Is Your School Immune to Market Shifts?

While U.S. curriculum and diplomas remain in high demand globally, in-bound students and local markets continually shrink. As a result, international partnership schools are the latest trend in developing new revenue and enrollments streams for U.S. institutions.

The continual decline of enrollment in the U.S. private school sector is no secret. Even before the COVID-19 and recent geopolitical concerns facing the United States, experts were predicting negative trends for the industry. Over the next decade, many private schools throughout the country will be faced with the difficult decision to either consolidate, sell assets, liquidate endowments, or close their doors. A multitude of schools have benefited from the rise of the in-bound international student market, which has provided a much-needed enrollment (and therefore revenue) bump to schools with boarding and homestay programs – particularly over the past three decades. These in-bound students have helped boarding schools recuperate a loss of over 400 domestic students per year in national enrollment.

However, according to the Institute of International Education, the number of in-bound international students for 2017-2018 academic year dropped by 6.6 percent, which is double the previous year’s rate of decline.  Day schools, which lack the ability or resources to draw students from outside of their local geographic region, are at an even greater risk. Perhaps the largest concern of all is from where these students are coming.  Of the 1.1 million international students in the United States, one out of every three is from China. Meaning, any further dip in the volume of in-bound students from just this one market —whether caused by visas restrictions, economic fluctuation, geopolitical issues, or the rise of international schools locally – will send shock waves through the U.S. private school market.

Are your institution’s enrollment and revenue goals immune from a market shift?

Learn more here: www.uscurriculum.com