Area Reviews and Student Recruitment

Since the modern further education sector was created - following legislation in 1992 - there has arguably been no greater upheaval than that from the area reviews now facing colleges.

Yet more colleges have spoken to me in the last few days about increasing their student recruitment than over the previous few months.

 If the area reviews pose a threat to student recruitment, it’s the threat of distraction. While management teams and governors concern themselves with the potential change ahead, there’s the danger that student recruitment simply doesn’t get the attention it needs.

This, I’ve no doubt, is why colleges are increasingly willing to bring in some outside expertise - to ensure student income is being protected and increased while highly-stretched senior leadership teams focus on the big challenges across the sector.

Colleges which use my services can typically expect to see a very substantial uplift in the application rate from around one month after the work begins and for this to continue right through to September and beyond.

Leaving aside the shameless self-publicity, I mention this because it’s a sign of resilience in the sector. Colleges are accustomed to being buffeted by change from above - and the more successful have learned not to be distracted from the fundamentals of their business. Nothing is more fundamental than the flow of students and revenue this brings.

For some colleges, the area reviews will mean they will need a marketing approach which is sustainable even if their identities are subsequently submerged and their brands swallowed up.

To mitigate the risk of investing too much in a potentially defunct brand, colleges can re-think their marketing strategy to put the emphasis on the effective targeting of potential students and the promotion of the tuition - neither of which are going to change substantially in most cases.

Ultimately, it’s about promoting the opportunity to enter a career. The applicant isn’t going to change their mind after applying just because Sleepy Knoll College has become the brave new College of Everywhere North of Birmingham.

So here are some aspects to keep in mind as we keep the student recruitment ship sailing on these choppy waters.

Strategy

Colleges must develop a clear marketing strategy, reflected in an implementation plan which is fully understood by all those involved, not just by those who work in the marketing department. In too many cases, the marketing plan, if it exists, is buried inside the college’s wider business plan and its contents are just as much of a mystery.

Customer care

Marketing is as much about how you serve your customers as about how many walk into the shop. Colleges must ensure they have the capacity to quickly handle applications and course inquiries. It is not morally or commercially acceptable to leave potentially vulnerable young people waiting to be satisfied as the result of inadequate internal processes.

Targeting

While schools and parents will always have a role, it is important that your messages are also directly transmitted to potential students so they can be encouraged to independently consider the merits of FE without those messages being distorted by mediators who may have another agenda.

Budget control

Be clear about how you allocate your marketing resources - both cash and staff time. Transmit this information to your managers and ensure their expectations are managed accordingly. Meeting all internal ad-hoc requests for marketing support will inevitably undermine the execution of the strategy.

Product

Remember that your product is more than simply the prospect of one or two more years in education – which is not, of itself, the most enticing proposition for everyone. Colleges are about people’s personal and career aspirations. Ensure that your messages, channels of communication and language reflect this.

After school, and leaving aside the call individuals may have on the NHS, the further education sector offers by far the most exciting proposition free at the point of use in the public sector.

With this intrinsic value, there is no doubt that colleges with falling numbers can turn things around and those with steady numbers can grow. Then, whatever lies ahead in these uncertain times, colleges will at least be in a more commercially healthy situation as they face the latest change.

 www.stevehook.net