EdTech Connect February Edition

Welcome back ... We hope your new year has been off to an amazing start. We're certainly excited to be rolling into 2024 now.

EdTech Connect is working on a new platform design we'll be launching in the spring -- and we're excited to share it with you.

Are you an EdTech Connect Member?

Sign up for free with your .edu (your campus email address) and join our exclusive and growing community!?

All higher education professionals -- including administration, admissions, staff, faculty, alumni relations and marketing -- from any institution worldwide can join and it's always free and we do not share or sell your email address.

What's Inside ...

• The Dirty Secret of Search
• How Marketing Implemented a Campus Wide Calendar
• Customize Use Data to Increase Student Engagement & Retention
• Digital Marketing & Communications Maturity Assessment (Take it!)
• Well Read & Connected
• ETC by the Numbers
• Trending on ETC
• What Tools Are You Using?

The Dirty Secret of Search

by Jeff Dillon

A critical oversight lurks within the digital landscape of many universities. And at the center is the very tool that guides our students, faculty, and stakeholders through the vast expanse of online resources: site search.?

The dirty secret? If a university doesn't own its search experience, it's essentially driven by commercial interests, often to the detriment of its academic mission.

Many universities, in an effort to cut costs or due to historical oversight, rely on free search tools to power their websites. While initially appealing for budget-conscious institutions, this choice comes with hidden costs. ?

Learn the Secret

Demographic Enrollment Cliff May Bring Sharp Decline

Higher education is on the brink of a significant challenge known as the Demographic Enrollment Cliff, bringing about a stark decline in projected enrollment numbers of traditional-aged students. ?

To navigate the decline, institutions must consider expanding their enrollment marketing strategies beyond traditional-aged students and focus on a previously under-targeted group.

Hannon Hill, makers of Cascade CMS, a web content management system for managing stand-out websites that deliver personalized visitor experiences and generate results, published a white paper titled: ?

Navigating the Demographic Enrollment Cliff: A Shift Towards Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education Marketing ?

In the paper, the people at Hannon: ?

• Defined the challenge to help those unfamiliar with the demographic enrollment cliff grasp its magnitude and implications for higher-ed institutions.
• Presented an opportunity to help higher-ed marketers and web professionals understand why non-traditional students are a game-changing audience that may be overlooked.
• Suggested a shift in marketing strategy on how to effectively target non-traditional students.
• Provided actionable recommendations tailored for the non-traditional student demographic.
• Explored challenges and considerations to overcome potential roadblocks with informed decisions.

The future of higher education marketing is vibrant and full of promise. By embracing change and staying informed, you’re positioning you institution for unprecedented success.?Download the white paper by following the link below:

Navigate the Cliff

Customize Use Data to Increase Student Engagement and Retention

Both institutions and educators aim for higher student retention rates, but achieving this requires understanding each educational institution's specific causes of attrition.?

For instance, in e-learning environments, lack of instructor immediacy often leads to attrition. Students need to feel a connection with instructors, but impersonal online courses fail to provide this unless instructors are actively present. Solutions include early identification of at-risk students, ongoing support for students and instructors, and refining e-learning pedagogy and course design.

Clear identification of the causes of attrition enables stakeholders to collaborate effectively in supporting student success. Tailoring interventions to address specific challenges enhances the chances of success.?

Institutions seeking to refine their approach to student retention must?implement a learning analytics platform that will allow quick insights from multiple data sources, such as your LMS, SIS, and collaboration tools. This platform should offer intuitive dashboards and customized reports for those involved in optimizing retention rates through data-driven insights.

Learning analytics solutions vary widely, but the right platform will help identify the root cause of attrition.?

Interested in learning more about a solution allowing you to drill down on customized, actionable insights for your institution? Visit https://intelliboard.net

Talk to Expert

Complete Our Digital Marketing & Communications Maturity Assessment

We'd love your help! If you are a marketing or communications leader, director or manager ...Can you please take a few minutes to complete our Digital Marketing & Communications Digital Maturity Assessment.

After you complete the survey, we'll send you a copy of the Maturity Assessment Graph so you can see across the entire landscape.

This survey is designed to gauge your institution's digital marketing and communications capabilities through 11 straight-forward multiple choice questions. It focuses on where you and your team fall in its maturity level, especially within the constructs of the new era of AI.

Your privacy is our utmost concern. Your information won't be sold or shared. Aggregated results and an analysis will be sent to you spring 2024, offering you a broader understanding of your digital maturity in marketing and communications as a group and as an institution.

Take The Survey

Well Read & Connected

• You Must Embrace It: Faculty are being given AI-focused tasks, according to a new Educause survey.
• 2024 Need to Knows: 8 higher ed digital marketing strategies, trends & tactics you don’t want to miss.
• Try This: Pilot program asks profs to Experiment With AI in Education.
• You Must Have (Zero) Trust: This security strategy involves more than just identity and access management.
• AI Moves Up The Chain: This key decision-maker on artificial intelligence could be the next member of your university’s C-suite.
• Breaking the Mold: A fresh perspective on forecasting technology implementation trends. ? ???

Trending on ETC

Forage: Forage empowers educators to integrate scalable project-based learning from world leading companies into their curriculums and internship programs for free.?

WaitWell: WaitWell makes it easier for students to connect with services on campus. We offer mobile queueing, self-serve appointments, task sequencing, reporting, and communication tools that streamline service at universities across North America

dotstorming: Dotstorming is a collection of tools that enable collaborative brainstorming, planning and decision making.

Sidecar: An AI-driven peer-grading platform that distributes fair and accurate assessments by harnessing collective intelligence to simplify workflows and reduce turnaround time on feedback.?