A10 Best Practices For Non-Traditional Student Recruitment
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10 Best Practices For 10 Best Practices For Non-Traditional Student Non-Traditional Student Recruitment Recruitment Brad Johnson Art Stenmo Eran Goren A Guide For Post-Secondary Schools A Guide For Post-Secondary Schools Competing For Non-Traditional Students Competing For Non-Traditional Students
A10 Best Practices For Non-Traditional Student Recruitment
10 Best Practices For Non-Traditional Student Recruitment - A Guide For Post-Secondary Schools Competing For Non-Traditional Students. Presented by Greenwood & Hall at AACRAO SEM XIX 11/10/09 in Dallas, TX.
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1. 10 Best Practices ForNon-Traditional Student Recruitment
Brad Johnson Art Stenmo Eran Goren A Guide For Post-Secondary
SchoolsCompeting For Non-Traditional Students
2. Current Landscape
Rapid growth of non-traditional student programs the last 20
years.
Online enrollments more than doubled from 1.4 million to over 4
million from 2002-2007
10 million enrollments today
Significant increase in the number ofcompeting
institutions.Public, for profit & not-for-profit.
Schools struggling to compete against multi-nationalcorporate
education programs.
3. Key Differences Between Online & Traditional Students
Limited Brand Loyalty, Often Having Only Passive Interest
Difficult To Reach
Generally Ambivalent
Heavily Targeted Over Brief Period of Time
Often Influenced By Contact Strategy Versus Institutional
Reputation
Generally Requires Coaching & Motivation
Obstacles
4. 1) Strong Marketing Plan
Interactive
Media Planning & Buying
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Social Media
Mobile Marketing
Traditional
Television & Radio, Print, Direct Mail
Direct Recruitment
Military & Corporate Sales
5. Planning
Make sure the leads you will receive are consistent with your
programs and admissions requirements.
Many prospective students will inquire with 2-3 schools.
Be prepared to speak to prospective students after-hours.
Have a CRM tracking system in place so you can effectively
track each lead and the effectiveness of each source.
Be ready to sell your institution and differentiate your
programs.
Many prospects will need to be contacted multiple times via
phone and email.
6. 2) Response Plan
Responding within 5 minutes of inquiry via phone and email
increases enrollments by nearly 300%.
Guide the process
Follow-up when you say you will
Utilize email communications and other technologies
Improve job satisfaction and admission staff retention
7. 3) Pre-Application Sales Process
Qualify the prospect.
Build a rapport with each prospective student.
Understand The Why Factor
Connect The Why With Your Institution
Present your school & program.
Motivate prospect to apply.
8. 4) Post-Application Sales Process
The sales process is not over just because a prospect has
applied.
Streamline admission process.
Award financial aid quickly.
Drive admits to enrolled. Enrolled to start.
A prospect is not a student until after the drop period!
9. Recruitment Steps
Prospect Qualification & On-Going Development
Recruitment - Presentations that highlight the features,
benefits & outcomes of the educational experience
Assist students with completing the online application
Financial Aid Advising How To Apply
Conduct Application Follow-Ups
Call to Congratulate Students on Admission to the
University
Advise students on course selection
Register students for first term courses
Other counseling and advising as needed (Books, Payment
Plans)
Assist with orientation, ensuring readiness for class, and
login
Reminder Call to students prior to the start of the term
No Show Call to students who have not logged in after the start
of the term
Welcome Call to Enrolled Students (2 weeks after start of the
term)
10. 5) Retention Steps
Single Point-of-Contact For Student
Provide Academic Support & Encourages Persistence
Proactively Checks In With All Students & Monitors
Progress
Assists with Term-To-Term Registration & Course
Selection
Ensures That Students Register and are Administratively Ready
for Class
All Financial Aid Documents Submitted
Degree Audit/Transfer Evaluations
Books Ordered
Payment Arrangements Made
Student Logs-In To Class
Seamless Integration With Institutional Academic Advisors,
Faculty & FA
11. 6) Use Technology
Increase efficiencies by over 45%.
Increase conversion rates by almost 60%.
Minimum technologies required:
Lead/customer relationship management software.
ACD phone system with multi-line phones & headsets.
Email marketing software.
Tracking system.
To generate larger volume:
Predictive dialing system.
Advanced contact center phone system & reporting.
Integrated ACD.
Professional CRM/LMS with phone system integration.
Automated tracking system.
Sales management systems.
Dedicated IT resources.
12. 7) The Right Resources
The difference between weak and strong conversion.
Segregate lead qualification and admission counselors.
Qualifiers:
Aggressive.
Sales-oriented.
Motivating.
Comfortable with prospecting over the phone.
13. 7) The Right Resources (cont.)
Admissions Counselors:
Solid understanding of your school, admissions process, basic
financial aid, student services, and admissions counseling.
Ability to provide life coaching and encouragement .
Assertiveness, confidence and sales ability.
Impeccable follow-up skills.
Strong ability to position your school and its benefits above
other schools prospects may be considering.
Excellent phone and written communication skills.
Knowledge and understanding of the competition.
14. 8) Setting Goals & Metrics
Set realistic and measurable objectives:
Dials Per Day.
Contacts Per Day.
Sales Presentations Per Day.
Applications .
Admits.
Enrollments.
Drop Rate.
Overall Conversion Rate.
15. 9) Know & Abide By The Law
FERPA, EDs Safe Harbor Regulations, etc.
State, & federal telemarketing regulations
includingdo-not-call.
E-mail marketing regulations.
Single violations $ 11,000+ and other federal sanctions.
16. 10) Your Online Presence
Non-traditional students use the internet to research
schools.
A strong marketing site for your non-traditional programs:
Detailed program information.
Financial aid information & resources.
Studenttestimonials (video preferred).
Online application form.
Career information.
Features & benefits.
School credibility (accreditation, awards/rankings, high
graduation rates, etc.).
17. enCircle Media
Leading education marketing agency.
Privately owned.G&H sister company.Irvine, CA & New
York, NY
Manage all student recruitment marketing
Proprietary technology to validate, score and optimize online
media buys.
18. Greenwood & Hall
End-to-end enrollment management solutions for undergraduate
and graduate online programs.
Founded 1997. Privately owned. 250 employees.
Best of education & contact managementexpertise.
19. School Case Study 1
Large private, non-profit school.
Revenue constraints.
Expand online graduate program.
Generated 700 new enrollments per term.
Exceeded enrollment goals by 32%.
Exceeded revenue goal for term by $1.1mm.
20. School Case Study 2
Situation: Traditional school with an Online MBA program was
generating about 50 new enrollments per term and was achieving
reasonable metrics but wanted to grow enrollments
significantly.
Action: The school outsourced the marketing and enrollment
management functions utilizing many of tools we have discussed
today.
Result: Over the past six (6) terms, over 980 new enrollments
have been generated at conversion rates that have increased by
29%.In other words, the school has scaled up while decreasing its
cost per enrollment.
21. School Case Study 3
Undergraduate Online Program exceeded the enrollment goal for
the Summer 2 term by 45%.
Undergraduate Online Enrollment increased 276% from the
previous year.
Undergraduate new student drop rate reduced from 29% the
previous year to under 7%.
Total Retention Rate for the Online Undergraduate Program from
Summer 1 to Summer 2 term was 67%, over 50% improvement.
Online MBA Program exceeded the enrollment goal for the Summer
II term by 47%.
22. Q&A 23.
Thank You!
We Look Forward To The Opportunity To Be Of Service!