measuring return on investment in international student recruitment
TRANSCRIPT
Measuring Return on Investmentin International Student Recruitment
NAFSA Region VIII Conference 12 November 2015
Co-PresentersCheryl DarrupBoychuckOwner / CIEO
USjournal.comFundsV.com
Brittany WrightDirector of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Management
George Washington University School of Engineering & Applied Science
Zakaria Mahmood
CEO / Managing Director
INTCAS (United
Kingdom)
Learning Objectives
Define
Campus considerationsConsider how individual examples of ROI impact the rest of your International Enrollment Management cycle.
Understand
One campus case studyExplore ROI metrics as defined by The George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Appreciate
A view from the UKLearn about a single integrated platform that mitigates uncertainty by addressing academic, financial, legal and immigration risks.
Defining ROI MetricsCheryl DarrupBoychuck
ROI Assessments
-- George Kacenga,IEM Network Leader
...address the lingering ambiguity about how to achieve the desired outcome, through the most fiscally astute means possible.
Overview of Domestic Travel
Overview of Domestic Travel (Retention is key...)
Possible Variables in an ROI ModelInput Variables
Costs in $$.Commissions + Fees.Event Registration.Flights.Accommodations.Mailing Lists.Scholarships.Online Promotions.Print Promotions
Costs in Time.Invest in Advance.Opportunity Costs
Possible Variables in an ROI ModelOutput Variables
Initial Revenue.Tuition in Year 1.Fees in Year 1
Auxiliary Revenue.Tuition in Years 1+.Fees in Years 1+.Parental Donations.Alumni Donations
Input Variables
Costs in $$.Commissions + Fees.Event Registration.Flights.Accommodations.Mailing Lists.Scholarships.Online Promotions.Print Promotions
Costs in Time.Invest in Advance.Opportunity Costs
Possible Variables in an ROI ModelOutput Variables
Initial Revenue.Tuition in Year 1.Fees in Year 1
Auxiliary Revenue.Tuition in Years 1+.Fees in Years 1+.Parental Donations.Alumni Donations
Input Variables
Costs in $$.Commissions + Fees.Event Registration.Flights.Accommodations.Mailing Lists.Scholarships.Online Promotions.Print Promotions
Costs in Time.Invest in Advance.Opportunity Costs
Quantifiably Elusive Variables
Top-level support“Sufficient” budgetWell-defined strategyPrestige factorWord-of-mouth referralsCurrency fluctuationsVisa policy fluctuationsAcademic program relevanceFaculty involvementPartnershipsAlumni relationsEfficiency of operationsDiversification of student body
An ROI Model-- Addressing the
quantifiably-elusive variables
Show how a weighted variable, like enrolling a student from a country currently not represented on campus, can impact the ROI result.
Multi-variate Likelihood Functionto Predict Customer Behavior
Case Study from GW SEASBrittany Wright
Overview of GW SEAS: ● MS and PhD programs in engineering and computer science● 70% of MS student body are international students
○ China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia● Fall 2015 Application Numbers by Country:
○ Total: 1,800■ China: 988■ India: 245■ Iran: 118■ Saudi Arabia: 89
● Recruiting internationally for 8 years, strategy has evolved to reflect a three-tiered market strategy that is country-specific, and has different ROI measurements for each country
International Recruiting Markets Maintenance:
Receive bulk of applications with little effort
Need to DIVE DEEP
Identify trends and patterns from existing applications
International Recruiting Markets Maintenance:
Receive bulk of applications with little effort
Need to DIVE DEEP
Identify trends and patterns from existing applications
Growth:
Receive a few applications already
Area where there is POTENTIAL
Need to figure out how to excel in this area
International Recruiting Markets Maintenance:
Receive bulk of applications with little effort
Need to DIVE DEEP
Identify trends and patterns from existing applications
Growth:
Receive a few applications already
