Amy is the newest Director of Business Development at Akademos, responsible for building new partnerships in the Western US. She has worked in Higher Ed for over 20 years, specializing in Retention,  Data Analytics, Financial Aid and Enrollment. Amy is passionate about bringing new ideas to the industry to foster a successful student lifecycle.

The student of today looks much different than 10, or even 5, years ago, which is why it can be extremely difficult to diagnose what may be at the heart of declining enrollments and higher attrition rates. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 30 percent of students who entered college in the fall of 2014 did not return for year 2.¹ The 6-year graduation rate in the U.S. is reported at  59%², however, some believe this to be even lower due to the method upon which colleges are reporting these rates, and if transfers are included as part of the calculation.  For many schools, the cost to retain a student is more cost-effective than recruiting a new one, and this shift will continue as we see a trend in educational sectors closing schools, merging or moving to predominantly online models.