Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
International admissions offices, now more than ever, need to hone their strategic recruitment plans to meet their student (and parent) audiences where they spend their time. This pre-conference workshop session at OACAC helps outline those priorities for print, web, & social communications.
Citation preview
International Admissions 101:Outreach & CommunicationsA focus on web, social media, & print/email communications used to recruit international students. A discussion on best practices for counselor networking will also be included.
Where are we going?
International communication strategic plan overview
Print/e-mail communications flow - what still works?
International-student friendly websites: Is Yours?
Building international student relationships & community via social media
Counselor networking tips for OACAC & beyond
Q&A
Suggested Guiding Principles
Live Where Your Audiences Live (and when)
Keep Them Coming Back For More
Listen, Listen, Listen
How influential are these experiences in the application decision?
1-5 scale:5 = most influential
From CollegeWeekLive/Noel-Levitz 2014 International E-Expectations Report.
Student interest in using these resources to communicate with college representatives1-5 scale:5 = most influential
From CollegeWeekLive/Noel-Levitz 2014 International E-Expectations Report.
What do students look for on a college website?
From CollegeWeekLive/Noel-Levitz 2014 International E-Expectations Report.
Websites
Planning and Implementation: Exclusive vs. Inclusive
Separate International Admission page International-specific information included into the general page Visibility – Is your page hidden within several other admission pages?
Accessibility Easiness of navigation Clear way in and out – being stuck in a page can create negative feelings
towards your institution
Hierarchy and bureaucracy within the university Who is responsible for publishing the page, how quickly can that happen? Marketing and branding guidelines
Website goals Targeted population
Inquiries, applicants, admitted students Region of the world, English proficiency
Will you need information in other languages?
Q&A pages
Consistency –appearance, message, institution culture
Print & e-mail communications
Considerations for Publications/Communications: One piece or more? Define functions for each piece. Who to get involved with the development? Who is your audience? What questions need to be answered within each piece?
What other information needs to be in each piece? Who to mail/email to and when? Do we mail at all? If you use any domestic pieces in your mail flow, are they international friendly?
Print & e-mail communications
Considerations for Publications/Communications:
Use clear concise, most simplistic terms for text (P/W)
Distinguish private, public, religious, gender specific, etc.(P/W)
Provide Map with entire U.S., your location and distance to well known cities in kilometers(P/W)
List accreditations and accolades that lend credibility i.e. ABET, AACSB, etc.(P/W)
Climate in Fahrenheit and Celsius(P/W)
Faculty Stats (P)
Research (P)
Majors and degrees offered (P)
Enrollment: grad vs. undergrad, domestic and int’l, male vs. female(P)
Int’l stats: where your students come from(P/W)
Int’l organizations and support services(P/W)
Print & e-mail communications
Designing your Communication Plan: Pre-App
My initial inquiry letter has links to: Video, on-line brochures, fact sheets in languages Academics: majors/minors/degrees Campus Life Achievements Cost and financial aid Application
I send this within a week of making contact with the student.
I have edited versions for int’ls, permanent residents and U.S citizens living overseas and transfers.
Print & e-mail communications
Designing your Communication Plan: Post-App/Pre-Admit
Do your domestic follow-up letters make sense to bring incomplete apps to completion?
How strongly do you push an app to complete that you may ultimately deny?
Templates for incomplete int’l, incomplete transfers, incomplete US citizens living overseas.
Marketing info in follow-up letters
Print & e-mail communications
Designing your Communication Plan: Admit
Do you scan/email/mail admit packet?
Personal congrats from you?
Email to guidance counselor informing of admission?
What do you communicate once admitted? Outcomes/accomplishments/internships/study abroad/campus activities
Welcome email from current student?
How often do you send “how to pay deposit”?
Again, do domestic admit communications work for int’ls?
Print & e-mail communications
Designing your Communication Plan: Confirmed
Again, do domestic confirmed communications work for int’ls?
“I’m so excited you’ll be part of the X Univ. community!!”
Do you send tracking info when an I-20 is sent?
