Helping a community college understand migration patterns

Background 

Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech) serves the students of Wake County and surrounding areas. Leaders at Wake Tech wanted to better understand the rapid growth and migration patterns in the region that would help them plan for future recruitment and enrollment at Wake Tech.

Approach  

We used data from a variety of sources – the  U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, U.S. Census Bureau commuting data (LODES), student data from the NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Community College System (NCCCS) data, and custom-developed population projections from a larger NCCCS-system project — to evaluate the landscape of Wake County, how it is changing, and what this means in terms of opportunities for Wake Tech. Our report included a variety of maps and data visualizations to help Wake Tech leaders understand and apply the population estimates.

Results

The client requested that the material be presented in a series of memos. The three memos provided:

• A comprehensive report on the demographics and postsecondary school intentions of high school graduates in Wake County
• A detailed guide to migration patterns in and out of Wake County since 2010, with a complete demographic profile of Wake County residents, commuting patterns, and projected future growth in Wake and surrounding counties
• A deep dive into Wake County adult educational attainment and enrollment patterns, along with potential target populations within the county that represented opportunities for recruitment into Wake Tech programs, such as neighborhoods with a high concentration of potential adult learners

The three memos provided Wake Tech with a comprehensive and proactive strategy for targeting outreach, engagement, and recruitment and identified potential opportunities for development and recruitment.