Higher Ed New Program Planning: Why Intentionality Beats Impulse

There’s never been a more competitive moment in higher education. Between economic shifts, AI reshaping the workforce, and a massive rise in online options, students are more selective, accreditors more exacting, and employers more vocal about what they will and won’t accept. It can, therefore, be tempting to try and differentiate yourself by offering as many programs as you can, to try and capitalize on meeting some of these needs. But, as Icarus, taser owners, and anyone who’s ever painted an accent wall in their home will tell you: just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.

The difference between can and should hinges on a single concept: intentionality. Intentionality means grounding every program in real-world data, clear market needs, and mission alignment (not just faculty availability or leadership whims). Intentionality is the antidote to haphazard academic expansion, and it’s what separates programs that build enduring legacies from programs that make it to graduation day...once.

If you’ve read any of our other blogs, you may know that I frequently include a comically absurd example to illustrate a point. And today’s blog will be no exception. My dear friend and colleague Amy earned her PhD in English Literature (and a particular love of the Pre-Raphaelites). I earned a Master of Science in Digital Marketing. Hypothetically, we could team up and build a program together. And so, I present to you, in all its misguided glory: the Bachelor of Science in Pre-Raphaelite Digital Marketing. Surely there’s a whole segment of employers clamoring for graduates who can pair SEO strategy with 19th-century melancholia, right?

Before you shelve your school’s current offerings to make room for what will clearly be an educational and cultural juggernaut, let’s pause and run it through the same test any real program idea should face. Here are the key questions every institution should be asking before moving from a “cool” idea to a formal proposal.

What Population or Workforce Need Does This Program Meet?

You can build a beautiful, creative, highly original program, but if no one is hiring graduates in that field, you’ve essentially created a very expensive and time-consuming hobby.

Is there a documented trend of employers begging for marketers trained in 19th-century symbolism? Are you sure? If you think there is, how do you know? Is your source of that conclusion objective, stable, and broad enough to justify investment? This is where workforce data matters. Not a random notion that occurred to you late at night or during a conversation with a colleague, but detailed research from reliable sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
   Start here. Their Occupational Outlook Handbook gives job projections, required credentials, and wage ranges.

• Lightcast (formerly EMSI/Burning Glass)
  These tools use job postings and market signals to identify real-time employer demand and emerging skills.

• State Workforce Boards
  Many states publish detailed labor market reports tailored to regional industries and hiring trends.

• Industry Associations
  For example, if we were launching our BS in Pre-Raph Digital Marketing, we’d be checking reports from the American Marketing Association and HubSpot.

Before launching a program, institutions should be able to clearly articulate who they are preparing students to serve and what jobs those students should be qualified for.

Who Are Our Competitors and What Are They Doing Better (or Not Doing at All)?

If no one is offering a late-1800s British Digital Marketing credential, is it because it’s groundbreaking… or because it’s nonsense? Or, if hundreds of other schools offer a similar program (spoiler: they don’t), is the market already saturated? Can you really offer it in a way that is truly differentiated and specific to our mission?

This is where competitor analysis is critical. Look beyond your peer institutions and consider:

• IPEDS & College Navigator (U.S. Department of Education)
  These tools can help you identify other schools offering similar degrees.

• Program Catalogs
  Review how other schools structure their offerings. What concentrations do they offer? What credentials do their faculty have? What learning outcomes do they emphasize?

• Accreditor Databases
  See what kinds of programs have been recently approved by your accreditor and others in your sector.

• Google Trends & SEO Tools
  Sometimes, a little keyword research can tell you whether prospective students are even looking for programs like the one you’re planning to develop.

The goal isn’t just to avoid duplication. It’s to ensure your program fills a meaningful gap and reflects your institution’s unique strengths.

What Does Student Demand Look Like and How Do We Know?

One Rosetti-obsessed prospective student saying, “That sounds fun!” or one Siddal-loving faculty member declaring, “I would totally enroll in this if I could,” does not equal a strategic enrollment pipeline.

Real student demand is supported by real student data; you need more than anecdotes. Start with:

• Institutional Research Teams
  If your institution has one, they can run surveys or analyze prospect data.

