CHENNAI: Making dying science degrees lively to Gen Z students is a tough challenge. Changing with the times, today private colleges are trying to breathe new life into courses on the decline by rebranding them using digital strategy and leveraging student influencers. They are reaching out to youngsters using social media, which matches their wavelength, to combat declining enrolment.
College administrators said the aggressive online outreach, through reels and alumni stories, has helped improve enrolment in traditional disciplines such as mathematics, physics, political science and sociology, which has not had many takers in recent years. They added that several misconceptions about career opportunities in maths, history and political science have pushed many students towards professional courses.
Archna Prasad, principal of the MOP Vaishnav College for Women, told TNIE that they launched a month-long digital campaign ahead of admissions to promote their courses. “People believe that after studying mathematics, one could only become a teacher. We wanted to change that narrative. We have engaged alumni working in software and research sectors, and influencers on campus to educate students about career options,” she said.
The college has a dedicated social media team comprising students, faculty and an external expert to plan outreach strategies. “Our college’s Instagram account has received 6.2 lakh views in the last one month,” said Prasad, adding that applications for courses like sociology and maths have increased by 10%.
Paul Wilson, principal of the Madras Christian College (MCC), said that the institution opened its admission registration portal in February and used the applicant data for targeted outreach. Departments curated WhatsApp groups, organised online meetings with prospective students to explain programme features and career opportunities. “This digital engagement has resulted in better enrolment this year,” he added. According to the college, admissions have increased in courses such as history, political science, geography, maths, economics, plant biology and zoology. “For the less popular courses like history, maths, physics and chemistry, there has been an increase of 5% to 10% in the number of applications,” said Wilson.
Santosh Baboo, principal of D G Vaishnav College, said, “Nowadays, along with curriculum, the students are equally interested in extracurricular activities. Through our social media pages and YouTube, we continuously post updates, clips of cultural programmes and workshops.”
