Year after year, educational institutions have the same objective: to attract and attract students.often student retention, and between us, this is a big mistake!
Although much is said about attracting and attracting students, one of the biggest challenges of the educational system is to ensure that students remain in their institution.
To put the challenge in perspective, the Student Pathway Indicators from the Brazilian Higher Education Map (Semesp Institute), based on INEP data (2018–2022 cycle), show a high cumulative dropout rate in private institutions: 60.8%. In online (distance learning) programs, it rises to 64.9%, reinforcing the need for retention strategies.
If you work in educational marketing, you know very well what the education system is and that these alarming numbers reflect what many institutions face on a daily basis.
The reality is that, whether due to dissatisfaction, financial difficulty, or inadequacy, thousands of students choose to withdraw from their courses, and the big question is: how to avoid this evasion? The answer lies in retention strategies!
Student retention in education marketing: concept, why it matters, and how to measure it
Student retention means keeping the student with an active enrollment link until earning the diploma, not just turning a lead into an enrollment. To do this, it is necessary to follow the student journey and plan actions aligned with each profile’s difficulties, needs, and dreams. Separating retention, re-enrollment, and dropout helps measure properly, standardizing rules by learning modality and tracking by entry cohort. Besides protecting revenue and predictability, retention strengthens the brand with satisfied students and reduces the impact of dropout.
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Distinguish retention, re-enrollment, and dropout to measure consistently.
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Standardize the rule by modality and track by entry cohort.
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Use KPIs to detect satisfaction and act before suspension or abandonment.
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Combine surveys with operational data, with transparency and security under the LGPD.
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What you will see in today’s content
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Why student retention is a central challenge, including cumulative dropout data and EAD cutouts.
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What student retention is and why the work continues after enrollment.
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The practical difference between retention, re-enrollment, and dropout, with standardization by modality and tracking by entry cohort.
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Common reasons for suspension or abandonment and how retention strategies help prevent dropout.
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Why investing in retention can add value, recognition, and referrals, and how lack of investment can create the opposite effect.
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How to measure satisfaction with KPIs and why monitoring indicators gives time to address problems.
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Five retention KPIs: NPS, CES, attendance, failure rate, and dropout rate, with application examples.
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Use of operational data and LGPD care when monitoring engagement.
Let's get reading!
Beyond enrollment: what is student retention?
There are those who believe that the role of educational marketing ends after turning a lead into a ticket, but this is a big myth!
The truth is that, after increasing enrollment and attracting more students, there is still a lot of work to be done. You need to follow every student's journey so that he or she continues to be part of your institution, and that's where retention tactics come into play.
In practice, student retention refers to actions aimed at ensuring that students remain at your institution, that is, enroll and earn a diploma at your school.
In this process, retention strategies need to be carefully planned, taking into account the difficulties, needs and dreams of your students.
Why invest in retention strategies in educational marketing?
Retention strategies can be a great way to add even more value and recognition to your educational institution. By investing in the relationship with your tickets and having satisfied students, you can have great propagators of your brand.
Students can make referrals, share with friends and attract more tickets to their school or university. But watch out! With the lack of investment in retention strategies, this can also have the opposite effect, causing students to have a negative view and make bad publicity about your institution.
From a budget standpoint, retention is often more efficient than acquisition. Harvard Business Review notes that, depending on the industry, acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. In education, this typically translates into a lower cost per re-enrollment and more predictable revenue across the term.
Once the importance of retention is clear, I imagine you're asking yourself "how will I know if my student is really satisfied?". This is a common question for anyone investing in educational marketing strategies; Next, let's dive into this topic.
How to analyze the satisfaction of my students?
Nothing better than having satisfied students, right? Whether at school, at university, or on a course, every institution wants to see its students happy and with a positive view of them.
But to know if your students are having a good or bad experience, you need to measure their satisfaction, and in that case, kpis can help you!
What are Kpis?
If you don't know what kpis are, don't worry. Next, we will explain and present some indicators that can help you in the retention process, agreed?
The KPI or Key Performance Indicator is a key performance indicator focused on measuring your strategies. In short, it is a way to assess whether your tactics are achieving the result expected by your institution.
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How important are these performance indicators?
By using the right KPIs to measure your tactics, it is possible to identify if you are on the right track, if your students are happy or if they are dissatisfied and it's time to change your strategies.
With your marketing team constantly evaluating this satisfaction, you have time to work around the situation and prevent student dropout.
In addition, by analyzing these indicators, you can not only monitor and diagnose, but also manage your school performance both in general and for a specific goal, thus optimizing your strategy.
Which kpis to analyze to prevent student dropout?
Now that you know what Kpis is, it's time to find out which indicators to analyze for student retention. Below, we list five KPIs that are essential to measure the satisfaction level of your tickets.
1. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
The NPS or Net Promoter Score is one of the main indicators of retention. The purpose of this kpi is to measure customer satisfaction. Through it, you can identify what the student thinks about your institution and what are the chances of him being a propagator of your brand.
In practice, to find out the NPS result, it is necessary to send a strategically planned questionnaire, in which the student will evaluate his institution with grades from 0 to 10.
Beyond surveys, institutions can use operational data (LMS access, attendance, support tickets, payment status, and activity participation) to spot engagement drops and intervene before dropout happens. When setting up this monitoring, follow Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) with transparency, data minimization, and security, and clearly document the purpose of data use.
2. Customer Effort Score (CES)
The Customer Effort Score is another Kpi that is critical to analyzing student retention. Unlike the NPS, which measures the likelihood of a nomination, the CES measures a student's effort to interact with their school or university.
Imagine the following situation: a student was having difficulty completing the registration for a certain activity whose deadline would end in two days. He tried to contact his institution via WhatsApp, but was unable to get a response and, therefore, decided to send a message to all communication channels. Only two days later did the student get a response by email.
Can you notice the effort the student had to make to get an answer? In this calculation, the account is easy. The more work a student has to interact or solve a problem with their educational institution, the greater their level of dissatisfaction.
To assess this effort, it is necessary to submit a survey after the student performs some action. For example, in the fictional scenario above, after you have your questions answered, you can send a satisfaction survey to give your feedback about the service.
3. Attendance
Students who are dissatisfied, discouraged or who are facing a problem tend to be absent constantly, so it is worth keeping an eye on the attendance indicator.
By tracking this kpi, your institution can analyze which students have been absent or late the most and in which subjects this has occurred. With this in hand, it is possible to identify the problem and work around the situation.
4. Failure
rate Another way to track the students' experience within your institution is through the failure indicator. It's time to analyze grades and failure rates by subject.
As well as lack of attendance, low grades and failures can show that students have had difficulty adapting to their educational institution.
5. Student dropout rate
How many students did not opt for re-enrollment and left your university or school in the last year? If you've never asked yourself this question, it's time to face the numbers and find the answer.
One of the main indicators, the dropout rate, can help you to identify the number of students who chose to drop out during the course. If you have more students leaving your IE than graduating or enrolling, that's not a good sign! There is something in your strategy that needs to be rethought.
In fact, starting with your tactics in the digital environment can be a good way to retain students. After all, if you need to be present where your students are, know that most of them are online on social media, speaking good or bad about your institution or even being attracted to other universities.
And while we're talking about your presence in the virtual world, we can help you position yourself online. Go to our website and contact us!
Frequently asked questions about student retention in education marketing
What is student retention?
Student retention is the set of actions to ensure students remain at the institution, keep an active enrollment link, and earn the diploma.
What is the difference between retention, re-enrollment, and dropout?
Retention is an active enrollment link, re-enrollment is the renewal for the next period, and dropout is suspension or abandonment.
Why track by entry cohort and by modality?
Tracking by entry cohort and standardizing the rule by modality, on-campus or EAD, makes it easier to compare semesters and identify where exits are higher.
What are the main reasons students suspend or abandon?
Dissatisfaction, financial difficulty, and mismatch are among the reasons that lead many students to suspend their courses.
Why should retention be part of education marketing?
Retention maintains the relationship with new students, increases satisfaction, and can create brand advocates through referrals and sharing, while also avoiding a negative view and bad word of mouth.
Is retaining usually more efficient than acquiring?
Retention tends to be more budget-efficient, and acquiring a new customer can cost 5 to 25 times more than keeping a current one, depending on the sector.
What is a KPI and how does it help with student retention?
A KPI is a key performance indicator used to measure strategies and check whether tactics are reaching the expected result, helping identify satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and the need for changes.
Which KPIs help prevent student dropout?
Five essential KPIs are:
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Net Promoter Score (NPS)
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Customer Effort Score (CES)
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Student attendance
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Failure rate
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Student dropout rate
How does NPS work for student retention?
NPS measures satisfaction and the likelihood that the student becomes a brand advocate, usually through a questionnaire in which the student rates the institution from 0 to 10.
What does CES measure and why does it matter?
CES measures the student’s effort to interact with the institution and solve problems, and the greater the effort required, the higher dissatisfaction tends to be.
Why are attendance and failure important signals?
Frequent absences, lateness, low grades, and failures can indicate discouragement, dissatisfaction, or adaptation difficulties, helping the institution identify issues and address them.
How can operational data be used to act before dropout?
Data such as AVA access, attendance, support tickets, delinquency, and participation in activities can signal falling engagement and allow action before dropout, with transparency, data minimization, and security under the LGPD and a clearly documented purpose.
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