Top Ten Most

Successful

Recruitment

Strategies

Presented by Dr. Jim Black

President & CEO of SEM WORKS

• Decisions are influenced by relationships

• Prospective students want to be treated as

individuals

• Multiple channels of communication are

the most effective

• Every interaction with a prospective

student is a “moment of truth”

• Response time matters

Student Recruitment Principles

All buying decisions are based

on emotion and justified with

logic.

Determine what emotions will

influence the college decision

of a prospective student.

Address individual emotional

decision drivers.

The Enrollment Funnel

Inquiry

Applicant

Offer

Enroll

Retain

Grad

University

Popula on

College

Recruiter

AlumGraduate2-4+ Years1st YearEnrolledAdmitAppInquiryInquiryProspect

Recruitment

Outreach, Broadcast

Media, Website,

College Planning

Videos

Process/Marketing

Communications,

Social Media,

Events,

Program Marketing

Viewbook

Fulfillment

(High School/

UG Adult Students/

Graduate Students)

Process/Successs

Communications,

Social Media,

Events, Video

Tutorials

Success

Communications,

Success Plan,

Early Intervention,

Advising, Video

Tutorials

Application

Completion

Communications

Orientation,

Advising,

Registration

Loyalty and

Advanced

Degree Recruitment

Communications,

Advising, Faculty

Mentoring

Transition Plan,

Loyalty

Communications

Re-enrollment &

Referral Campaign,

Social Media

FormerStudents

CurrentStudents

FutureStudents

Source: Academica Group, 2013

Recruitment ModelIntegrated Student Recruitment

EFFICIENCY EFFECTIVENESSRelationshipManagement

CommunicationsFlow

Outreach

Web Strategy

Admissions Office

Graduate Studies

Continuing Education

Academic Units

Marketing

Marketing

Print Strategy

Information

Sharing

CommunicationCollaboration

Fusion

Integration

• Outreach

• Direct mail solicitations

• Schedule of courses

• Postcard teasers

• Point of sale posters

• Search engine optimization

• Pay per click

• Advertisements

Strategy 1: Lead Generation

Transfer Lead Generation

• Purchase community college Phi Theta

Kappa search lists through Collegefish.org

• Continue to use high school lists purchased

over the past two years

• Leverage the National Student Clearinghouse

to identify admits from the past two years who

elected to enroll initially at a community

college

• Request lists of future graduates from area

community colleges

Graduate Student Lead Generation

• Fairs

• Purchase GRE and GMAT lists

• Recruit your current undergraduates

• International agents

A Balanced Student Recruitment Strategy

The School Visit

Territory Management

Top Prospects Tier One Schools

Tier Two Schools Tier Three Schools

ROI

Prospects most likely

to be influenced

Schools yielding 25%

or more of the

institution’s enrollment

Schools yielding 5% -

24% of the institution’s

enrollment

Schools yielding

fewer than 5% of the

institution’s enrollment

Strategy 2: Inquiry Capture and Response

1

2

3

5

46

Walk-insEmail senders

Website

visitors

Contacts with others

ISAR &

Test Scores

Call-ins

Applicants

“It used to be that the big ate the small.

Now the fast eat the slow.”

Geoff Yang, Institutional Venture

Partners

Fast or Forgotten

Speed is expected. There is no WOW factor.

Without technology, it is impossible to deliver

anything fast enough to satisfy your students.

Speed must be a strategic direction

of your organization...to thrive.

