Don Hossler, Ph.D., Luke Schultheis, Ph.D., and JT Allen examine the financial structures behind successful enrollment growth. This whitepaper explores how budgetary systems can be optimized to support and sustain adult learner programs.
As colleges and universities look to expand online enrollment, growth may depend on more than marketing and recruitment alone. How institutions structure budgets, organize student support, and give online leaders the flexibility to make decisions can all influence the conditions for sustainable growth.
In Budgetary Models and Leadership Dynamics in Online Enrollment, researchers Don Hossler, Ph.D., JT Allen, and Luke Schultheis, Ph.D. examine the relationships among institutional budgeting models, leadership structures, centralized student services, online enrollment, and graduation outcomes.
Key Findings from the Research
Centralized student support is strongly associated with online student success.
Universities with more robust centralized services had higher cohort graduation rates among online students. Across the institutions studied, centralized service delivery emerged as the most consistent structural characteristic associated with stronger outcomes.
Financial incentives may help support online enrollment growth.
The research found that early market entry combined with financial incentives for growth was more commonly associated with larger online enrollment shares. However, institutions that entered the online market later were also able to achieve significant scale when institutional commitment and incentives were present.
Leadership flexibility matters.
Online leaders varied considerably in the amount of discretion they had to reallocate funds within their existing budgets. The majority of leaders reporting high financial discretion operated within incentive-based budgeting systems, highlighting the potential importance of giving online leaders flexibility to respond to changing needs.
What Does This Mean for Universities?
The findings suggest that institutions looking to grow online enrollment should consider the organizational structures behind their programs, and not simply recruitment tactics.
Creating stronger conditions for online enrollment growth and student success may require universities to align financial incentives with centralized student support, provide online leaders with appropriate decision-making flexibility, and ensure institutional leadership understands the unique operational needs of online programs.
The research also suggests that universities do not necessarily need to have been early entrants into online education to reach meaningful scale. Institutions that entered the market later were still able to build substantial online enrollment when strong institutional commitment and growth incentives were present.
Frequently Asked Questions
What helps universities increase online enrollment?
The research suggests that explicit financial incentives for growth, institutional commitment, and centralized student support may help create stronger conditions for expanding online enrollment.
Do centralized student services improve online student success?
In this exploratory study, universities with more robust centralized services had higher cohort graduation rates among online students. Centralized services were the most consistent structural characteristic associated with stronger outcomes.
Does a university’s budget model affect online enrollment?
The research identified patterns suggesting that budgeting structures containing explicit incentives for growth may support larger online programs. Incentive-based budgeting was also associated with greater centralization of online student services.
Can universities that entered online education later still grow?
Yes. Four institutions in the study launched substantial online initiatives after 2008 and still achieved online enrollment shares greater than 30%, suggesting that later market entry does not necessarily prevent institutions from reaching scale.
About the Research
This myFootpath research examines how budgeting models, centralized services, leadership structures, and financial decision-making relate to online enrollment and student outcomes.
The secondary dataset included 31 universities representing multiple sectors of U.S. higher education. Because of the size and exploratory nature of the study, the findings only identify patterns and associations.
Explore the Full Research
Download Budgetary Models and Leadership Dynamics in Online Enrollment to explore the complete findings, institutional analysis, data, and recommendations for creating stronger conditions for sustainable online enrollment growth and student success.