Eduventures and Course Advisor, two companies that track trends and conduct research in higher education recently reported on some significant demographic shifts that will have a major impact on how colleges, universities and distance learning institutions recruit students.

Between  2010-2022, college enrollment is expected to decline as much as 11%. While the high school population in recent years exploded as baby boomers’ children reached graduation, census figures now predict that for the next 6-8 years high school graduation rates will be flat.  Additionally, there is a major shift taking place in the ethnic makeup of the prospective student population, with minimal growth among white students and sizable increases in Hispanic and African American populations.  This student population growth is also coming from the lower end of the economic scale.  Finally, women will comprise a significantly greater percentage of the student population than men, roughly equivalent to a 60-40 split (although studies in math and engineering will still have a preponderance of men).

Because of these shifts in demographics, the marketing strategies to reach prospective students must also evolve.

Eduventures research reveals that multi-year marketing campaigns are the rule in cultivating relationships with potential students.  They encourage email campaigns that seek to gather information about a student’s interests and then provide the school the ability to continue to tailor messages that will retain their interest.  Some schools request the parents’ email addresses as well to engage them in the selection process.

Of particular interest is that while a university’s website is a very important source of information for both students and their parents, the single most important factor in a student deciding on a particular school is a visit to the campus. For this reason, Eduventures encourages school marketers to urge prospective students to visit their campuses early in the recruiting process –for example during the sophomore or early junior years—rather than waiting until the end of the selection process. Similarly, they caution against providing information about financial aid to sophomores who are not yet far enough along in the process to be interested in this information.

Eduventures’ research indicates that one way colleges and universities can succeed with their marketing to prospective students is to carefully hone student profiles.  They encourage developing these profiles at the most granular level–  that a student’s profile will vary not only with the student’s sex and age but with the degree being sought.  For schools wanting to recruit students with the goal of improving graduation rates, for example, Eduventure suggests studying the graduation rates of students by curriculum and by state and then focus their recruiting efforts on students residing in the best performing ones.

The message for printers is that multi-year, multi-touch campaigns to both students and parents are necessary to generate the best results.  Such stepped up efforts are even more important during today’s very uncertain economic times.  Email campaigns with purls and surveys can begin the process of information gathering so that future messenging is relevant and precise. These campaigns will also provide lead nurturing over time to re-enlist the interest of students who’ve been accepted but haven’t sent in a deposit, those who’ve been waitlisted, etc.  These surveys can also help the school to develop profiles of students that can be separated by curriculum,  interests, geography, or other factors.  The goal should be to align the school’s marketing outreach to particular student profiles.

Institutions of higher learning have always been a hotbed of cutting edge technology, social progression, and political involvement. Students are classic early adopters, and constantly challenge traditional thinking and processes. In response to the encouragement of campus environmental organizations, more and more universities are starting to see the world through green-colored glasses and finding more ways to conserve resources.

In fact, 4,100 institutions of higher learning have LEED-certified buildings, to total a whopping 240,000 buildings nationwide, according to the United States Green Building Council. Countless other schools are feverishly adopting wind towers, sustainability goals, and recycling programs. And the latest group jumping on the green bandwagon? Admissions departments.

With new software and technology , admissions departments are not only able to be more green, they’re able to save some serious green for colleges and universities. Today, they can virtually eliminate the mountains of paperwork and official correspondence used to attract new recruits and keep current ones.

It’s called Enrollment Management Technology (EMT) software. A Cincinnati-based company, Hobsons, develops EMT software programs specifically to address the unique challenges facing education administrators. Hobsons is leading admissions departments nationwide down the green/green path through its time- and resource-saving management services.
Saving Paper by the Ton

“A typical college application file can be 20 to 30 pages long and include letters of recommendation, transcripts, essays, and test scores,” Hobsons EMT vice president of engineering Gus Costa said. “In 2008 alone, we processed almost two million online applications, eliminating the need to generate 60 to 90 million sheets — the equivalent of one million pounds — of paper.”
Students can apply to multiple colleges at one time through a simple, online process. Photo: © Shannon Drawe – Fotolia.com

Students can apply to multiple colleges at one time through a simple, online process. Photo: © Shannon Drawe – Fotolia.com

In addition to saving enough sheets of paper to match the height of the Empire State Building 200 times over, these tools have proven to be a significant time saver as well. Green Mountain College in southern Vermont, best known for its eco-friendly programming, signed with Hobsons for their paperless enrollment capabilities and found it also improved efficiency within the admissions department.

“We estimate our EMT services save us 20 hours a week between various members of our staff,” assistant director of admissions Allison Stacey said. “Inquiry replies and follow-ups are automated, saving us valuable time and enabling us to focus on prospecting and student retention.”

Steve Syverson, vice president of enrollment at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, echoes Stacey’s enthusiasm for electronically submitted applications. A high percentage of the 2,500 applications they received last year were paperless.

“Not only do electronic applications allow us to reduce the labor costs associated with maintaining physical files, we will avoid using over 30,000 pieces of paper,” Syverson said.
Making Life Easier

Students are noticing a difference as well. Cory Weeks, a freshman at Indiana University, applied to 11 schools during his senior year of high school using an online program that enables prospective students to apply to several universities in a single application. “The process of applying online was so much easier than I’d expected,” he said. “In fact, many universities encouraged online application by waiving the submission fee.”

Hobsons-EMT-logoAnd, despite the name, EMT software doesn’t stop at the application level. Peterson added, “Throughout a student’s academic career, they will receive customized, consistent communication from the university, which is distributed seamlessly and effortlessly through the EMT service.”

