InsideTrack eBook: The decision-making behavior of post-traditional students

1Confidential © InsideTrack, 2013
The decision-making behavior of
post-traditional students
An analysis of coaching data from InsideTrack

The data in this presentation is drawn from
records of in-depth coach:student interactions
We reviewed records from InsideTrack Coaching of more than
140,000 prospective and enrolled post-traditional students to
assess their:
• Reasons for pursuing a degree
• Institution selection criteria
• Concerns with online learning
• Non-start reasons
• Drop reasons

Reason for pursuing a degree

Most post-traditional students are pursuing a
degree to advance in their current career
55%
18%
12%
10%
Career Advancer Career Starter Career Changer Personal Goal
Top Reason for Pursuing a Degree
(n=29791)
More post-traditional students
seek Career Advancement as
their primary goal than all
other options combined
But, make sure
your marketing
messages don’t
ignore the other
45%.

Online students are more likely to be Career Starters
than campus-based post-traditional students
54%
23%
13%
11%
61%
14% 14%
11%
Top Reason for Pursuing a Degree
(n=29791)
Online
Ground
Online students 64%
more likely to be
Career Starters
Consider
differentiating
marketing
messages for
ground and online
programs.

Female post-traditional students are more likely
to be Career Starters than males
56%
22%
11% 11%
62%
14% 13% 11%
Reason for Pursuing a Degree
(n=18865)
Female
Male
Females 57% more
likely to be Career
Starters
Consider
differentiating
marketing
messages for male
and female
prospects.

Online students at selective institutions are more
likely to be Career Advancers
80%
6%
2%
13%
57%
16%
12% 12%
53%
21%
12%
10%
Reason for Pursuing a Degree
(n=29791)
Highly Selective
Instituion
Semi-Selective
Institution
Open Access
Institution
Online students at highly selective
institutions far more likely to be Career
Advancers and far less likely to be Career
Starters or Career Changers
Know how your
selectivity affects
the motivations of
students you
attract.

Age and military service also impact reasons for
pursuing a degree
Specific distinctions include:
Post-traditional students under age 25 are more likely to be Career
Starters; students age 40+ more likely to be driven by a Personal Goal.
Current and former military service members are more likely to be
Career Changers; non-military more likely to be Career Advancers.

Institution selection criteria

Prospective post-traditional students often select
institutions based on reputation and convenience
39% 39%
12%
Institutional Reputation Convenience Academic Program Quality
Top Institution Selection Criteria Among Prospective Post-Traditional
Students
(n=28722)
The importance of Academic
Program Quality varies by
student type, but is always 3rd
on the list
Know when to
focus marketing
messages on the
program vs the
institution.

Campus-based post-traditional students care
more about specific academic program quality
40%
41%
10%
27%
30%
25%
Top Institution Selection Criteria Among Prospective Post-Traditional Students
(n=28722)
Online
Ground
Ground students more than
twice as likely to base
decisions on Academic
Program Quality
If the same
program is
available online
and on campus,
you may need to
market each
differently.

The less selective the institution, the more
convenience and academic program quality matter
62%
30%
7%
45% 46%
8%
36%
49%
12%
(n=28722)
Highly Selective
Instituion
Semi-Selective
Institution
Open Access
Institution
Prospective students at less selective institutions
60% more likely to value Convenience
Highly selective
institutions should
remember that
convenience is still
very important.

Current and former military service members
value Convenience most
39%
54%
7%
67%
26%
6%
(n=5108)
Military
Non-Military
The importance of Convenience
and Institutional Reputation
opposite for Military and Non-
Military post-traditional
students
Service members
and vets want to
know that they can
fit your program
into a busy and
geographically
mobile life.

There are no significant differences in selection
criteria based on age or gender
Based on our analysis:
Both male and female post-traditional students value Convenience
most, followed closely by Institutional Reputation, with Academic
Program Quality a distant third.
Older students care slightly more about Convenience than younger
students, but the order and general magnitude of selection criteria are
consistent across age groups.

Concerns with online learning

Online students are most concerned about their
ability to get a quality education online
19%
16%
15%
13%
8% 8%
7%
5%
3%
2% 2% 2%
1%
Top Concerns with Online Learning
(n=2813)
Many also concerned that their diploma will say
it is from an online degree program, due to
employer perceptions
Addressing these
concerns in the
admissions
process results in
stronger
commitment to
completion.

