E-Admission: To Be or Not To Be On the Cutting Edge!

Chair: Mrs. Mildred Johnson, Interim Director of Admission, Virginia Tech University

Presenter: Mr. Tommy Griffin, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, North Carolina State University

Presenter: Dr. Boyd Bradshaw, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, Saint Louis University

E-Admission

Strategic Enrollment Management

It’s More Than Just

Admissions!

Dr. Boyd Bradshaw

Millennial Generation

• Couldn’t imagine life without a computer– Quiet Shoppers– Early Birds– Ants in the Pants

Millennial Generation

• Preferred Media– Text Messaging– Web Based Communication– Programmed Telephone Messaging– Video Games Competition– U-Tube / Web Videos

Choosing Your Approach

• How To:– Entice– Communicate– Convince– Support

Entice

• Is your website easy to navigate for the common visitor? Feel? Visual? Exciting? Engaging?

• How do you utilize technology in the search process? Do you use different vehicles based on the student population you are recruiting?

• Is the university website model the admissions website? How updated is your information?

• Do you track your on-line visitors and what information they are viewing?

Communicate

• Do you have virtual advisor on your website? Does other EM and campus units also utilize this function?

• How quickly does your admission counselors/staff respond to email? How do you define normal business hours? What is the email response time for other university units?

• Do you have a communication unit within admissions? What relationship do you have with campus-wide marketing and communication?

Convince

• How do you utilize technology with campus tours? Visit programs? Outreach events?

• How personalized is the recruitment experience for prospective students?

• What is your communication plan prior to a deposit? After a deposit?

• What personal touch do you provide to the undecided student?

Support

• Do you ask students what type of communication they prefer?

• Do you capture data in your CRM and use it to craft messages accordingly?

• Do you have a social network specific to your student populations?

• Is there campus collaboration between service units and academic units in using technology?

E-Admission – SEM Style

• Engaging students through the recruitment process

• Creating an expectation before and after enrollment

• Building a bridge to successful alumni and giving

• Creating a brand promise and vision for the university

Keys to Technology Success

• Staffing

• Campus Wide Collaboration

• Data Analysis

• Best Practices

• Literature Review

• Planning

E-Admission

The Decision… To Be or Not To Be

on the

CUTTING EDGE!

Mr. Thomas Griffin

Traditional Communication Channels Used In College Admissions

• Mass mailing• Phone calling• Advertising

– Print ads– Radio & TV ads– Billboards

•Face to Face

–College fairs

–School visits

–Receptions

–Campus visits

Typical Traditional Mail Admissions Communication

• Student Search letter• Viewbook• Newsletters• Paper applications• Admission decision letters

New technology adds new channels of communication. It does not necessarily replace old channels.

Evaluate Technology on Three Factors

• Purpose– How does the technology help achieve our goals?

• Message– Does the technology help us tell our story?

• Connections/Social Groups– How does the technology connect people?

Technology enhanced communication

• Websites• E-mail messages• IM/Chat• Blogs• Video• Flash animation

• Pod casts• Personal web portals• Self serve systems (FAQ)• Really Simple

Syndication (RSS)• Social networks• Virtual worlds

Issues

• Changes in the student-counselor, student-college, counselor-college relationships

• The optimal mix of traditional and technology enhanced communication

• Managing all the technology

E-mail

Web Sites

• Admissions applications• Catalogs• Self serve systems (FAQ)

– Virtual Advising

• Virtual tours– University of Florida– University of Alabama– Virginia Tech

Prospective Student Portals

General portalsCollege Board

My College QuickStartNorth Carolina

CFNC

University PortalsNC State UniversityEast Carolina University

Counselor Pages and Portals

NC State UniversityWolfPAW

Mississippi State UniversityInformation for High School Counselors

IM/Chats

–http://www.chatuniversity.com/index.htm

Flash Animation

Kettering University

Video

NC State University

KrispyKreme Challenge

YouTube

Did You Know – 2.0Carl Fisch

User generated content

NC State University

Wikis

WolfWikis

Wikipedia entry

UC Davis

Pod casts

Virginia Tech

Social networking sites

• Open social networking sites– Facebook– Myspace

• Wingate University

• Closed Social networking sites• Elon University

Blogs

MIT

University of Texas

Interactive Experience

UNC Charlotte Experience

Unofficial Rating Sites

RateMyProfessor

Unofficial College Sites

The Wolf Web

Virtual Worlds

Second Life