Area where there is POTENTIAL
Need to figure out how to excel in this area
Exploratory:
Areas worth exploring
Consider national trends
Long shot, but could be beneficial in the long run if not many universities are actively recruiting in the area
Case Study: India ● First 4 years traveling to India; considered it a maintenance market:
○ 1 recruiting trip per year: grad school fair in major cities
2010 2011 2012 2013
Total Applications 369 383 408 420
Number of Admits 179 185 171 194
Number of Matrics 58 56 64 60
Case Study: India 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Total Applications 369 383 408 420 328
Number of Admits 179 185 171 194 111
Number of Matrics 58 56 64 60 38
● 2014, drastic decrease in applications, admits and matriculated students
● Reasons: increased competition from universities, lack of on-boarding activities, no variety with recruiting efforts, minimal yield events
● Reaction: we need to do something NEW and DIFFERENT● The entire country of India is not a maintenance market; must divide
the country into different markets
Case Study: India Past 1 ½ years:● Mumbai = Maintenance Market● Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore
and Pune = Growth Market ● Kolkata, Coimbatore = Exploratory
Market● Small group travel: visits to colleges of
engineering in 2nd and 3rd tier cities ● Increasing yield events in multiple cities ● Increasing collaborations with Indian
partner schools (4+1 programs)
Case Study: India 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Total Applications 369 383 408 420 328 328
Number of Admits 179 185 171 194 111 149
Number of Matrics 58 56 64 60 38 67
● Targeting in-country recruiting efforts (increased quality of students) ● Increased on-boarding activities:
○ Yield events in three cities (Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi) ○ One-on-one online advising sessions○ 6-week video communication plan
● Budget: Increase $$ spent recruiting and yield events in country
Case Study: India● How do we measure ROI?
○ 1 trip to India = less than 1 semester of tuition for 1 student○ Need to invest more money in growth markets in order to increase yield ○ In-person recruiting is still most effective ○ Must invest 3 years in order for any drastic change
● Invested approximately ⅓ of the total international recruitment budget each year on India initiatives over the past 1½ years
● Goals for 2016: ○ Minimum of 400 MS applications from India for Fall 2016 semester;
minimum 75 new students ○ Increased applications from feeder schools and new partner institutions ○ Increase funding opportunities for MS students; little goes a long way
A View from LondonZakaria Mahmood
Measuring the ROI from International
StudentsZakaria S. Mahmood
Chief Executive
November 2015
Private & Confidential
(C) 2014
INTCAS – INTelligent Communities Around Students
2
3
4
Secondary Education
Further Education
Higher Education
Continued Professional Development
1
5
We build intelligent
communities around students
32 Stakeholder Groups
Financial
Non Tangible
Non Financial
Tangible
ROI - begin with an end in mind! Why do we recruit International students?
What
When
Why
How
Advance Payments
Classroom Diversity
Trade Relationships
StrengthenCultural
Ties
Improve Rankings
Improved Credit
Relations
Improve Employer Branding
Increase TNE Activity
Promote Faculty
Fund Special Projects
Improve Referral
Programme
Improve Goodwill
Strengthen Domestic
Recruitment
ImproveStudent
Satisfaction
Improve Brand Equity
Improved Diplomatic Relations
Promote Research
Improved Endowment
Funds
Improved Alumni Support
Improved Learner
Experience
Improving Local
Economy
Measuring ROI begins with understanding Data
Data
Information
Knowledge
Action
Reaction
Market Intelligence
Data needs to be organised
(“Seamless”)
Institutional Intelligence
Understand your stakeholders
D
I
K
A
R
Tech
nolo
gy O
rient
ated
Facu
lty O
rient
ated
Understanding communities and lifecycles
Government Community
