Recruiting students in a weak economy
Posted by Ed Lane on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 @ 11:58 AM
Retention aside, many colleges and universities struggle with recruiting qualified new students. This is usually due to an over-reliance on portals and aggregators that supply lists of low-quality leads; an over-reliance on internal staff (who are most often not professional marketers) to create and manage collateral, websites, and internal communications; execution of marketing programs without a cohesive school-wide strategy and a means to track performance at all touch points. The adage "you can't manage what you can't measure" holds true for Higher Ed institutions just as it does for any other business.
In an effort to boost enrollment while getting more value for every dollar spent, consider the following:
- Hire a qualified marketing agency to analyze your marketing and advertising programs, as well as your collateral, websites, copy, and media choices. New insights often crystallize while looking through a different lens. Education is now commoditized and the field of competitors has grown exponentially with the advent of online education. Differentiating your program offerings so that they are unique may require professional intervention.
- Consider an outreach program to attract more students from historically under-represented groups. Get everyone involved, from admissions counselors to coaches, and others participate in the recruiting process. Invite prospective students to campus to experience what college would be like by visiting classrooms, meeting with faculty and students, and staying overnight.
- Leverage education technology, such as Lecture Capture. Technology expands instructional options for faculty and provides flexibility to students who respond differently to various formats and settings. It also allows you to reach more students, by appealing to non-residents, non-traditional demographics, and those who require a blended environment due to work and family obligations. Post a few "free" lectures on your website and social media sites to generate interest. Try Tegrity FREE: http://info.tegrity.com/tegrity-lite
- Use social media to build and enhance your brand. Connect and engage with current and potential students in an environment in which they are familiar and comfortable.
- Go Viral. Create a fun, interactive micro-site, iPhone app, or blog that kids will flock to, pass along to each other, and in an indirect way, become intrigued by fields or courses you're trying to fill. The trick in creating a viral campaign will be finding something appealing to your prospective students that's not disingenuous and on which they can put their own creative mark.
- Establish and measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allows institutions to test, make changes and ultimately innovate and improve performance - which translates into increased enrollment and revenue.
- Create a institution-wide action plan to move toward performance improvement (greater efficiency, ROI, lead quality and cost per lead). Better management of the enrollment process creates advantages in the market place.