Making the case for a successful re-enrollment initiative

How institutions can get executive buy-in and lay a strong foundation to re-engage adult learners

Most higher ed leaders agree that prioritizing re-enrollment is important, but that doesn’t mean they have the green light from decision-makers to implement a strong model. In the current landscape, institutions are stretched thin — with many navigating continually shifting funding policies and staff turnover — making it difficult to justify a new initiative without a clear return on investment (ROI). 

Making the case for a holistic re-enrollment initiative requires a broader definition of ROI — one that accounts for both institutional outcomes and learner success. This means that ROI is more than just a bump in enrollment numbers. It’s a sustainable strategy that delivers measurable, long-term impact for the institution, its learners and the broader community. 

In our latest report, Unlocking Futures: A Holistic Re-enrollment Model, written in partnership with Inside Higher Ed, we explore how to lay a strong foundation for these programs — one that will help prove ROI and secure executive buy-in. We look at how a holistic coaching approach can generate a meaningful return by honoring the whole student as a pathway to success and fueling systems-level change. 

So, how do you make a compelling case for re-enrollment?

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Assessing your barriers to re-enrollment

Anticipating the concerns that will come up as you seek buy-in for launching a re-enrollment campaign is the first step toward laying a strong foundation. 

Common challenges we hear from partners include:

• “Leadership wants proof of ROI before investing”
• “We don’t have the staff capacity”
• “Our data lives in too many systems”
• “We tried something before, and it didn’t work”
• “Even if we could get buy-in, we don’t know where to start”

This list isn’t exhaustive, but thinking critically about solutions to these challenges will help teams who are eager to embed re-enrollment as a core strategic initiative make the case and secure executive leadership’s support. 

Let’s look at each challenge and dive into how you and your team can address it effectively.

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“Leadership wants proof of ROI before investing”

One of the first questions, if not the first question, leadership will ask is: How will we know that investing in a re-enrollment initiative will pay off? Because of this, showing ROI in terms of institutional revenue and enhanced student outcomes is critical. 

A direct way to show the financial impact is by calculating the potential revenue gain for your institution using the following equation:

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This calculation helps stakeholders see the immediate fiscal return. To determine how many students you specifically need to reach to see this return, you can set your enrollment goal with the following equation:

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Here’s what each of those terms mean in more detail:

• Your enrollment goal: The specific number of students you need to re-enroll to hit your revenue target and ensure the initiative pays for itself
• Total re-enrollment initiative cost: Sum of all expenses, including marketing, staffing, data reporting, CRM updates or 3rd-party partnership fees
• Average net tuition per student: The average revenue the institution keeps per student for the initial semester, after financial aid is applied

Once you have your enrollment goal, you can determine the number of students you need to reach out to by dividing that number by your expected or targeted re-enrollment rate. For example, if you need 50 students and expect a 5% re-enrollment rate, you must reach 1,000 learners. For more tips on this process, check out our blog on maximizing ROI on your next student success initiative.

Leadership will likely ask how you plan to conduct outreach, so it’s important to think critically on this: Will you use internal resources or seek external partnership? The Unlocking Futures report, for example, shows that institutions that use InsideTrack Re-enrollment Coaching often see at least 2-3x higher re-enrollment rates than the national average of 2.7%, making the investment easier to pitch to stakeholders. 

To see the full picture of success, consider how a re-enrollment initiative aligns with your mission by asking questions that explore impact at three interconnected levels: 

• ROI for learners: How can you show that, by re-enrolling, students gain access to quality education, greater earning potential and achievement of personal and professional goals?
• ROI for institutions: Beyond revenue, how can you show that the re-enrollment initiative will strengthen enrollment numbers, boost degree attainment and improve re-enrollment processes?
• ROI for communities: How will your community benefit from your students’ (and graduates’) new skills, economic activity and civic engagement?

MAIN TAKEAWAY: Make proving ROI (on several levels!) your primary goal.

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“We don’t have the staff capacity”

One of the most common concerns we hear from leadership is: We don’t have the staff capacity to take on an initiative like this. In higher ed today, institutional staff are being asked to do more with less, and often there is not a single department that owns re-enrollment initiatives. What’s more, they may not have the expertise, specialized skills or right tools needed to be able to hit the ground running on a well-planned re-enrollment initiative.

If this is the case, it may be beneficial to consider investing in an external partner to get started. Because there are so many options, it’s important to consider which partner best aligns with your institution's goals and needs. Weigh some of the following questions before committing to a partner:

• Does their mission align with yours?
• How will they plan to communicate your institution’s brand, voice and unique value props to ensure cohesive messages to the former students you’re targeting? 
• What additional trends and insights will this partner provide?
• How will you collaboratively measure success?
• Which internal teams will be impacted, and how will you communicate and reinforce this process changes?
• Can the partner support learners not just to re-enroll, but to stay enrolled?
• Is their model flexible enough to meet your changing needs? 

