Ensuring Student Enrollment and Retention Toward Sustainability of Universities

Abstract

This study would like to determine the marketing strategies implemented by marketing personnel of universities to increase enrollment and retention. It aims to find out whether there is an association of school brand to school enrollment and retention. Both quantitative and qualitative designs were used. Meta-analysis and interviews were applied as data gathering methods. Meta-analysis, a synthesis of studies related to the current topic to obtain the magnitude of the effect size, was conducted using the results of studies found in the Google Scholar and ProQuest databases, published from 2010  to 2021. Marketing personnel interviewed came from top-ranked American and Philippine universities. Results showed that 1) Marketing strategies boost enrollment and retention. 2) Retention and enrollment have a cyclical and mutual relationship. 3) Retention may equate to students’ satisfaction; and 4) Satisfaction of students bolsters advertisement mechanism through word-of- mouth (WOM) to potential enrollees. Meta- analysis results showed that there is no significant association between school brand and enrollment with p=1.00 (95% CI, -0.02, 0.02). Similarly, the data indicated that school brand is not significantly associated with retention, p=1.00 (95% CI, -0.5, 0.5). Based on the findings, the researcher has developed an intervention program that will guide school personnel to achieve sustainable enrollment and retention levels.