Faced with enrolment decline, colleges in central Travancore to battle it out in virtual world

Colleges are using reels and short videos for promotional campaigns, recognising the importance of these innovations in the upcoming academic year’s student recruitment drive

Institutions such as CMS College in Kottayam are leveraging reels and short videos for promotional campaigns. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Faced with a shrinking enrolment for the undergraduate programmes they offer, the colleges in central Travancore are now taking the battle to recruit students into the virtual world.

Institutions such as CMS College in Kottayam and St. Berchmans College in Changanassery, among others, are leveraging reels and short videos for promotional campaigns, recognising the importance of these innovations in the upcoming academic year’s student recruitment drive.

Different factors

Various factors such as increased demand for nursing and allied jobs post-pandemic, scepticism over traditional courses, international migration, and competition from out-of-state institutions have created a challenging landscape for colleges in the region.

According to Fr. Reji P. Kurien, Principal of St. Berchmans College, these promotional videos offer reassurance to prospective students about the institution’s academic quality, academic rankings, and employment prospects. The positive response has prompted the institution to commission regular video releases, targeting different student communities across the State.

“Colleges are focusing on platforms where their target audience spends most of their time. Videos featuring student testimonials and tips on campus life have garnered significant viewership, indicating effective engagement with the intended audience,’’ he says.

Key role

Confirming the trend, Varghese C. Joshua, Principal, CMS College Kottayam, says social media play a key role in framing the students’ perception of an institution. “It’s a generation that uses smartphones to connect with academia, and it’s not students who are creating these influential video contents, but the academics too are doing this. Such videos are about building closer relationships with students, and the colleges are now getting a lot better at it,’’ he notes.

According to Mr. Joshua, the videos that CMS College has produced since 2020 to offer insights into campus life and facilities have helped the 200-year-old institution weather the storm of enrolment decline.

The gross enrolment ratio for undergraduate programmes in core science and humanities subjects across central Travancore has begun declining since 2022 and plummeted to less than 50% last academic year. This concerning trend has compelled college authorities and faculty to explore innovative strategies to address the crisis.