SEARCH AND DEMAND: Fewer and fewer people are searching online to learn about higher education programs, according to Gray Associates, an education consulting firm. Its latest report (PDF), which tracks student interest through third-party landing pages and Google searches, found that inquiries for all higher-ed programs have dipped 12 percent year over year for the first two months of February.
Much of the decline is attributed to a “free-fall” in searches for on-campus programs; in February 2017, inquiries “plunged 19% year-over-year” from 2016. During the same period, however, searches for online offerings jumped by 13 percent. The report dives deeper into the most highly-searched programs (human services) and the least popular inquiries (electronics & technicians), and ties the information to regional job opportunities.