• Inquiry Data from your CRM (like Slate or Salesforce)
  What are prospective students actually clicking on, asking about, or requesting info on?

• National Clearinghouses (e.g., Ruffalo Noel Levitz, Eduventures, EAB)
  These groups provide custom and benchmarked demand analyses.

• Google Trends, Niche.com, and Reddit Threads
  Yes, really. These platforms can show what students are searching for, talking about, and interested in studying.

•    High School Student Data Sources

  • College Board’s BigFuture Data shows national search and interest trends for majors and careers.

  • National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Reports track enrollment patterns and student mobility.

  • Naviance (by PowerSchool) is used by many high schools to guide student career/college exploration; aggregate data can highlight interest areas.

  • Cappex or Peterson’s offer insights into what students are searching for in college programs.

You’re not trying to find students who might enroll; you’re trying to find a sizable audience that will.

Can We Sustain This Program Long-Term?

Maybe there is a bizarre TikTok microtrend around using Millais in advertising (there isn’t, for the record), but will you have enough students to keep the program going in Year 3 (and to justify the ongoing investment to maintain it)? Before launching anything new, institutions should consider whether this program truly meets a long-term need/gap by considering:

• Stakeholder Feedback
  Ask prospective employers, advisory boards, subject matter experts, and alumni: Do they think this program will be relevant in 5–10 years?

• Lifecycle Modeling
  What will the student experience and employment outcomes look like from first-year through five years post-grad?

• Cost Modeling/Forecasting
  Can the institution afford to maintain this program if enrollments fluctuate or drop entirely?

If you can’t clearly explain why and how your program will still be relevant, in demand, and financially viable five or ten years from now, it’s not ready. You don’t want to spend time and resources developing an exquisitely niche Victorian era digital marketing degree only to have no one enroll in it.

How Does This Align With Our Institutional Mission and Strategic Goals?

Every institution has a statement about who they serve and why they exist. The question is: Does this program actually reflect that or does it just seem easy to launch? If, for example and apropos of nothing, your mission is to empower educational leaders to pursue extraordinary missions that ignite student success, then how exactly does a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Raphaelite Digital Marketing fit into that picture?

Ask yourself:

• Who does your mission say you serve?
  Are you addressing that population or creating a program that caters to a completely different group?

• Does the program’s purpose clearly connect to your mission?
  Or is it simply appealing because it’s convenient to launch with existing resources?

• What are your current strategic priorities?
  If your strategic plan prioritizes STEM expansion, economic mobility, or workforce partnerships, does this program move those goals forward or sideways?

When in doubt, go back to the documents that drive your institution’s decisions: your mission statement, strategic plan, and board-approved priorities. If your program proposal doesn’t clearly link to those, it’s worth sitting with the question why do we want to offer this? Because a program that doesn’t reinforce your mission will eventually distract from it.

Final Thoughts

For the record, Amy and I are definitely not launching the Bachelor of Science in Pre-Raphaelite Digital Marketing. We did the (hypothetical) research, asked the hard questions, and concluded that it’s not a great fit for our mission, our students, or, literally anything.

I know this example was ridiculous, but the real-world (read: more boring) version of this happens all the time. A school with a clear mission in healthcare or IT looks around, realizes they’ve got a few faculty members with business credentials, and suddenly starts floating the idea of an MBA or BSBA. Leadership sees a potential new revenue stream—plus! they don’t even need to hire anyone new to launch it. It feels efficient. It feels low-risk. But “we could probably pull this off” is not the same as “this serves our students and our mission.” Faculty credentials and internal enthusiasm are great, but they are not, on their own, a justification for a new academic program.

Growth is good. Expanding your educational offerings is good. But programs should be built on purpose, not convenience; on data, not hunches; and on mission, not FOMO. This is why intentionality matters. It’s the commitment to build only what truly serves your students, your community, and your long-term vision. When your program development is grounded in data, mission, and intentionality, you strip out a lot of the risk and uncertainty. That’s how you can be confident that, even if you launch something as seemingly impractical as a Pre-Raphaelite Digital Marketing degree, it will have genuine interest, long-term viability, and a sustainable path forward.