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The Sorenson Impact Center has launched a new interactive data tool to help institutions anticipate future enrollment trends in higher education.
Called the Student Trends and Enrollment Projections Dashboard, or STEP, the tool tracks historical enrollment and population trends, forecasts future patterns, and offers insights into student migration and online education, according to a press release.
The dashboard, which utilizes data from College Scorecard, the U.S. Census and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, is part of the MAPS Project (for Model, Analyze, Prototype and Share), a student-centric initiative to find solutions to higher education’s biggest challenges. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
By disaggregating data according to gender, race and geographic area, the tool provides valuable information about where different groups of undergraduates are attending college and projects how that might change going forward.
STEP comes at a time when college enrollment is flagging nationally, and many institutions are worrying about how to stay afloat.
“While many colleges and universities are working to ensure their enrollment strategies meet the needs of today’s students, it’s also important for these institutions to invest in retaining, graduating and positively impacting these future leaders,” said Megan Brewster, Sorenson Impact Center director. “By leveraging the STEP Dashboard’s data-driven insights, higher education leaders can position themselves to not only attract but authentically support the diverse students of tomorrow so that both students and institutions can thrive in the future.”
