Live Video Chat & Virtual Fairs:Strategies for International Student

Recruitment & Retention

Nadia D’Lima, Manager, International Student Services, Centennial College

Greg Long, Digital Media Recruitment Officer, Centennial College

Looking Back:History of International Registration at Centennial College

98 101 136 155264

379

596779

923

1162

1064

982

1212

1232

1408

2449

4179

5499

5681

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13

Total FTE's: 1994 to Present

Where do our international students come from?

>134countries

Live Chat and our Strategic Plan

1) Student Engagement 2) International Student Diversification 3) Student Advising 4) Use of IT to Increase Productivity/Reduce costs 5) Alignment with Marketing and Communications6) Academic Quality

Anique: “I’m so glad to see that we have so many contacts to help us along our journey!”

12,473 + visitors from 104 countries

at Centennial’s virtual fairs (2012-2014)

111 Conversions resulted from virtual

fairs (2013-2014)

Right Time: When can Live Chat support RECRUITMENT?

1) Generate leads with Virtual College Fairs

2) Bring along current students virtually to Classroom visits / traditional fairs

3) Support yield by engaging leads with live chatevents through the planning and decision making process

4) Host Pre-arrival Orientation and Welcome Events fornew entrants focused on making a successful transition

Right Time: When can Live Chat support RETENTION?

6) Support Academic Quality - Webinars focused on college preparation (Academic matters like citation and plagiarism).

7) Strategic Conversations - International Student Ambassador Calling Campaign for new students, group and one on one Advising, and Social Media Engagement

5) Support Information Needs by broadcasting on campus info sessions and workshops free online (Google Hangouts on Air)

WHAT INFLUENCES THEM?

WHAT ARE THEIR CONCERNS?

HOW DO THEY COMMUNICATE?

Noel-Levitz & CollegeWeekLive Research Demographics: Citizenship

Asia (exp. India/China)

13% China10%

India12%

Central America / Caribbean

3%

Latin America9%

Middle East, North Africa, &

Arabia13%

Sub-Saharan Africa21%

Canada7%

Europe11%

Australia 1%

How many colleges will they apply to?

1-2 colleges16%

3-5 colleges44%

6-10 colleges27%

11-15 colleges9%

16+ colleges4%

Highest Applications:

China – 28% apply to

11 or more

After rankings and websites, conversations are most influential

2.75

2.95

3.15

3.35

3.55

3.75

3.95

4.15

University website

College rankings Convosw/ students

Convosw/ reps

On-Campustour

Collegesearch sites

Universitybrochures

EducationUSAoffice

Guidancecounselor

Indpendentcounselor/agent

Universityfacebook pg.

How influential are the following experiences on application decisions? (1-5 scale)

Asia, China, and India had the most significant

preference for students over reps

Campus Tours rank #1 among

US students, rated at 4.4

average

Independent Counselors/Agents

rated highest in China and sub

Saharan Africa

After email and traditional fairs, open to a variety of online channels

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

Email Traditionalcollege fairs

Live chat(IM)

Campustour

Live videoWebcast

Phone Socialmedia

WebcamCall

Textmessaging

(phone)

Please rate your interest in using each resource to communicate with college or university reps (1-5 Scale)

StudentLive Chat preferred over social media

Video Webcasts over skype style video calls

Colleges should rely more on current students than alumni.

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Admissionsrepresentative

International StudentServices

Representative

Financial AidRepresentative

Current internationalstudent

Professors Alumni/graduates ofthe school or

program

Which campus representative would you be interested to see in a Live Video Presentation?

Current students favored over alumni

China: Students value students & professors over

financial aid

Top three topics by region

Asia

Financial Decisions

Essay Writing

Where to Apply

Canada

Essay Writing

Where to Apply

Initial Research

China

Essay Writing

Initial Research

Financial Decisions

Europe

Financial Decisions

Essay Writing

Test Prep

India

Visa Applications

Financial Decisions

Completing Apps.

Latin America

Financial Decisions

Test Prep

Essay Writing

Middle East

Financial Decisions

Essay Writing

Where to Apply

Sub-Saharan Africa

Financial Decisions

Visa Applications

Initial Research

The Right Message: The Power of ‘Peer to Peer’

Involve Students when Planning,Promoting and Hosting Live Chats!

