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EAB, formerly the Education Advisory Board, periodically surveys parents of students applying to college to understand their attitudes and the factors that influence their behaviors. Its latest insight paper, “2024 Parent Survey: Understanding Top Parent Concerns in College Search, Insights and Recommendations for Enrollment Leaders,” presents data on parental responses as well as recommendations for how institutions can better serve the needs of prospective students and their families.
“It is not news that colleges and universities are expensive,” said Michael Koppenheffer, EAB vice president, Enroll360 marketing, analytics and AI strategy and a contributing consultant to the paper. “It is also true in our surveys that concern over cost has become more prevalent. You can see that the sticker price of colleges keeps going up and up year after year. Even though discount rates also keep climbing so the net price isn’t always going up in the same way, the appearance of unaffordability gets more intense every year. Along with that is concern about student debt.”
Sixty percent of the parents surveyed were concerned about college cost, 40% about scholarships and 39% about the amount of debt. The parents surveyed came from EAB’s database. The company does marketing on behalf of colleges and universities and engages with families around the country. The children of these parents had engaged in one or more college search behaviors involving four-year institutions.
“Parents and caretakers are always concerned about educational costs, degree competition and job placement, and if a safe and healthy campus environment is provided for their students,” said Dr. Davida L. Haywood, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU).
Problems related to the rollout of the new FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) impacted the responses of parents. Fifty-two percent of families reported problems submitting the FAFSA. Families also reported delays in receiving their aid packages, with 49% of parents reporting they did not receive the student aid award in time to make a decision. Not understanding cost is a major source of anxiety and there is a rising aversion to debt.
Haywood said JCSU has found it necessary to re-educate parents and caretakers about the financial aid process, including explaining new definitions and types of aid. “We were able to accomplish this through educational sessions at open houses, parent and family weekend, the use of a new JCSU-specific parent and family communication web portal, Golden Bull academics (JCSU’s student orientation) and webinars,” she said.
This emphasizes a key recommendation from the paper, which is to build robust parent communication. Koppenheffer added that being mindful of language needs is beneficial.
The paper noted that parents are clearly concerned about perceptions of value, preparedness and career outcomes. Parents indicated that they want this information well before their children are applying to college. Lower-income families especially appreciate early communication.
“In reference to degree completion and job placement, parents and caretakers are quite keen on wanting to know what is their return on investment,” said Haywood. “They want to know about career readiness and what we are doing to expose their students to career fairs, internships and job shadowing opportunities, and the connections their student can make.”
Dr. Ernest Brevard Jr., assistant vice president for enrollment management and student success operations and acting director of undergraduate admission and recruitment at Morgan State University, said parents ask about the value a degree holds.
“I’ll go back to the programs, some of which are exclusive to our university, and the research conducted at Morgan,” Brevard said. “Also, our students are interning and receiving employment opportunities from some of the biggest companies nationwide, particularly in the technology sector.”
Beyond cost concerns, mental health (cited by 56% of parents) and student safety are significant concerns noted in the paper. Concerns over student safety were higher for families of color with 58% of Black parents including a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of student safety. Haywood said in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world, parents are concerned about mental and emotional health issues of students. JCSU offers student-focused services such as counseling, the health center, and campus security.
Brevard noted that campus and surrounding safety is among family concerns as is a sense of belonging. “While Morgan offers an attractive HBCU experience…it is still diverse, not just in race but in other demographics,” he said.
The four key takeaways for colleges and universities are: 1.) build robust parent communications, 2.) identify and reach parents early, 3.) encourage families to have open conversations about cost, and 4.) prioritize conveying a sense of belonging to your marketing.
“Colleges and universities are going to have to spend more time on communicating about cost, value and affordability in order to stay current,” said Koppenheffer. “It is a challenging time to try and attract students and families, and part of the way they’re going to have to compete is by communicating more clearly about how much you pay and what you get.”