Peterson added that there are other services included with an EMT package which flag students at-risk of dropping out, in order to provide more immediate faculty attention and improve graduation rates.

Think it’s hard to go green? It’s time to go back to school.

“Unfortunately, Latinos have the lowest high school and college completion rates of any racial or ethnic group. Despite recent advances in educational attainment, reports from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that serious discrepancies remain when Hispanic educational levels are compared to other groups:

My alma matter is growing.  I recently received a news release from Iowa State that reads ” ENROLLMENT AT 30 YEAR HIGH AT ISU COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES.”  As a graduate of ISU I’m proud to see the college is keeping abreast of global changes, needs and providing curriculum to prepare students for their careers.  According to the release “for the first time in 30 years, undergraduate  enrollment has exceeded 3,000 at ISU’s College of Ag and Life Sciences.”

ISU credits their growth to recruitment efforts over the past five years.  While others might credit the recession and lack of jobs to the spike in enrollment.  Industry representatives, alumni and other stakeholders told them they needed more young people to meet the growing needs of the industry.  But I ask HOW DOES ISU RECRUIT and MEASURE THEIR EFFORTS?  Since I don’t have anyone in my household that meets the demographic target of an incoming freshmen, I can only assume the following…direct mail, campus and athletic events, print ads, event marketing, sponsorships, billboards, workshops, conferences and online marketing.  I can vouch that ISU has contacted me via mail several times to market their MBA program.

We keep hearing how our farmers will need to meet the global food demands of the world.  Well, the trickle down effect will touch many of us as our industries grow to meet these needs, good qualified employees are and will continue to be in demand.  As a result, ISU and others have expanded their majors to reflect the broader world of agriculture.

I have the fortune to work with a variety of agricultural companies in different capacities.  Whether it be in a vendor or customer relationship, I see a lot of diversity in the skill sets needed to serve.  Luckily for those 2009 graduates in the college of Ag, because of your passion and work ethic, most of you landed jobs.  I’m envious of the new freshman on campus.  With almost two months of college completed you have the greatest opportunity of your lives. You’ve got four years to grow  your skills, your professional network, your level of maturity and your earning power.  PLUS, you’ve got the world at your fingertips through the internet and your mobile devices.

So here’s to you! Cheer’s to ISU, agriculture and freshman around the globe.

Author: Bellana Putz
www.lessingflynn.com
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Janae: It’s 2009. We should be worried about advanced cyborgs rebelling against organic life, not foreclosures, bailouts and GOP drama. Lame.

Jessica: Look at this one! It looks like the type of place you might visit to eat porridge.

Camila: This is going to sound bad, but the main reason I would have kids is to have someone to take care of me when I get older. But even then, you might end up with a kid that lives off of you the rest of their lives.
Jim: The trick is to raise them real good. Not just good, but REAL good.

Roger: Honestly, what are you doing at Dick’s that you can’t take an extra second to park better? Did your jock strap break? You’re out of bullets?

Rob: I’m signing up for Fall 2009 at Ivy Tech.
Elise: That’s fantastic! Is it to learn or hit on girls in the prime of their youth, if not fashion sense?
Rob: It’s really to hit on middle-aged divorcees who are taking night classes. Maybe I’ll take pottery.

Just minutes ago I watched Senator McCain say that he would like people coming out of the military to be able to go right into teaching without the tests and certifications they are normally required to take.

Are you kidding me, John McCain? Are you kidding me?!

The United States lags behind so many other countries when it comes to education. You think that allowing them to teach without being certified is going to help the matter? Certifications are in place for a reason. He is essentially proposing the deregulation of teaching!

Being a college student who will be going into teaching, I respect the certification requirement. I know that if I am not certified then I am not going to be qualified to be a teacher. If I am not certified I will not have the proper tools in my background to be a competent and effective teacher. What we need in America today are more competent and more effective teachers.

Teachers need to be paid more. I worry tremendously about my ability to live while paying my student loans off as a teacher. The question is, what standards are we going to set for teachers to ensure they should be paid more? If you are ineffective and don’t do your job, why should you be paid more?

I believe in the sanctity of our education system. Being an educator is truly most influential job for shaping the coming generation, and achievements of each generation become the potential of our country. For the sake of the future of our country, we need to be able to have standardized measure for the success of our teachers. There is no arguing, however, that a good teacher does much, much more than just pass their certifications, but it is certainly the first step in showing the dedication that needs to be present in those educating the future of our country.

What would you do if your doctor weren’t required to be certified? Your lawyer? Your dentist? Your police officers? It would be a frightening world if you couldn’t ensure the quality of your public servants and the people with direct control over what happens in your life.

You probably remember your best teachers. They represent the ultimate successes of our educational system. You probably remember your worst teachers, too. The bad ones have probably lost their passion, or slipped through the cracks. What if there was no system of weeding out those bad ones.

Can you imagine an educational system riddled with ineffective teachers? Can you imagine the impact it would have on drop-out rates, graduation rates, test scores, college enrollment, etc? How about our already plummeting standing in the world in regards to education? I am clearly imagining the worst-case scenario, but deregulation very often leads to worst-case scenarios. Look at our economy.

John McCains proposal of eliminating certifications for military vets who want to go into education was one of many ridiculous and preposterous things I heard him say tonight, but it was the one thing that caught me off guard. It sent a color guard of red-flags marching through my imagination.