Is I-20 sent after admission or deposit?
“X student is coming!!!” email to counselor
Branding and Identity
Challenge or Opportunity? Branding – visual or tangible image
Guidelines set by Marketing or similar office on campus
Ex. University Communication Standards and Web Editorial Style Guide from Furman - http://www2.furman.edu/sites/marketing/Pages/Home.aspx
Identity – perception of your institution by individuals in a specific place
No name is better than a bad name Careful approach in building your institution reputation
Rush approach based on immediate results can have long-lasting effects
“Guilty by Association” phenomenon
New Markets
Outreach to New Markets Market Sizing Exercise
Institutional historical data analysis IIE Open Doors data
http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data EducationUSA UNESCO Institute for Statisctics
http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-student-flow-viz.aspx
Appraoch Armchair vs. suitcase recruitment Individual vs. group travel
Institution image and perception by association
Considerations Take existing data into consideration according to your own
institution. Short vs. long-term goals
Are you prepared and able to commit the necessary resources Keep in mind how many new markets can be developed at any
given time.
Social Media
EducationUSAGlobal Social Media Survey Results
spring 2013 n. 2400+ students190 countries
EducationUSAGlobal Social Media Survey Results
spring 2013 n. 2400+ students190 countries
EducationUSAGlobal Social Media Survey Results
spring 2013 n. 2400+ students190 countries
EducationUSAGlobal Social Media Survey Results
spring 2013 n. 2400+ students190 countries
Global EducationUSA Social Media Survey:What the data shows
Social media is key to student communications Most have 2-3 accounts – 91% have Facebook
Students look primarily online for US college info Over 70% use social media to find info about institutions
Greater majority interact directly with institutional social media
They want: To see aid available To ask questions/get answers
While PCs & laptops are still dominant way students access social media, mobile phones (increasingly smart phones) are used by nearly 50%
Social Media:Take-Aways
Know Where Your Students “Live” Online
Focus Your Attention AccordinglyProvide Opportunities to InteractEngage in ConversationsStart Thinking MobileTime / Target Messages
Social Media articles worth a read
Higher Education & the Social Media Bubble part 1
Higher Education & the Social Media Bubble part 2
Is Your Recruitment Connecting Awareness & Commitment
Bring on the Golden Age of Mobile (infographic)
Social, Digital & Mobile in China 2014
Digital Behavior of Global Teens
Admitted Student Communities
Social Media in 2014
What Lessons Can Colleges Learn from Big Brands on Social Media
Top 10 Counselor Networking Tips from Judi, Fred, & Marty
1. Think about attending…OACAC, NACAC, EducationUSA, CIS Forum, CIS Tri-Association Conference, CIS conference in association with ASSA
2. Carry list of admitted and deposited lists to these events. For at least the last year, if not two or three years. Photos of their students??
3. Consider counselor fly-ins; free hotel if they visit
4. Create quarterly counselor newsletter
5. Participate in the social aspects of OACAC whenever you can
6. Don’t try to “sell” your institution to counselors ; instead, focus on building a trusting relationship with them. You will have a chance to showcase your institution during the college fair and in the future
7. Have a “plan of attack” based on region and type of school, but don’t be afraid of deviating from it. Counselors know other counselors and they also move around quite a bit.
8. Connect on social media with FB groups & counselors/advisers on LinkedIn/FB: OACAC, College Admissions Counselors, Globe Trotters United, College Admissions Recruiter Network
9. Have enough business cards, always!
10. Be ruthless in dodgeball tournaments with fellow higher ed colleagues, but go easy on the counselors
Questions for the Panel
Judi Marino, International Admissions Specialist, Flagler University, [email protected]
Fred Silva, Assistant Director of Admissions, Furman University, [email protected]
Marty Bennett, Manager of International Partnerships, CollegeWeekLive, [email protected]
Thank you!
Complete Power Point & CollegeWeekLive/Noel-Levitz 2014 International E-Expectations Report
Will be emailed to those who leave a business card !