Strategy 3: Multiple Communication Channels

6%

22%

22%9%

3%

5%

3%2%1%

15%

10% 1%

Web Web Portal Email PrintMicrosites Facebook Twitter Text MessagingAuto Calls Phone Web Chat Blogs

Prospective Student Communications

Frequency Matters

• Project manager/analyst

• Content developer

• Graphic/web designer

• Multimedia/social media

coordinator

• Web developer (coding)

Content Experts

Current Student Comm

Website

Portal

ProspectiveStudentComm

Example

text

High School

Students

Graduate

Students

CE Students

Transfer

Students

Minority

Students

PersonaExperts

International

Students

Communication Plans

• Integrated campus-wide

plan

• Project plans

• Resourced properly

• Rethink structure and

staffing

• Leverage CRM capability

• Learner-centered

• Student engagement

• Shaping word-of-mouth

Strategy 4: Student Relationship Management

Learn from every

encounter.

Student Relationship Management

• Preferences

• Goals

• Needs

• Expectations

• Service transactions

Relationship Strategies

• Calls with no purpose

• Generic communications

• Lack of personalization and

customization

• Failure to prepare for the

campus visitor

• Slow response to requests for

information

• Too much time in tertiary

markets

• Focusing on things that don’t

matter

Relationship Strategies

• Personal attention

• A developmental approach

• Addressing motivators and

barriers to enrollment

• Emotional appeal during

campus visits

• Clearly articulated selling

points

• Distinguishing your institution

from competitors

• Keeping the student on track

• Connections

Stay Connected

• Peer to peer

• Student to faculty

• Student to institution

Recruitment

Manager

Current Students

Alumni

Parents

Staff

Faculty

Advisors

Audience SegmentationAudience Segmentation

Student Type Goal Intent

Campus Program

Barriers Motivators

Market

Segment

Influencing

Choice

Market Segment Attribute/Value Benefit

Adult learners

A caring and supportive faculty

Someone will always be here to help you with questions, academic concerns, and practical matters associated with your education

Online learners

Flexible, convenient learning options

You can conveniently get an education from anywhere in the area as well as the world

Workforce development learners

Practical learning for real world opportunities

You can upgrade your skills and knowledge allowing you to improve your performance, increase your value to your company, and enhance your potential for job mobility

Stop outs

A commitment to student success

You already know the college, and you know we will do whatever it takes to help you achieve your educational and career goals

International Student Recruitment

Infrastructure: Regional recruitment coordinators, qualified agents

Influencers: Recruiters, agents, faculty, alumni, peers

Connect ions: Agreements, art iculat ions, audience- specifi c communicat ions, social media

Affordability: Financial aid

packages, private

scholarships, and foundation

support

Marketing: Latino media

outlets, audience segmented

communications, reflecting the

market, agencies

Recruitment: targeted and

early outreach, key influencers

(family, peers, school

networks), Latino recruiters

and mentors, campus

visits/eventsChallenge:

Affordability for Undocumented

Students

Decision Factors: Institutional fit, campus

climate, personal influences, financial knowledge and incentives, opportunities

Hispanic Students

Transfers: Answer Two Critical Questions

A Streamlined Transfer Pipeline

Build equivalency

tables

Timely credit evaluations

Admissions advisor

appointment

Registration facilitation

Rewards and accountability

Letter of admission with credit evaluation

Pre-enrollment advising

Peak periods

Faculty AdvisorsTransfer Counselor RoleRolling Advising/Registration

RO Authority

Adult Learners

Graduate Students

• Focus first and foremost on graduate program

web pages

– Program description

– Program requirements

– Program selling points

– Availability of funding

– Career options

– Research and scholarship/assistantship opportunities

– Faculty profiles

– Student and alumni testimonials

– Bring the program to life through multimedia and

social media

Graduate Students

• Invest in program-based advertising

– New programs

– Programs with untapped demand, capacity, and the

desire to grow

– Undersubscribed programs where a lack of

promotion is at issue

• Adopt a hybrid model of graduate recruiting

– Centrally coordinated and supported

– Program content experts and relational connections

– Program-based recruitment plans

• Engage in by-country international recruitment

strategies

Readmits

• It is the norm, not the exception, that

students stop out during the course of

their enrollment

• Re-recruit stop outs

• Reminder postcards, email campaigns,

phone calls, leveraging degree audit

systems and credential laddering,

proactive advising contacts, seamless

pathways to reentry, incentives to return,

etc.

