How to Increase and Grow Enrollment in a Nursing Program or School

Covid and aging population have transformed the world of nursing. A large number of nurses have left the profession due to burnout. Senior nurses are retiring at an accelerated pace.  Nurses are agitating for an increased pay as employers and legislators are joining hands in pushing back. In response, nurses are trading staff positions with travel jobs, sometimes tripling their salary. Net impact of this is a severe shortage of nurses and nursing faculty. 

Having grown enrollment for more than six nursing programs, and more than ten medical schools and health-related programs, we’ve developed a set of practices:

1. Institute rolling admissions: to widen the aperture and capture more applicants.
2. Develop Bridge Programs: Offer bridge programs such as LPN-to-RN or accelerated BSN programs that allow current healthcare workers or those with a degree in another field to transition into nursing in four semesters. 
3. Provide Flexible Learning Options: Provide flexible class schedules, including part-time, online, and evening courses, to cater to working adults or those with other responsibilities. 
4. Offer Web-based Simulation Labs: to accelerate learning by the new generation of digital natives.
5. Develop Partnerships with Clinical Sites and Healthcare Employers: be they hospitals, clinics or research centers.
6. Gather Success and Achievement Stories: of students, alumni and seasoned faculty in various specialties.
7. Use Data to Reinforce Stories: of NCLEX scores, salary outcomes and placement stats.
8. Create Infographics: of nursing pathways, career pathways and mindsets.
9. Create Career Resources: to offer guidance to people interested in pursing nursing careers.
10. Offer Speaker Series: to appeal to generations of prospective, enrolled and seasoned nurses.
11. Build a Hight-Fidelity Optimized Website: to inform, persuade, delight and wow prospects and partners.
12. Create an Optimized Blog: to educate, convey thought leadership, and secure Google page one rankings.
13. Outline Financial Aid and Scholarship Options with Clarity: Talk to prospects in an approachable, engaging manner about the ways students can finance their education.
14. Streamline Admissions Process: Simplify and clarify the admissions process to reduce barriers to entry. Provide clear information about requirements, timelines, and support for prospective students.
15. Market Everything: with various forms of paid advertising, social media, email marketing, open-house presentations, and webinars.
16. Measure Everything: because you can only manage what you can measure. Measure every click, every A/B test, scroll rates, SEO rankings, social shares, conversion rates, inquiries, visits, applications — and then take bold, decisive action based on data.

If you are seeking an experienced agency to help you increase or grow the enrollment for your nursing program or school, please contact us.