Strategic and Tactical Marketing Strategies for Regional Public Universities to Address the Enrollment Cliff

Carrie H. Phillips and Stephanie J. Jones

The Journal of Higher Education, 2025, vol. 96, issue 4, 653-677

Abstract: This qualitative collective case study, framed by resource dependence theory, explored strategic and tactical marketing strategies perceived to be important in addressing the predicted decrease in enrollments in 2025–2037, described as the enrollment cliff, facing higher education institutions in the U.S. The study settings were regional public universities in the Southeast U.S. Participants were a purposeful sample of 15 chief marketing officers from these institutions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field notes. Data were analyzed using Creswell and Poth’s data analysis spiral. The strategies identified included brand positioning, targeting specific student populations, cultivating new audiences, and utilizing additional marketing tools and testing their impact. The findings highlighted ways that marketing could mitigate enrollment declines. These include emphasizing brand positioning, targeting specific student populations, cultivating new audiences, and utilizing a number of marketing tools in an effective marketing mix to help address the predicted enrollment declines.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00221546.2024.2378640

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