College Admissions Needs to Meet Students Where They Are

On December 16, 2019, the National Student Clearinghouse reported that, for the first time in ten years, “the nation’s fall unduplicated enrollments fell below 18 million students.” According to the report, the enrollment decreases were felt more strongly by some types of institutions (private, for-profit institutions)and less by others (private, non-profit institutions). Specific regions of the country suffered the most, including the Midwest and Northeast. 

With this data in hand, we know that college admissions leaders across the country face a challenge like none in recent history. So—how should we face this challenge? What tools do we need to be successful in these difficult times?

College Admissions Using Technology To Recruit Prospective Students

A recent report from Inside Higher Ed states that 88% of university and college admissions officers use “digital communications tools” in marketing and recruitment. This number is not surprising, since about a decade ago applications went online for the first time. About five years later, email marketing came to college admissions offices. Today, with the expansion of marketing technology, admissions offices need even more to reach the right audience with the right message at the right place and time. The technology to do this should be state-of-the-art and easy to use. Along with online applications and email marketing, this third wave of college admissions marketing technology should include (or integrate with):

• CMS (content management systems for building landing pages and microsites)
• Live chat
• SMS (text messaging)
• Marketing automation
• Predictive analytics

If the way we communicate with college-bound students doesn’t meet their expectations, then we’re not making the first impression we need to. So let’s have a look at what those students expect from organizations they connect with online.

The National Student Clearinghouse report cited above shares that, over the past four years, the “average age of full-time, undergraduate students dropped from 22.3 to 21.8 years old.” Pew Research calls this age group Generation Z. These young people are definitely digital natives. Pew reports that they have the highest levels of being “smartphone dependent,”meaning they use mobile phones more than other devices to access the internet. They also have the highest usage of social media sites Instagram and Snapchat. 

So how can higher education institutions best communicate with this rising generation effectively and at scale? How can we meet their expectations of customer experiences like Apple and Nike do? College admissions leaders must use the newest wave of technology to be successful. 

NYU Admissions Leader Sees a Need, Starts a Technology Company

Until 2017, I was a faculty member. Before that I was the Director of Web and Media Services for admissions at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. There I saw the prospective student experience first hand. The college search is an extremely stressful time for college-bound students and their families. Financial concerns and separation anxiety loom for most. 

Prospective students and their families deserve to be met where they are. My work at NYU inspired me to found an agency to support college admissions marketing and enrollment. My goal was keeping prospective students and their families as the focus. I saw the potential for providing a more accessible, personalized experience. I recruited my NYU colleague JeanCarlo (J.C.) Bonilla, who was the Director of Urban Informatics Education, to join the venture. Our work at the agency transformed into the development of an admissions marketing and enrollment management technology platform called Element451. 

Enrollment Leaders Need More Than Just Technology

Developing a technology platform was a starting point, but J.C. and I knew it was just not enough. We wanted to support the leaders in college admissions more deeply. Technology is nothing without strategy and creativity. And we know that higher ed leaders can combine these three things to achieve their enrollment goals. We’ve seen it! We wanted to do more to spread the word about best practices for using the most advanced technology for college admissions marketing and enrollment management. 

This is the same marketing technology driving growth at major corporations, but uniquely designed to be implemented for higher education. We understand that higher ed leaders and their teams need support to make the leap to new technology. Learning how to leverage it and blend it with their most successful strategies and creative can be hard. That’s why Element451 is dedicated to providing best practices for what we call Intelligent Admissions. 

We know that enrollment and college admissions leaders face the biggest challenge in a decade—meeting Gen Z where they are. J.C. and I also understand leaders need not only professional development, but networking to support the adoption of the next wave in marketing technology. Raising the bar for higher ed marketing and enrollment management is vital to the survival of higher education. We see the mission of higher ed as educating and preparing the next generation of learners for the working world. This begins with bringing Gen Z in the door. It’s time to meet the biggest challenge we’ve faced in over a decade. Let’s start talking about how it’s done. 

I’d appreciate your thoughts in the comments below—including specific topics you’d like to see covered in this blog series. 

Best wishes,

Ardis