Tell Your Enrollment Story Before Someone Else Does (opinion)

In the coming months, data from the federal government’s new Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement survey—which collects seven years’ worth of detailed admission and enrollment data from U.S. colleges and universities—is expected to be published. When it is, it will renew debate about how colleges decide who gets admitted and who doesn’t.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling and many higher education organizations are concerned about ACTS. Colleges had very little time to gather their data, and in many cases, the data is incomplete because reporting policies vary across institutions. Federal courts even questioned the legality of ACTS: In April, a federal judge issued two separate preliminary injunctions blocking the federal government from requiring it in 17 states or for universities that are party to the ongoing litigation.

Regardless, colleges and universities must prepare for the ACTS data to shape public conversation about admission and enrollment for years to come. That is why it is critical that institutions tell their enrollment stories now. Here are some steps colleges can take.

Document Everything

What factors shaped your enrollment strategy, and how does that connect to your institution’s mission and purpose? Did you admit students to help meet a particular workforce need? Did your institution commit to enrolling local students to help serve your state’s interests? Document these factors.

Prepare Across Departments

Don’t let conflicting information undermine your credibility. Admissions, institutional research, communications, government relations and campus leadership must align to consistently communicate how enrollment decisions are made and how they support your institution’s broader objectives.

Inform Your Publics

Create a plan to communicate your admission story to your key stakeholders. There’s already increased attention on admission and enrollment from policymakers, regulators and the media, and this will only increase when ACTS is released. Stakeholders will want to know what happened and, more importantly, why. Institutions that wait until questions arise may find themselves reacting to narratives created by others.

For many colleges and universities, this level of storytelling is a shift. Transparency is being demanded from higher education institutions like never before, and those that will navigate this changing environment best will be the ones that articulate and explain their decisions. Without storytelling, institutions risk others coming to their own conclusions.

Too often, admission is portrayed as an overly simplified process of selecting students with the highest grades and test scores. In reality, it is far more complex.

Colleges and universities are mission-driven institutions. They serve distinct student populations, pursue unique objectives and respond to the needs of their communities in different ways. A community college, a regional public university, a land-grant institution and a highly selective research university enroll differently because their missions and responsibilities vary considerably.

Consider this: An institution might have expanded its nursing and teacher-education programs to address workforce shortages, requiring it to recruit more students who wish to pursue those paths. Another may have invested in undergraduate research opportunities, or committed to serving in-state students from low-income regions to help meet a state priority of uplifting its most vulnerable residents.

Factors like these influence admission decisions every year. That’s why data alone can’t tell the whole story.

Higher education is the most powerful pathway to opportunity in the U.S. Research shows that college graduates, on average, earn roughly $1.2 million more in their lifetimes compared to high school graduates. Yet, confidence in our colleges and universities cannot be taken for granted. Trust is built when they explain their work, answer difficult questions and help the public better understand how they operate.

The release of ACTS data will generate conversation, skepticism and debate. Institutions cannot control every narrative that emerges from it. They can, however, ensure that they are clearly communicating facts grounded in purpose and what their data does and does not show.

Now is the time to tell your story.