InsideTrack webinar and coaching data
InsideTrack published an on‑demand webinar framing re‑enrollment as an ongoing strategy rather than a one‑off, and ACCT noted that students who stopped out are four times more likely to re‑enroll when guided by success coaches. Both items highlight coaching and structured programs as levers for bringing people back into campus communities. (x.com 1) (x.com 2)
Colleges are treating re-enrollment less like a one-time outreach campaign and more like an operating model built around coaching, financial aid help, and simplified return steps. (insidetrack.org) InsideTrack’s on-demand webinar says colleges need a “student-ready” strategy that can show return on investment, win leadership backing, and help returning students persist after they come back. The session ties to its report “Unlocking Futures: A Holistic Re-enrollment Model.” (insidetrack.org 1) (insidetrack.org 2) A separate InsideTrack webinar on North Carolina’s NC Reconnect program says 24 community colleges helped more than 2,600 adult learners return and generated $4.6 million in institutional return on investment. InsideTrack said the program contacted 42,971 stopped-out adult learners. (insidetrack.org) InsideTrack’s broader North Carolina case study says the effort later expanded to 29 institutions across six cohorts, with coaches reaching nearly 48,000 learners and supporting 2,896 adults to re-enroll. It also said 28% of NC Reconnect learners have earned a degree or credential after returning. (insidetrack.org) The push comes as colleges chase a large pool of former students. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said nearly 43.1 million people had some college but no credential in 2025, including 37.6 million working-age adults under 65. (nscresearchcenter.org) (studentclearinghouse.org) Community colleges were hit especially hard early in the pandemic era. An Association of Community College Trustees article said nationwide community college enrollment fell by nearly 17% between spring 2020 and spring 2022. (perspectives.acct.org) That same Association of Community College Trustees article said more than 1.7 million students age 25 and older were enrolled at public two-year colleges in 2019, and that adult students saw steeper enrollment declines at community colleges than in any other higher education sector. (perspectives.acct.org) The Association of Community College Trustees has been arguing for re-enrollment through “whole-student supports,” including help with financial aid, stranded credits, and retention systems that do not stop at admissions. Its policy center lists retention and re-enrollment as part of its strategy for the enrollment and drop-out crisis. (acct.org) InsideTrack’s pitch is that coaching works best when it is paired with process changes. Its re-enrollment materials say coaches help former students navigate reapplication, financial aid, work and family barriers, and a sense of belonging after they return. (insidetrack.org) Other colleges are using the same logic to build in-house systems. InsideTrack said Illinois Central College used federal Title III funding and a long-term advising redesign to post a 10.7% re-enrollment rate, after first using coaching to support retention during the pandemic. (insidetrack.org) The thread running through these programs is that bringing students back now means more than sending one email. Colleges are building return paths that look closer to guided onboarding than a single recruitment push. (insidetrack.org)
