A three-part series
Lauren Dukes, EdD, Director, Student Support & Engagement (SSE), Noodle
Introduction
Re-engaging students who have temporarily discontinued their studies—often referred to as “stopouts”—is a critical challenge for higher education institutions. In the U.S., approximately 40% of college students stop out at some point before earning their degree and, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data from 2023, 40.4 million Americans have completed some college but have not earned a credential.
Common reasons for stopping out include financial issues, family responsibilities, and academic challenges. Each stopout represents a substantial revenue loss for institutions, costing between $20,000 to $130,000 in lost tuition per student. While some students can not or will not return, many can be inspired to re-enroll and successfully complete their education through effective outreach strategies. This three-part series outlines methods for identifying, engaging, and supporting stopout students, in order to improve re-enrollment and graduation rates.
Part 1: Conducting Targeted Re-Enrollment Campaigns
Targeted re-enrollment campaigns can effectively reach students who have discontinued their studies, particularly when they are personalized and address the student’s specific situations and concerns. However, we know sometimes that’s easier said than done, especially in the face of finite resources and funding. So where should you start? Look at your data—begin with what you know and identify the gaps.
What Kind of Data Do You Need?
Before initiating a re-enrollment campaign, it is essential to gather comprehensive data about your previously enrolled students. This includes academic records, reasons for leaving, contact information, and any prior engagement with support services. Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of this data is the first step in creating an effective outreach strategy.
How Should You Group Previously Enrolled Students?
Realistic ways of segmenting students can include:
- Time Since Leaving: Recent stopouts may require different messaging than those who left several years ago. It is generally recommended to focus on students who stopped out within the last 2-5 years, as they are more likely to re-engage and complete their education.
- Reasons for Leaving: Grouping students by their reasons for leaving, such as financial difficulties, family responsibilities, academic challenges, or personal issues, can create economies of effort as they can be approached with similar messaging. That said, most institutions will have a large group of students with uncategorized reasons for leaving. In the absence of this information, a generalized approach can be used for outreach to this group, or they may be further segmented using other approaches mentioned here.
- Academic Standing: Students who were struggling academically prior to leaving will require a different approach than those who excelled. The former may respond to learning support opportunities such as tutoring or alternative learning methods. The latter will require additional understanding to determine if they left due to external reasons or perhaps a lack of academic challenge.
What Are Your Re-Enrollment Target Numbers?
It’s important to have established re-enrollment targets in order to justify funding and evaluate performance. Equally important is understanding the dynamics of re-enrollment so you can estimate the level of effort needed to reach your goals.
As a starting point, on average, only about 13% of students who stop out will re-enroll within a year. Doing some simple math, if your goal is to bring back 50 undergraduate degree students this year, you will need to reach out to approximately 385 stopouts assuming a 13% rate of return.
Setting clear targets helps you plan your outreach strategy effectively and allocate resources appropriately. Keep in mind that these numbers are illustrative and can vary based on the specific context of your institution, the degree programs you are targeting, and the characteristics of the student population.
What Should You Say?
Outreach involves personalized communication efforts such as emails, phone calls, direct mail, and social media engagement designed to re-establish contact with stopout students and encourage them to re-enroll. As discussed, students choose to leave their studies for a variety of reasons, making it critical that our communication with them acknowledges their personal situation. In other words, it’s important that the outreach empathizes with their situation and offers solutions that address their specific reason for leaving, at least to the extent that we can identify the reasons with some certainty.
Above all, it is important to avoid the classic hard sell. Impersonal messages, generic templates, and overly pushy language will likely alienate the recipient, reinforcing negative perceptions of students being viewed as little more than numbers. Quality time spent in selecting and refining your communications will pay big dividends.
- Empathy: Begin your communication by acknowledging the challenges they faced, expressing understanding and support, and showing genuine interest in their well-being. Express excitement to learn what they’ve been up to during their time away.
- Support Plan: Briefly mention the financial incentives, flexible learning options, and comprehensive support services available to them. Tease that more details will be provided in subsequent communications.
- A Proper Reintroduction Experience: Maximize the impact of your communication with student portals designed to provide an engaging re-introduction experience that reflects your institution’s energy and community. Create dedicated web pages for former students with compelling visuals, detailed information about new programs, options to request more information or apply, and other relevant resources. This approach ensures that returning students feel welcomed and valued, and provides them with a seamless transition back into their academic journey.
Do You Have a CRM to Track Engagement?
Modern tracking systems deliver real-time measures of the effectiveness of your current outreach activities, but they also provide guidance for improving efforts going forward. Many universities use CRMs such as Salesforce, Ellucian, or Hobsons, which can track opens, clicks, questions, and other interactions which can provide insights into what resonates with students and how best to support their journey back to education.
Do You Have the Internal Capacity to Start Outreach?
Clearly, a successful outreach to stopouts requires a significant level of effort and investment. The steps outlined above provide a roadmap, but each is driven by numerous tasks that consume finite resources and require specialized expertise. All this can be overwhelming, especially for smaller teams. Does your team have the time and resources to tackle this challenge while still prioritizing other student priorities such as academic advising, mental health support, and career services?
According to preliminary data compiled by InsideTrack, colleges and universities that deployed success coaches were able to contact more than 6,800 former students and ultimately help 1,850 (or 7% of all the student names provided) register for courses—a rate 4 times higher than the national re-enrollment rate calculated by the National Student Clearinghouse.
What’s Ahead?
Part 2: Developing a Comprehensive “Bring Back” Support Plan
In Part 2, we will delve into the details of creating a robust support plan that addresses the various barriers stopout students face. This includes offering financial incentives and programs, implementing flexible learning options, and providing comprehensive support services to ensure their successful re-enrollment and completion.
Part 3: Building a Sense of Community and Belonging
Building a strong sense of community and belonging can make returning students feel more connected and supported, increasing their commitment to completing their education. Part 3 will explore strategies for creating an inclusive and engaging environment for re-enrolled students, ensuring they feel welcomed and valued as part of the campus community.
Conclusion
While the focus of this series is on encouraging stopouts to re-enroll, we would be remiss if we did not mention the value of a proactive, data-led approach to identifying at-risk learners before they decide to interrupt their studies. Leveraging predictive analytics and early intervention strategies can help institutions preemptively address potential issues and reduce the likelihood of stopouts.
Failing this, we must face the challenge of encouraging stopouts to re-enroll. This begins with a data-driven evaluation and understanding of these students; grouping them thoughtfully and strategically; crafting empathetic, relevant and supportive messages; and utilizing CRM technology to assess effectiveness and inform future modifications.
At Noodle, we recognize the diverse challenges faced by higher ed, from attracting the best new students to encouraging their return when life interrupts their plans. We have designed our suite of offerings as a palette of solutions that can be tailored to meet your distinct needs and welcome the opportunity to partner with you in your efforts.
