Your Career: How will the "enrollment cliff" affect your career?

Ways to make higher education's environment of scarcity work for you instead of against you. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Ways to make higher ed’s environment of scarcity work for you instead of against you It has been a tough winter for higher education. Besides the [FAFSA crisis]( it seems like every week another institution announces the need for significant budget cuts. Part of this reality check has been driven by concern about the projected “enrollment cliff.” After peaking in 2025 or 2026, the number of new high-school graduates is expected to eventually fall by as much as 15 percent, leaving many colleges short of students. Some staff members and administrators will thrive in this more competitive environment and many others will not. How can you position yourself among that first group? Demonstrating your value does not necessarily mean that you need to work harder or do more. Instead, it is a shift in mind-set, in which you highlight how your work answers the biggest needs of your institution. For example: - Think financially. Like it or not, the pressure point here is financial, which means that colleges will be looking for employees with a demonstrated ability to improve the bottom line. Regardless of your degree or your training, you need to put on your “finance hat” and think like a CFO. How does your department or division either make revenue for the institution or reduce expenses? - Think enrollment and retention. The most obvious way to affect the financial equation at your institution is to influence either the recruitment or retention of students. Those are the two pillars on which most campuses depend. What can you (or your department) do to make your institution “sticky” for students, so that they will want to choose you and then to stay? Continue reading: “[Will the ‘Enrollment Cliff’ Help or Hurt Your Career]( by Aaron Basko Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. LATEST CAREER ADVICE, OPINION, AND NEWS ADVICE [A Guide to Crisis Leadership]( By David M. Post [STORY IMAGE]( Four lessons for deans, provosts, and presidents on how to manage a crisis, whether its origins are internal or external. 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