All too often, certain barriers keep intelligent, driven people from accessing an education that will change their lives. At Climb, we’re incredibly fortunate to be able to partner with several career-advancing schools and are excited to help as many people enroll in their programs as possible. So what are the barriers that prevent people from enrolling, and how can you break them down? Below, we have three key strategies on how to improve school growth.
Offer diverse payment options
One of the most important strategies for school growth is to increase financial access — after all, financing and cost are the number one factors that students look at when deciding which school to attend.* Not everyone is able to pay for the full tuition and any necessary supplies upfront. And while one person may prefer to use a short-term payment plan so as not to pay interest on a loan, another person may still be unable to make the higher monthly payment plan payments. In that case, this person might prefer to pay interest on a loan in order to have lower monthly payments. With multiple payment options available, you’ll be able to open up your program to a wider range of students in different economic situations.
Offer online or part-time programs
People’s schedules aren’t one-size-fits-all, so why make educational programs that way? By offering an array of formats for your learners, like online part-time courses, you’re opening your school up to someone who may live in another state, or whose schedule may not allow them to attend regular class hours. This past year has seen schools be incredibly innovative in providing education to those who couldn’t be there in-person — even hands-on fields like HVAC and welding adjusted to online learning!
Build your school brand
Of course, it’s difficult to attract learners without positive brand awareness. In making sure that not only are people able to find out about you, but that they’re able to get in-depth information about what your school is like and how it’ll benefit them, you’ll increase awareness and brand trust in potential students who are deciding which program to enroll in.
That’s why, here at Climb, we take time and care to help our partner schools with any marketing requests they have. From social media posts and flyers, to interactive quizzes and features on our blog, to everything in between. We believe in the education our partner schools provide, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to increase access to these programs.
Want to learn more about how to improve school growth with Climb?
*Statistics are based on self-reported survey results of climbcredit.com website visitors in September 2018. Synthesis of results based on 73/76 respondents.
**Based on a review of one month of applications from one of our partner schools.