Concerns about time management in online
learning increase significantly with age
24%
26% 25% 25%
19%
37%
22%
25%
19%
45%
18%
17%
Fear of the
unknown
Time management Online degree
noted on diploma
Quality of
Education
(n=1280)
<25 yrs old
25-40 yrs old
40+ yrs old
It’s important to
proactively
address time
management with
younger, less self-
aware prospects.
Students age 40+ nearly
twice as likely as students
under age 25 to cite “time
management” concerns

Females are more likely to cite a “fear of the
unknown”, Males “being new to online learning”
11%
20%
58%
12%
17%
15%
54%
14%
Fear of the unknown New to online Time management Self-study
(n=887)
Male
Female
Males 33%
more likely to
cite “newness”
Females 55%
more likely to
cite “fear” The language you
use plays an
important role in
how your message
is received.

The selectivity of the institution and age of the
student also influence areas of concern
When it comes to concerns about:
• whether their degree says that it is from an online program
• the quality of the online education they will receive
• the responsiveness of professors
Online students at highly selective institutions are more concerned.
Online students over the age of 40 are less concerned.

Non-start reasons

If they don’t start at your institution, the most
likely reason is that they went somewhere else
25%
19%
15%
14%
12%
8%
3%
2% 2% 1%
Top Non-Start Reasons
(n=16391)
Often cited in prospect
surveys, finances
account for a small
portion of non-starts
One-quarter of
conversion losses due to
competition
Though most
prospects don’t
consider suitability
(fit) and
commitment to
graduation, these
are critical to
avoiding drops
later – be proactive
in addressing
them.

Females are more likely not to start due to financial
issues; males are more often unresponsive
24%
23%
3%
11%
8%
15%
2%
3% 3%
1%
25%
23%
4%
11%
12%
9%
2% 2%
4%
2%
(n=2125)
Male
Female
Females 50% more likely
than males to not start
due to financial issues
Males 67% more likely to
be unresponsive after
inquiry
It may be
necessary to
adjust contact rate
goals by prospect
gender.

Current/former military service members typically
start somewhere once they inquire
51%
14% 14%
8%
4% 3% 3%
38%
25%
16%
11%
2%
4%
1%
(n=2833)
Military
Non-Military
Current/former military service
members significantly less likely
not to start or to face issues with
external commitments
Service members
and vets are typically
committed once they
inquire and may be
worthy of added
focus.

The selectivity of the institution and age of the
prospect also influence non-start reasons
Competition only accounts for 7% of non-starts at semi-selective
institutions, but 27% and 30% at highly selective and open access
institutions, respectively.
24% of non-starts at semi-selective institutions are due to
Qualification/Academic Requirements versus 10% at highly selective
institutions.
Prospects under age 25 are more than twice as likely as those age
40+ to not start due to Qualification/Academic Requirements.
Prospects age 40+ are more than twice as likely as those under age
25 to not start due to External Commitments.

Drop reasons

Difficulty managing non-academic commitments
is the main reason post-traditional students drop
25%
20%
13%
9%
8% 8%
7%
Top Drop Reasons
(n=117,018)
Academic issues
account for less than
10% of drops
More than 1/3 of drops come
from difficulty managing and
following through on
commitments Addressing
potential obstacles
during admissions
is critical to
ensuring
persistence.

Campus-based post-traditional students are more
likely to drop due to effectiveness issues
25%
20%
12%
9%
8% 8%
7%
27%
16%
20%
7%
5%
10%
9%
Top Drop Reasons
(n=117,018)
Online
Ground
Post-traditional ground
students 2/3 more likely to
drop due to lack of follow-
through on commitments
Short-term (weekly)
accountability
mechanisms
enhance persistence.

Female post-traditional students are more likely
to drop due to health and support issues
20%
17%
14%
9%
10%
11%
8%
23%
18%
16%
10% 10%
6%
7%
Top Drop Reasons
(n=68,522)
Female
MaleWomen 83% more
likely to drop due to
Health and Support
Back-up plans for
elder and child
care reduce female
student attrition.

Institution selectivity, military status and student
age also influence drop reasons
18% of drops at semi-selective institutions involve students taking a
planned session off.
Current and former military service members are more likely to drop
due to External Commitments and less likely to drop due to
Effectiveness issues.
Students under age 25 are more likely to drop due to Finance and
Effectiveness issues.
Students age 40+ are more likely to drop due to Health and Support
issues or lack of Commitment to Graduation.

Increase enrollment, retention and graduation by 15%.
• 1:1 coaching for prospective and enrolled students
• Actionable insights on student perceptions and needs
• Systems to ensure measurement and accountability
InsideTrack works with you to implement a
system for continuous improvement
InsideTrack is the only college dropout
prevention initiative to meet WWC evidence
standards
Increase student and
institutional success.
Contact us:
programs@insidetrack.com
415.243.4468
www.insidetrack.com

InsideTrack eBook: The decision-making behavior of post-traditional students

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