• Help students address Specific Concerns• Build personal connection to your school• Help students take the next step

Useful Content Defined by Chinese Students

“I can’t find much info about student life on campus”

“Nice to see school intros written by Chinese students, not something too official”

“I want to hear from students who have gone through the application, admissions and study process so that I know better what they are going through”

Zinch Study, NAFSA 2013.

Useful Content: Authentic, Informative, Timely

“There is a lot of scope for improvement. Institutional social media accounts could be more interactive, like a chat room.” — 21-year-old male, India

“College/university pages are not very active and update slowly, but I can also get information from their students’ activities online.” —22-year-old female, China

Source: WES, World Education Services, 2012. Not All International Students Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior

Students like other students!

• Our students want to meet: “Home Friends”, “Host Friends”, “International Friends”

• Greater attendance and interest for studentled activities on our campus than other extra curricular activities.

• Record Applicants for programs such as Leadership Passport, LeaderShape, Student Mentor Program and Student Ambassador Program.

International Student Ambassador Program

• Call for participation every four months.

• 12 Ambassadors in May 2013 > 32 students in Fall 2014.

• 20 hours of volunteering at on and off campus events for international students. Incentives: Credit towards their leadership passport, which in turns earns them a credit on their final transcript. Leadership Opportunities, public speaking, presentation skills, references.

• Students want to continue being part of the program after 20 hours.

Redefining “Experts”

Shift in Advising Strategies:

• Redefining the expert to include student voices.

• Students tweet, fb, insta and love sharing stories

• Leverage their platforms to share messages with a common goal of making students feel welcome and that they belong to a supportive community.

Live Chat Conversations:

Right Time, Right Message, Right Channels

Right Channels:

• Virtual Fairs: CollegeWeekLive and Edufindme

• Skype/Google Hangouts – Live Chat Table

• Classroom to Boardroom Skype Conferences

• Google Hangouts on Air

Student Diversification with Virtual Fairs

Diversify recruitment efforts, target specific groups, and limit travel. CollegeWeekLive: Total 12,473 Leads from 120 Countries

Conversations with Highly Engaged Students

Student – Carla

Faigmane

Hi Greg! What's your GMAT requirement? Do you also require TOEFL/ IELTS certification for

international students?

Rep – Greg Long Hi Carla, welcome. You actually do not need GMAT to attend college or university in Canada

Student – Carla

Faigmane

That's good to hear! How about TOEFL/IELTS though my business and accountancy

curriculum is in English.

Rep – Greg Long If English is not your first language, we do require IELTS or TOEFL (unless you are taking a

foundation program or ESL). The IELTS or TOEFL scores required depend on your program, and

level. For post graduate program. For post-graduate or fast track programs, an applicant requires 6.5

overall with no bands less than 6.0 (IELTS).

Student – Carla

Faigmane

I'm planning to take up a post-grad degree in business. In addition, I'm also a licensed public

accountant in the Philippines. Do I need to take classes in order to take Canadian CPA exams?

What do you recommend?

Rep – Greg Long We recommend you check out the post-graduate program in our school of business. Yes, there are

academic requirements before you can complete the CPA program. Our Strategic Management

Graduate Certificate program provide s great pathway to CPA for internationally educated grad

students: http://www.centennialcollege.ca/programs-courses/schools/school-of-business/graduate-

studies/

Student – Carla

Faigmane

Thanks a lot, Greg! Will check it! Looking forward to meeting you

August 13th International Students Day Chat:

Repeat Event Visitors

Centennial College had a total of 2,696 repeat visitors! Interested, Self - Motivated and Highly Engaged

Frederick ******, Ghana (Seeking a Grad Degree)

EMEA Day 2014

Int’l Students Day August 2014

June AlwaysON 2014

Int’l Students Day May 2014

March AlwaysON 2014

Caleb *******, New Zealand (Seeking a Grad Degree)

September AlwaysON 2014

August AlwaysON 2014

July AlwaysON 2014

June AlwaysON 2014

May AlwaysON 2014

March AlwaysON 2014

Krystina*******, Russia (Senior)

