Higher Education’s Favorite Number to Ignore
Written by Dr. Melik Peter Khoury
If You Don’t Track Cost of Acquisition, You’re Not Leading. You’re Hoping.
At this stage in higher education, leadership means knowing what levers move your institution forward. One of the most powerful and underused levers is a clear understanding of what it costs to acquire each student. If you are not defining, tracking, and acting on your cost of acquisition, you are not managing your recruitment strategy. You are gambling with your future.
Every year, colleges and universities pour billions into student recruitment; often without a clear handle on what they’re actually buying. While the cost of acquiring a student doesn’t typically exceed the cost of educating them, the gap is narrowing in some programs and sectors. In low-overhead online models or highly competitive markets, institutions are spending dangerously close to their instructional budgets just to fill seats. That’s not sustainable. It’s a signal that the system is prioritizing enrollment optics over educational substance.
I spent a few years in Enrollment and as a CFO before stepping into the CEO role. I don’t need a perfect model. But I do need a consistent one. Because without that, every conversation about growth, investment, and impact becomes theoretical…
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