If you are a growing school or have just started with your senior secondary sections, getting enrolments is one of your biggest priorities. And the most important challenge for every school is to attract new admissions while retaining old students.
Beyond Xth boards, most students find themselves in a massive flux and at a crossroads where they have to make critical decisions about their careers. They have endless options to choose from, and every choice is crucial because it defines not the just the next two years of their lives, but their whole professional career path.
As the choices become more complex, the role that a school is supposed to play during this phase of their students’ lives has also become more pronounced, more nuanced, more difficult, and of course, more competitive.
It is no longer enough that a school promises the best education to its students. It is essential that the schools understand their roles in the evolving times, and are equipped and ready to fulfill their responsibility. A school’s ability to rise to these new challenges impacts not just academic outcomes and their student’s future, but also their reputation and their position in this competitive industry. In simple words, to attract more enrolments for classes beyond Xth, a school must set itself apart with an innovative, holistic, future-ready, in-sync-with-the-times approach.
Also Read: Why every school needs an admission management system
Here are 5 simple steps that can help your school realign the approach and help increase enrolments for senior secondary classes.
1. The Timing
The timing of opening the admissions for the XIth standard is a tricky but important factor when it comes to attracting maximum enrolments. A lot of schools choose to open admission in March after the Boards are finished and grant provisional admissions based on the pre-board results until the final results are announced. A lot of other schools pre-empt the process even more and begin admissions in December itself. Considering it is only a provisional admission but has a direct impact on enrolment numbers, the schools must time them basis adequate research and understanding of their demographic. No one size fits all. But it is up to the schools to use the flexibility of timing to their benefit, figure out what the right time may be for their potential enrolments, and open admissions accordingly.
2. Quality Subject Faculty
Unlike in the past when subject choices were relatively fixed for various streams, students now have endless options and choices. Boards like CBSE now allow and encourage schools to include unconventional subjects like AI, entrepreneurship and psychology in the curriculum and offer students a choice to opt for them. While this is a great step, it creates a problem for the schools to get good faculty, especially for newer disciplines. And offering a subject without having a good faculty impacts both the school’s outcome and reputation.
There are no easy answers to this conundrum but schools must be mindful of this challenge and address it with the required gravity. Carefully handpicking faculty that understand new systems and curricula, and can help students get their intended outcomes is the key. Faculty for mainstream subjects must be regularly upskilled and trained for new curriculums. And utmost care must be taken to choose a great faculty before offering new disciplines like AI or entrepreneurship. Because ultimately irrespective of how many USPs a school has to offer, we have to remember that only good teachers can make great schools.
Also Read: 3 Easy Ways To Ensure Optimum and Consistent Outcomes From Your School Management Software
3. Helping Attend Specialized Courses
Another way to increase enrolment numbers is to make arrangements so that students can attend specialised classes along with their school. A lot of schools these days tie up with coaching institutions where the students can attend specialized or preparatory courses while the schools take care of the regular curriculum. Schools eager to increase their admission numbers can explore such partnerships with local institutes.
4. Career Counselling
One of the more important roles a school can play for the students in class XI is to become their trusted partners in a journey that is scary and unpredictable for them. Most students struggle to make the right choice about the streams, the subjects, and their eventual career paths. Schools must understand this challenge and create dedicated coaching cells with experts who can help and guide the students to make the right choice as per their preferences, temperament, and talent. This can go a long way in not just improving the school’s outcomes but also bolstering its reputation as a trustworthy institution.
5. College and University Tie-Ups and Student Exposure
Ease of university admissions and the probability of securing the coveted seats in their chosen colleges is an important factor for students and their parents while deciding about their XIth standard enrolment. Schools that not only offer good career counselling but also have tie-ups with schools and universities where their students can get admissions post XIIth tend to attract a lot more students, and in turn enrolments. Schools with tie-ups with these colleges can invite guest faculty who can help students understand their university’s admission criteria and increase their chances of securing admissions. Additionally, not just in terms of admission, such guest lectures can also help students gain more exposure and broaden their horizons. Such initiatives by schools can help position and highlight the school USPs as an institution that is invested in their student’s future.
Also Read: How To Regulate Parent-Teacher Communication In the Era of WhatsApp?
Ultimately, securing more enrolments is a desirable outcome that does not have many shortcuts. Schools have to keep themselves updated, innovate when it comes to processes and operations, and stay in sync with the times. But most importantly, schools have to care for their students, boost their confidence, arm them with skills like debating and quizzing that can help them excel, and ensure that they are ready for college and life.
Want to understand how Schoolpad can help you attract more enrolments? Want to know how we can help fuel your school’s growth story? Please feel free to get in touch with us at connect@schoolpad.in . You can also click on the request a demo link and one of our coaches will get in touch with you.