EMEA Day 2014

September AlwaysON 2014

Jose*******, Mexico(Transfer)

May AlwaysON 2014

March AlwaysON 2014

Student Advising: Feedback from Students

Racquel: "Great, you are making me feel even better about my choice about coming to Centennial.“

Dian:"Thanks for the info guys, they are really helpful. I'm really excited”

Mathias:You guys are really great, simplifying all asked questions in a mannerly way

Sophia “I want to say thank you all for this presentation. We have got to know a lot of different and interesting things about this program. All of us are actually really interested”

Oleg (Country of Recruit: Russia): “Will there be a new chat within some future months? Can you please give me your ________or _______ account?”

Strategies for Following up on Live Chat

• Peer to Peer Follow Up • Online Community Invites

Live Chat Follow up Match Game

Answer: VK and Skype

Live Chat Follow up Match Game

A) EmailB) PhoneC) TravelD) Virtual EventsE) All of the above

Which Type of Follow Up is a goodmatch for the countries in ourLive Chat?

Live Chat Follow up Match Game

On Which platform did 3,230 see this post?

Strategies for Following up on Live Chat

1) Peer to Peer Follow Up + Online Community Invites

2) Admissions Representative Follows up via Phone, Email, Travel, Virtual Events

3) Leverage Content on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Youku

Answer: Facebook

Live Chat Follow up in Facebook Groups

#iexperiencecentennial

Sahil Verma: Had an amazing life time global experience in the dense rainforests of

Costa Rica. Such an learning conservation expedition. #Costarica #Centennialcollege

#iexperiencecentennial

Veronica Romero: Taking advantage of every second to study and improve my

english. Waiting the bus or the subway, every moment is important and precious.

#iexperiencecentennial

Rohit Kashyap: Sit on a couch and study whatever you want with mind blowing view

in front of you from centennial college progress library.... #iexperiencecentennial

Elisa Tromba Ariemma: Each minute counts to reach my potential...The centennial

experience comes along with me every place I go... #iexperiencecentennial

Alejandro Meixueiro: I am really happy to know that I belong to Centennial College, its amazing to travel everywhere and let people know where you come from! I am really proud to be part of Centennial College; sharing my experience with every person I meet is like planting seeds around the world. Thank you so much for this opportunity because I am living my dream. Clifts of Moher, Dublin, Ireland.. #iexperiencecentennial

#iexperiencecentennial

#iexperiencecentennial

Sahil Verma: Had an amazing life time global experience in the dense rainforests of

Costa Rica. Such an learning conservation expedition. #Costarica #Centennialcollege

#iexperiencecentennial

Veronica Romero: Taking advantage of every second to study and improve my

english. Waiting the bus or the subway, every moment is important and precious.

#iexperiencecentennial

Rohit Kashyap: Sit on a couch and study whatever you want with mind blowing view

in front of you from centennial college progress library.... #iexperiencecentennial

Elisa Tromba Ariemma: Each minute counts to reach my potential...The centennial

experience comes along with me every place I go... #iexperiencecentennial

Alejandro Meixueiro: I am really happy to know that I belong to Centennial College, its amazing to travel everywhere and let people know where you come from! I am really proud to be part of Centennial College; sharing my experience with every person I meet is like planting seeds around the world. Thank you so much for this opportunity because I am living my dream. Clifts of Moher, Dublin, Ireland.. #iexperiencecentennial

#iexperiencecentennial

Key Takeaways

Right ChannelsConversations influence decisions. Take advantage of preferences for online communication channels.

Right Times

Students say it’s very

important to have

conversations

throughout the

process.

Right Message

Students want

access to a variety of

representatives and

need help with a

variety of topics.

QUESTIONS &

DISCUSSION

How Live Chat Supports NAFSA’S Armchair Recruitment Communication Procedures

1) Build Awareness – More quality information goes out:

Live Chat supports Lead Generation, Engagement, Diversification

2) Develop responses for students at different stages:

Student Engagement, Student Advising, Reduce Costs

3) Provide Timely Response: Conversations support Engagement

4) Provide Specific answers to specific questions: Right Message

5) Move student through the next step in the process: Right Channels