Whether your team decides to launch an initiative internally or with an external partner, it's critical to clearly designate roles and responsibilities between departments to ensure processes are as efficient as possible. Using a clear change management process to make the new changes stick is one of the best ways to do this — especially since research shows that organizations that follow change management principles during a major transition are seven times more likely to see results.

Illinois Central College, for example, relied on change management principles to implement InsideTrack Re-enrollment Coaching, which helped transform their student support model and resulted in a 10.7% single-term re-enrollment rate — almost 4x greater than the national average.

By proactively addressing challenges through intentional planning — and, if applicable, the right partnerships — you can transform re-enrollment from a daunting task into a manageable, mission-aligned success story for your entire campus.

MAIN TAKEAWAY: Consider your partnership options for short- and long-term success.

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“Our data lives in too many systems”

It’s common for institutions to have various and/or disconnected data systems. However, this can make re-enrollment feel more complex than it needs to be, and pushback from leadership is often: Our data lives in too many systems, and it’s too expensive, complex and time-consuming to fix right now. The good news is that you don’t need perfect data to get started, especially in early pilot programs.

Start first on clarifying what information matters most to your re-enrollment goals. To keep your team focused and effective, consider the following:

• Establish baselines: Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and establish metrics to align on what matters most — and to make future ROI reporting easier.
• Prioritize recent stopouts: Pull student records for those who left in the last two terms. These students are the most likely to return.
• Cross-reference with the NSC: Visit the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) database to determine if any of your stopped-out students have already enrolled at another institution. 
• Audit your contact information: Identify students with up-to-date contact information beyond their school (.edu) email address to ensure your message actually reaches them.
• Identify funnel gaps: Determine exactly where prospective students are dropping off in your enrollment funnel.
• Target near-completers: See which of your stopped-out students are closest to finishing a credential and include that specific milestone in your outreach to them.
• Start simple, then expand: You don’t have to implement all of these data searches all at once. Once you’ve identified your primary goals, you can gradually prioritize more complex data pulls as time and bandwidth allow.

Remember to note that an up-front investment in data cleansing might feel tedious, but the cleaner and more refined the list, the stronger your outcomes will be. This refinement is especially important because a student’s initial reason for leaving is often different from the primary risk factor that keeps them from coming back. For example, while someone may have originally stopped out for academic reasons, the main barrier blocking them now might be a financial hold that your institution may be willing to waive. For instance, The University of Louisville realized this common challenge and implemented “Comeback Cards” to provide up to $4,000 in debt forgiveness for returning learners, ensuring that past financial hurdles don't stop future progress. 

By using your data — even limited data — to understand these evolving needs, you can ensure your outreach is paired with a human connection that addresses their current reality. 

MAIN TAKEAWAY: Simplify data requests by aligning on what truly matters.

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“We tried this before and it didn’t work” 

It may be difficult to secure leadership's buy-in if your institution has launched an unsuccessful
re-enrollment initiative in the past. That’s why having a well-planned, sustainable approach in mind is crucial. 

When leadership responds with, We tried a re-enrollment model before and it didn’t work, you can directly address how you will approach the new initiative differently. This could look like:   

• Spending more time cleaning up outreach lists
• Assessing for any gaps in the student journey — and coming up with a plan to address them
• Tailoring messaging specifically to adult learners who may have different priorities and challenges than when they left
• Identifying clear owners at every step of the re-enrollment process
• Providing personalized support to students after they re-enroll through student support programs like coaching
• Setting up consistent reporting and clear opportunities for escalations

In many ways, an unsuccessful past initiative can be a positive thing in that it gives you an opportunity to look at what worked — and what didn’t — and then pinpoint exactly how you’ll address these criteria in the future. It can be helpful to emphasize that a successful model focuses on the whole student — and while it might take more upfront intentionality, it will pay off. This differentiates your new proposal as a deep, high-touch support system rather than just another marketing campaign.

If you need inspiration, section one of Unlocking Futures covers the “5Cs” of establishing a sustainable re-enrollment strategy that can help set your team up for success as you begin planning your new re-enrollment initiative — no matter where you’re starting. 

MAIN TAKEAWAY: Don’t underestimate the power of failure (and growth).

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“Even if we could get buy-in, we don’t know where to start” 

Creating a holistic re-enrollment initiative that honors the whole student, creates positive systems-level change and boosts ROI can seem like a daunting task — especially if this process is new for your institution. That’s why leadership often responds to a proposal with something like: Even if we could get buy-in, we don’t know where to start.

The best way to begin is always by centering yourself, your teams and your case around your “why.” Why invest in a re-enrollment initiative in the first place? Likely, it’s a combination of heart and mind: wanting to support learners as they return to unlock new career opportunities, while also helping your institution maintain healthy enrollment outcomes and economic viability.

And securing buy-in is just the beginning. As you take those first steps toward building a successful program, you need a proven roadmap to guide your efforts. Unlocking Futures: A Holistic
Re-enrollment Model explains exactly how you can lay a solid foundation for success, implement a research-backed, holistic approach and create a ripple effect of ROI for years to come.