Strategic Recruitment Leads to Student Success

Strategic Recruitment Leads to Student Success

My favorites…


Students don’t read email…

• First, I don’t entirely buy this• Increase frequency of email contact• Managing opt-out is huge priority

• Test delivery time, subject lines


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• First, I don’t entirely buy this• Increase frequency of email contact• Managing opt-out is huge priority• Test delivery time, subject lines• Every campaign must be multi-channel


Multi-channel



• First, I don’t entirely buy this• Increase frequency of email contact• Managing opt-out is huge priority• Test delivery time, subject lines• Every campaign must be multi-channel• Don’t trust students to read their email? Work the

influencers.


Influencers

• Portal/monthly newsletter to guidance counselors

• Parent specific communications (from current parents)

• Monthly newsletter to current parents



• First, I don’t entirely buy this• Increase frequency of email contact• Managing opt-out is huge priority• Test delivery time, subject lines• Every campaign must be multi-channel• Don’t trust students to read their email? Work the

influencers.• Personalize, personalize, personalize


Personalize, personalize, personalize

• Every email is addressed to a student by name

• Every email is signed by a human being, not an “Office of”

• Every email has a reply-to address that humans check


Maximizing admission counselors

Old model:• Receptionist answers

phone and greets visitors. • Phone calls are routed to

“counselor on call” –that is if you can find them and they aren’t already on the phone.

• Emails answered by a student worker

New model:• Answer Center

1 FT staff and 2 rotating admission counselors triage all incoming phone and email

• Welcome TeamStudents greet families/run check in


More maximizing…

Extended hours:• Open 20+ Saturdays a

year

• Answer Center is available 8:30 am – 8:00 pm EST March-May 1

Not just harder, but smarter: • Completion of an interview

evaluation automatically sends a personalized email from counselor referencing something specific from the interview


International Campaign

• Using SSS to identify and target students who meet our language proficiency (all sources)

• Engaging a strategic partner to develop CN and KR language microsites and host videos internationally

• International student email campaign• One campaign targets prospects, different campaign targets

applicants/admits/waitlist• Delivery schedule targeting evening in east Asia• Messages translated into traditional Chinese


Nursing Campaign

• “Deeper” SSS criteria than we use for our general nursing population

• Direct mail series (think: nursing)

• This year running tests with SSS students who indicate interest in “pre-health professions” or students who indicate pre-med but might not be competitive for admission to that program


Theater Campaign

• Aggressive scholarship leveraging• Poster program to high schools promoting fine-arts

scholarships• Aggressive email campaign• Using SSS to identify students who participated in theater >2

years, but didn’t list it as major• Online information session featuring faculty and current

students• Experimenting with paid Facebook ad placement


Is it working?

• Class of 2016 is largest, most diverse and most academically accomplished in modern history of CWRU

• First to second semester retention cracked 98% for first time

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Applications


Jonathan’s contact info:

Jonathan WehnerDirector of Recruiting and Strategic InitiativesCase Western Reserve University

[email protected]


Jonathan’s chili recipe (heavily borrowed from ATK):

• 2 onions• 2 red bell peppers• 6 cloves garlic• 2 lbs ground round• 2 16 oz cans red kidney beans• 2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes• ¼ cup chili powder (Mexican for heat)• 1 tbsp cumin• 1 tsp each red pepper flakes, oregano• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

• In your Dutch oven, brown veggies and bloom spices in 2 tbsp of veggie oil

• Brown ground round half at a time in same pot, get some good sear on it before you break it up

• Add tomatoes, turn to low, simmer for 1 hr

• Add beans, continue simmering on low for 1 hr

• Skim any grease and serve w/ lime, cheese or crème fraîche

Education

Strategic Recruitment Leads to Student Success