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for every institution. But by leveraging the digital tools that grew up with these students, we might just find that we are not simply surviving the enrollment cliff—we are also building stronger, more student-centered institutions for the future.

Looking for technology solutions and support?

👉 If you’d like to explore how strategies like these could work for your campus, I’d be glad to help. Here’s a link to get in touch.