Rural Information Technology Alliance (RITA) TAACCCT Grant Student Recruitment Strategies Event Name, Date

Student Recruitment Awareness Call-to-Action Enrollment Communications

Michael Olesen RITA Consortium - Director - Retired after 30 years at the University of Minnesota - Most recently served as Chief Information Officer - Associate Director of the Digital Technology Center - Assistant Director of Supercomputing Institute Matt Klinkhammer RITA Consortium - Communications Coordinator - Community Relations Coordinator, Herzing University Social media marketing and community building Recruitment event coordination and promotion Traditional recruitment presentations & events Video, print, digital and social content creation

Coordinate with grant staff

Create brand, content & platforms

Coordinate with grant staff Create brand, content & platforms Coordinate with partner colleges

Coordinate with grant staff Create brand, content & platforms Coordinate with partner colleges Create & coordinate strategy

There’s no IT in “Rural”

Central Lakes College Brainerd and Staples, MN North Central Texas Corinth, Gainesville and Flower Mound, TX Pine Technical & Community College Pine City, MN Ridgewater College Willmar and Hutchinson, MN

There’s no IT in “Rural” Students don’t want to move to metro areas Lack of awareness of IT careers Misconception with IT, you either “Get it or you don’t” Majority first generation students

Awareness Print Outreach Social media Digital advertising

Awareness - Print Colleges short on print resources Needed to create RITA brand Find a balance with college branding

Awareness - Print Supplement & support college print Event specific print materials Support grant staff needs Print advertising: varying degrees of success

Awareness - Outreach Build on existing college efforts Seek out new opportunities Strategic relationships Community building

Awareness - Outreach

Awareness - Social

If you have a grant Facebook page: Share success Strive for great images Shorten links Schedule posts Find the best time of day to post Coordinate shares from your college If you don’t have a grant Facebook page: How can you leverage the college’s Facebook page ? Make your content count on the college page Your college marketing staff probably wants your content

Awareness - Social

If you have a grant Twitter profile: Use symbol to expand reach and give credit Use relevant hashtags, no more than three Shorten links Include appropriate link in profile Inform, inform, inform, promote If you don’t have a grant Twitter profile: How can you leverage the college’s Twitter ? Construct tweets and send to marketing staff Your college marketing staff probably wants your content

Awareness – Digital Advertising Why advertise on Facebook? Largest customer database for advertising Allows for unique targeting 1.6 billion people on Facebook 40 minutes per day on Facebook Reaching people who aren’t looking User friendly

Facebook Ads Demo breakdown example

Awareness – Digital Advertising Results Total targeted reach: 306,334 Total impressions: 917,361 Total clicks to webpages: 2,480 Total clicks on ads:4,113 Average frequency: 4.6 Total spent: $4,280.

Call-to-Action Go to the website Apply now Request Information Search for a phone number Visit campus

Call-to-Action Walk-ins Check on process Inform admissions/front desk Grant staff available ? Do you have an event or opportunity for them ?

Call-to-Action Phone calls Check on process Inform admissions/front desk Grant staff available ? Do you have an event or opportunity for them ?

Call-to-Action Info Sessions More qualified prospects & students Creates a clear next step option Ruffalo Noel-Levitz study Grant impact on enrollment process

Call-to-Action Events Build on existing Create interest-specific events Promoting the event promotes programs Opportunity to create a connection

Enrollment Communications

Responding to prospective students Do you know what happens next ?

Enrollment Communications Start with a test

Enrollment Communications What can we learn from the for-profits? Timeliness matters Two-way communication is more effective Don’t expect prospects understand the process Don’t expect prospects have support Don’t expect prospects will persist through road-blocks Don’t expect one-and-done communication is enough

Enrollment Communications Develop a plan to supplement Test Identify opportunities Create processes and expectations for grant staff Track and improve

Enrollment Communications Results Often just one obstacle Increased persistence Improved conversion rates More apps and more starts

Plans to Improve Expand ad platforms & content Expand and vary landing pages Implement retargeting Improve web representation Build on what we’ve learned Complete video projects Automated enrollment communications content Plan for sustainability

Rural Information Technology Alliance (RITA) TAACCCT Grant Student Recruitment Strategies RitaConsortium.org Questions?