Centre Community
Institutional CommunityStudent Community
Wealth Managers
Employers
Retail Banks
Travel Management
E-Retailers
Accommodation
Insurance
32 Stakeholder Groups
Unconditional O
ffer
Enquiries
Applicatio
n
Adm
ission
Imm
igration
Visa
Enrolm
ent &
C
omm
ission
Graduatio
n
Alum
ni
Paym
ent
Conditional O
ffer
Adm
ission Interview
Pre-
Departure
Planning
Course
Attendanc
e
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Exploratio
n
15
Student Lifecycle
Assign
Budgets
Implem
ent C
ampaign
Assess
Cam
paign
Refine
Cam
paign
1 2 3 4 5
Plan
Cam
paign
Marketing Lifecycle
Process Landscape
Reporting
Conduct
Sem
inars
Assess
Students
Provide
Feedback
Manage
Accounts
1 2 3 4 5
Plan
Logistics
International Recruitment Lifecycle
Manage C
redit
Manage
Reporting
Manage R
isk
1 2 3 4M
anage P
ayments
Finance Lifecycle
Manage O
ffers
Manage
Interviews
Manage
Invoices
1 2 3 4
Receive
Applicatio
ns
Admission Lifecycle
5
Manage
Imm
igration
Manage P
re-D
eparture
Manage
Arrivals
Manage
Induction
1 2 3
Enrolment Lifecycle
• Academic Lifecycle• Welfare Lifecycle• Facilities Lifecycle• Student Union Lifecycle• Alumni Lifecycle• …
Landlord Cloud
Admission Cloud
Alumni Cloud
Campaign Cloud
Centre Cloud
Escrow Cloud Due
Diligence Cloud
Exploration Cloud
Interview Cloud
Career Cloud
Channel Cloud
Crowd Cloud
Intelligence Cloud
Sponsor Cloud
Store Cloud
Visibility Cloud
Immigration Cloud
Industry Cloud
Focus will be on gathering intelligence
Survey Cloud
Understanding the student lifecycle (plus 32 stakeholders)
Student
Agent
University
Government
Core 4
Survey Cloud
U
nconditional O
ffer
Enquiries
Applicatio
n
Adm
ission
Imm
igration
Visa
Enrolm
ent &
C
omm
ission
Graduatio
n
Alum
ni
Paym
ent
Conditional O
ffer
Adm
ission Interview
Pre-
Departure
Planning
Course
Attendanc
e
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Exploratio
n
15
Government Community
Centre Community
Student Community
Wealth Managers
Employers
Retail Banks
Travel Management
E-Retailers
Accommodation
Insurance
32 Stakeholder Groups
Institutional Community
One source of data for all stakeholders
Understand the bigger picture
Financial
Non TangibleNon Financial
TangibleAdvance
Payments
Classroom Diversity
Trade Relationships
Strengthening of Cultural
Relationships
Improve Rankings
Improved Credit
Relations
Improve Employer Branding
Improve International
Faculty
Promote Faculty
Fund Special Projects
Improve Referral
Programme
Improve Goodwill
Strengthen Domestic
Recruitment
ImproveStudent
Satisfaction
Improve Brand Equity
Improved Diplomatic Relations
Promote Research
Improved Endowment
Funds
Improved Alumni Support
Improved Learner
Experience
Improving Local
Economy
Key Performance Indicators
1. Return on Capital Invested2. % of Student Success3. % of Student Engagement 4. % of Student Referrals 5. Value of Trade in Local Economy6. % Reduction in Bad Debt7. % Contribution to Special Projects8. % Increase in Alumni Contribution9. % of students becoming executives in
Country A and Industry B10.% Satisfaction of Employees11. Learning Environment Rating12.….
The challenge for institutions would be to define what success looks like and putting in mechanisms to “calculate and measure” success.
Engage stakeholders internally and externally, nationally and internationally
Final thought - permission based data transfer
With great power comes
great responsibility
Sample of 1,000 students
(+ families) across 27 countries(2013-2014)
82% agreed to data sharing
MUST be permission
based
Policies are key
DIKAR is underpinned by your policy and transparent relationship with stakeholders
Questions and AnswersCheryl DarrupBoychuckOwner / CIEO
USjournal.comFundsV.com
Brittany WrightDirector of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Management
George Washington University
Zakaria Mahmood
CEO / Managing Director
INTCAS (United
Kingdom)
Measuring Return on Investmentin International Student Recruitment
NAFSA Region VIII Conference 12 November 2015