Bachelor’s Conferrals Data May Offer Clues to Expanding the US Candidate Pipeline

A new GMAC research brief explores trends in bachelor’s degree conferrals to identify opportunities to grow the US candidate pipeline.

As the number of graduate management education programs in the United States continues to grow, it follows that more students are needed to fill seats. Over the last decade, demand growth for US programs has largely been fueled by international candidates. The current political climate, however, has disrupted international student mobility trends, and programs are now looking to expand their domestic candidate pipelines with renewed urgency.

A new GMAC research brief discusses trends in bachelor’s degree conferrals among US citizens and provides insights to where opportunities to expand the US candidate pipeline may exist.

Findings detailed in the brief include:

• Overall, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred to US citizens is growing, but this growth has slowed. While bachelor’s conferrals grew an average of 3.2 percent annually between 2006-07 and 2011-2012, year-on-year growth has slowed to about 1 percent in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
• Demographic shifts among bachelor’s earners suggest women and Hispanic Americans may be the key to expanding the US candidate pipeline.
• The gap between the total number of bachelor’s degrees earned by women and men annually has grown 25.3 percent over the last ten years. In 2015-16, about 280,000 more women than men earned a bachelor’s degree.
• Over the last ten years, the number of bachelor’s degrees earned annually by Hispanic Americans increased 104.5 percent, growing an average of 8.1 percent annually.

For more, download the research brief. For insights on connecting with and recruiting women and Hispanic American candidates, read the GMAC white papers What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education and Keeping Pace: Insights and Strategies for the Future of US Part-Time MBA Programs and the research brief Key Diversity Statistics: Hispanic Americans