Strategy 6: The Campus Visit

Consider everything the student has to

experience before he/she gets to the service - then

engineer every detail of the student’s experience.

Deliver a WOW

Campus Visit!!!

Creating a Memory• Design first impressions

• Personalize the visit

• Tell your story

• Engender emotion

• Create a welcoming

atmosphere

• Have visitors live your

institution

• Surprise your visitors

• Ensure tour guides are

stellar

• Follow up after the visit

Managing Moments of Truth

Employees become

institutional trust

agents.

Strategy 7: The Steps to Enrolling

• Call to action

• Sense of urgency

• Timely

• Intuitive

• Accessible 24/7

• Increasing

commitment

Wayfinding

Submit/Request

Information

Apply for

Financial

Aid

Apply for

Admission

Are all

credentials

in?

Admit

Decision

Get

Advised

Take

Placement

Test

Register for

Classes

Pay for

Classes

Strategy 8: Scholarship Leveraging

GPA

Unmet Need3.0 – 3.24 3.25 – 3.49 3.5 – 3.74 3.75 – 4.0

$500 - $999

$1,000 - $1,999

$2,000 - $2,999

$3,000 - $3,999

$4,000 and higher

Merit Scholarship Front-loading

GPA

SAT Score3.0 – 3.24 3.25 – 3.49 3.5 – 3.74 3.75 – 4.0

900 - 990

1000 - 1090

1100 - 1190

1200 - 1290

1300+

Merit Scholarship Front-loading

• SAT search list acquisitions

• Scholarship conditions:

Must maintain high school GPA

Must apply for admission by March 1st

Must be admitted to the University

Must enroll full-time in the upcoming fall term

• Pilot and rollout gradually to manage risk

• Scholarship recipients are eligible to apply for

higher level replacement scholarships

• Scholarship recipients are guaranteed acceptance

into the Honors College

• Consider entrance scholarships

Scholarship Packaging

Scholarship

Award

Initial

Scholarship

Consideration

for Higher Level

Scholarships

Early

Registration

Privileges

Guaranteed

Internship

Leadership

TrainingNo Debt

Guarantee

Honors College

Acceptance

Assigned

Mentor

On-time

Graduation

Incentive

Program

Strategy 9: Website Strategy

• Marketing-oriented external focus

• Visual impact

• Responsive design

• Value proposition

• Selling points

• Audience segmentation and relevance

• Audience engagement

• Calls to action

A Marketing Orientation

Simple, Elegant Design

Photos Telling Powerful Stories

Extend the Visual Experience to Secondary Pages

Visual Pathways

Responsive Design

Keep It Simple

Value Proposition

Value Proposition

Selling Points

Selling Points

Website Audience Segmentation

Audience Channels

• Process-oriented information

• Infuse a marketing orientation into all

channels

– Audience-relevant selling points

– Success stories and “exceptional outcomes”

– Testimonials

– Factoids

– Relevant opportunities

– Visual images (photography and video)

• Drive audience traffic to relevant pages

Student Success Stories

Alumni Success Stories

Online Viewbook

Introducing the New Class

Viral Media

Student Blogs—An Authentic Source

Photo Blog

Faculty Blogs

Social Media

Social Media Strategy

Calls to Action

Visit Call to Action

DeclineGrowthIntroductionConcept Maturation

Strategy 10: Academic Program Innovation

Decline Growth Introduction Concept Maturation

MarketResearch

• Demand

• Opportunity

• Capacity

EnrollmentSupport

• Marke ng

• Recruitment

• Service

EnrollmentSupport

• Reputa on

• Reten on

• Capacity

Management

DataSupport

• ProgramRenewal

• MarketResearch

ResourceAlloca on

• ProblemAnalysis

• DecisionMatrix

Program Innovation Matrix

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