Organizational resilience and enrollment trends of independent, for-profit higher education institutions

BACKGROUND: From 2010 to 2012, the for-profit sector of higher education in the United States (otherwise known as career colleges) existed in a turbulent environment, characterized by regulatory, media, and public scrutiny. While virtually all career colleges experienced enrollment declines during this period, by 2012 some colleges were starting to see this trend stabilize or reverse, whereas others did not. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if the differences in career colleges' enrollment trends could be attributed to organizational resilience. METHODS: A quantitative correlation study using a multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the nature of the relationship between organizational resilience and the enrollment fluctuations of 59 career colleges located throughout the United States. RESULTS: The correlation between organizational resilience levels and enrollment fluctuations was fair to moderate and significant, r = 0.40, p < 0.05. A multiple-regression analysis revealed that the model significantly explained the impact of the six organizational resilience factors on enrollment fluctuations, F = 4.15, p < 0.01. The R-2 for the model was 0.32, and the adjusted R-2 was 0.25. In terms of individual organizational resilience factors, two tested either significantly or moderately significantly: avoidance-skepticism and critical understanding or sensemaking. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for college leaders include monitoring the level of avoidance to ensure a healthy balance of skepticism regarding new situations and incorporating strategies to help organizational members increase their levels of critical understanding or sensemaking.