continuous engagement of adult students-lessons learned and applied, lisa gallina

CONFERENCE ON ADULT LEARNER ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT 2013

Continuous Engagement of Adult StudentsLessons Learned and Applied

Lisa Gallina

Recruitment of students via eventsConversion without harassmentOutreach on earthPartnerships with Community CollegesCollaborative agreements with baccalaureate and PhD programsRetention

July 18, 2013


• Open Houses and Information Sessions– Grant or Discount Opportunities– Career connections– Alumni relations– Program growth– Unofficial transcript evaluations– Program schedules– A keepsake –related to program/branding– Leave knowing what to expect next

Recruitment of Students via Events

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• Conversion Planning Post Event– Thank you note via email– Letter detailing missing items– After a week, if no activity call to offer help– Track all communications in your system of record– Review success of current conversion plan– Each quarter look at conversion data and adapt

Recruitment/Cultivation of Students Following the Event Attended

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• What is your communication flow? Please write notes below…

• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Recruitment/Cultivation

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• Reach out after 1 week• Provide next event date or offer one-on-one

session if prospect can’t make session• Ask if still interested? If “No”…dig deeper– Why? Tuition, schedule, transfer credits, learning

platform, Face-to-Face vs online or hybrid?– Who? Competitor – Get data on why.– Know your competitor and NEVER speak poorly of

them.

Conversion Event – The “no show”

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• Dig deeply and gently– What factors helped you to select another

school?– What were we lacking?– Ask how many credits they will be able to transfer – How long is the program they selected?– Ask if grants, or scholarships were offered?– This data is incredibly valuable…

Conversion of the refusal

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• Please list the top reasons you think you lose enrollments to competitors…

• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Conversion– why do they say no?

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• Tuition – Explore discounting comparable to competitors with CFO.

• Schedule – Note where this could be adapted; Surf or Turf, Hybrid, Face-to-Face, Day of week

• Programs – Why don’t you offer them? Who does offer it? What is the job market? Can you build from institutional strengths? Is a certificate possible?

Conversion, using this data

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• Where do you go and why?• What is your travel budget?• Do you know the ROI?• What type of events do you attend?• How do they support the growth of your

programs?

Outreach on Earth

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• How many events do you attend to build program identity?

• How many events do you attend to build institutional awareness?

• How well do you articulate the entire institution to the public?

• What do you avoid attending? Why?

Outreach on Earth

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Do…• Connect all outreach to

program or institution• Attend a variety of

events from the regions you recruit from and beyond

• Add 10 -20% new events per year to replace these with low yield alternatives

Don’t…• Attend political events

of one group only• Participate in

fundraisers that isolate others

• Alienate your institution by ignoring invitations

Outreach on Earth

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Local• Community Colleges• Trade Schools• Economic Development

Agencies• Department of Labor• Alumni events• B2B• Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis• Chamber of Commerce

Regional - National• Military Installations• State Departments in

your field i.e.…Education, Human Services, etc.

• Fortune 500 Businesses if located in your area or if you offer online programs

• Alumni

Outreach Venues

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• Who are your biggest feeder schools?• What percentage of your enrollment come

from them?• How many transfer credits do they average

bringing into major vs. electives?• How do you work with these schools?

Partnerships with Community Colleges

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• Review articulation agreements– Are they cumbersome?– Do you or your staff understand the details?– Does the registrar’s office use them?– Do you have TES or similar program?– When were they updated?– Who works to update them?– What is a mapped articulation?

Partnerships with Community Colleges

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• An articulation is often alone on a shelf, unread by most. It is often very difficult to digest

• Maps create linkages between institutions• Create a team to develop a useful map/tool– Registrar, Dean of Students, academic Chairs,

Transfer Recruiter, Dean of Admissions, Director for Academic Partnerships, Academic Advising staff, Adult Recruitment

– Select programs to focus on…*see sample document

Partnerships…need love

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Partnerships…need love

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• Think of all the variations…• Military Training/Experience – College Credits• Employer – College Credit• Life Experience - College Credit• Independent Study - College Credit• Community College – Bachelor• Bachelor - Master• Masters - PhD

Collaborative Agreements

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Current

• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Potential

• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Collaborative Agreements

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• Do you brand programs together?• How much of your print materials mention

more than one program?• How easy is it to find out about collaborative

initiatives online?• Review “Marketing Web” Document

Collaborative Marketing/Branding

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Do• Mention collaborations• Obtain permission for joint

press coverage• Garner quotes from Faculty,

industry and alumni of programs

• Add logos of partners to website and print materials

Avoid• Too much data in one

message• Connecting to programs

that have a negative reputation

• Over selling a joint program that is not feasible or has had negative reputation

Collaboration Marketing

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• Ongoing services– Academic advising a minimum 2 times per year– Career Lectures, trainings, workshops, site visits– Alumni sessions based on program– Connect with volunteer opportunities– Computer and technology freebies– Check-in and invite to events on campus– Share data on events in the community

Retention

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Promote Bi-Partisan

– Special medical causes i.e. cancer, blood drives, disability organizations, elderly, etc.

– Veterans– Networking events– Community days– Community organizations

that work to build capacity– AmeriCorps/Vista

Avoid Partisan

– Fundraisers– Lectures– Dinners– Retreats– Donations– Solicitations online

Retention and Community

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Where does your staff volunteer?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Retention in Action

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continuous engagement of adult students-lessons learned and applied, lisa gallina

Marketing

events conversion

conversion event

conversion data

political events

variety of events

new events

type of events

valuable conversion