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Two-Fifths of All Higher Education Inquiries Were for Health Programs in 2016

  • 03/21/17

PARAMUS, NJ – Two-fifths (42.9 percent) of all higher education inquiries were for health programs in 2016, according to the Sparkroom 2016 Year-End Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review. This share of volume was up 4.2 percent in comparison to 2015, but the conversion rate for health programs slipped 7.4 percent year over year.

When ranked by 2016 share of volume, healthcare programs were visibly dominant. Six health programs held a spot in the top ten program list:

  • Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)
  • Medical/Clinical Assistant
  • Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder
  • Medical Office Assistant/Specialist
  • Health/Health Care Administration/Management
  • Psychology, General

The top health program, Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN), accounted for one-tenth of all prospective student information requests in 2016. This was 8.5 percent higher than in 2015. However, the conversion rate, which indicates the percentage of prospective students that apply to or enroll in a program, slipped for nursing programs. At 7.0 percent in 2016, it was down 29.9 percent year over year.

Business Administration and Management, General was the program that generated the most student inquiries in 2016. Nevertheless, this program's 11.2 percent share of voice was down 19.7 percent year over year. Contrary to the top health program, the conversion rate for the business administration program grew considerably. Averaging 9.2 percent in 2016, the conversion rate was up 28.9 percent over the prior year's performance.

Overall, inquiry volume for prospective students seeking more information about higher education programs rose 2.4 percent in 2016 in comparison to 2015, according to Sparkroom data. The incremental inquiries were for online programs. Online lead volume was ahead 9.4 percent year over year compared to a 2.1 percent year-over-year drop in inquiries for campus-based programs.

The Sparkroom 2016 Year-End Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review covers overall trends in the inquiry generation and student acquisition activities of higher education institutions for the period of January-December 2016. The report publishes statistics related to inquiry volume, conversion rates, marketing channel performance, program share of volume and degree-level distribution. The data within the report is derived from the higher education global, aggregate inquiry data processed through and stored within Sparkroom performance marketing technology. The report can be downloaded at Sparkroom.com/resources.

About Sparkroom
Through the deployment of award-winning technology and services, Sparkroom helps higher education marketers rapidly grow their enrollment volume. Sparkroom marketing technology and services address the full student lifecycle, with a focus on delivering higher-quality prospects and better conversion rates. Sparkroom performance marketing technology integrates campaign data, automates processes based on performance and provides holistic, cross-channel attribution reporting and analytics. Sparkroom enrollment marketing services include demand generation and student recruitment support to manage cross-channel marketing campaigns from strategy to execution to optimization and beyond. Sparkroom enrollment management solutions, inclusive of enrollment management consulting and short-term OPM engagements, layer on operational services for institutions in need of end-to-end support. Because Sparkroom technology and services streamline college marketing and operations efforts, higher education marketers trust Sparkroom to fast track their recruitment success. To learn more about Sparkroom, go to sparkroom.com.

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