Marketing Report April 2015

Purpose The purpose of this report is to show trend information for recruitment and marketing programs at all University of Mount Olive locations. Where possible, comparisons over time are shown. Marketing and recruitment activities differ for traditional and nontraditional programs, so some comparisons are not appropriate. This is not an enrollment report.

Introduction The following data is gathered from inquiry calls/visits, contact forms, applications, and SSRS reports. Recruitment activities, purchased media, website traffic, and other promotional and marketing efforts help drive students to our website and other points of contact. Marketing information is used to track what kinds of advertising prompts action for various audiences.

Traditional Admissions Recruitment Activities April 2015 During April, two new admitted student days were held to assist new freshmen planning to attend in Fall 2015, with their Trojan First UMO Bound activities. The day culminated with each new student receiving an ID card and a class schedule for the Fall semester. There were about 120 students who attended these two Saturdays. Two more of these special days are scheduled, one in June and one in July. These days are packed with information and activities to help brand UMO for our newest students. Trojan First UMO Bound is planned and led by the Student Affairs team, with help from all offices on the campus. In the meantime, trad admissions reps are visiting in high schools, getting ready to attend awards nights, and generally working to get the June UMO Bound group ready for their visit to the campus.

Cappex Recruitment The Cappex company works with the traditional admissions team to recruit students who have interest in studying special programs such as agriculture, religion, music, recreation, arts and graphic design, history, English, criminal justice, math, education, psychology, business and biology. Cappex sends multiple messages to prospective students who have indicated their interest in UMO programs. When a student expresses interest in UMO, Cappex directs their inquiries to our admissions team. In April, 56,439 new messages were sent on behalf of UMO, and 287 students found UMO via this marketing format.

1 st Time Contacts Received In April 2015, UMO received a total of 795 first time inquiries and applications. About 58% of these contacts were for traditional admissions, with the remaining 42% going to the nontraditional locations, including online prospects for cj, nursing and MBA programs. The graph below demonstrates the number of undecided new students (304) who could be coming to UMO in the future. Freshman Seminar (ADV 100) and special academic advising efforts will be needed to help these prospects to make a decision about their area of study.

Top Sources for Traditional Admissions Prospects Traditional admissions prospects report hearing about UMO in many ways. In April 2015, the greatest number of contacts came to UMO’s admissions office for the first time as an application. This growing trend is more prevalent as students begin their college searches online, apply to numerous institutions, and then build their knowledge base on their choices afterwards. The graph below demonstrates the many sources of info students are exposed to as they select UMO as a possible college choice.

Trad Applications Received April 2015 Trad Admissions received a total of 185 applications in April Many of these prospects came to us for the first time as applicants! The curriculum interests of these applicants appears in the graph below, with undeclared, business, RLS and CJC showing most frequently.

Nontrad Recruitment Activities in April 2015 Nontrad recruitment activities vary by location, time of year and program type. At the nontrad locations, where registration occurs throughout the year, admissions representatives dedicate their time to recruitment visits, and presentations to employers and individuals; they send mass mailings and s, visit in the community, and set up booths at career fairs and other venues. In April, 280 such activities were held at the locations.

1 st Time Nontrad Contacts The graph below provides 1 st time contact info by location for April 2015 (N = 333).Online programs in CJ, nursing and MBA are included.

Curriculum Interest by Nontrad Location: April 2015 The most popular program, with 51 new prospects, was the criminal justice program. Early childhood education received 43 first time contacts, and HCM received 40 interested prospects. Nursing and MBA prospects received 30 and 32 respectively. There were 333 first time contacts this month, vs. 312 in March 2015.

Evening College Ad Sources by Type Evening College had 128 sources mentioned by the prospects who inquired or applied in April Application received was the first source of information for many prospects, followed by WOM and other modes of advertising.

Ad sources Jacksonville The Jacksonville location, which serves a large military population, received 25 applications in April. This was the most popular first time source of info about UMO at that location.

Top Ad Sources New Bern April 2015 The New Bern location received 18 applications in April. The application was the top source for that location.

Top Sources of Online Programs: April 2015 Online programs for CJ, nursing and MBA received various source mentions, but application received was the most numerous.

Top Ad Sources for RTP: April 2015 Application received was the most popular way for first time students to express interest in UMO for the RTP location.

Ad Sources for Seymour Johnson AFB Location: April 2015 Application received was the most popular first time contact for 17 prospects for the SJ programs.

Ad Sources for Washington: April 2015 Application received, followed by word of mouth, Hobson’s Nontrad online marketing program and radio, TV and billboard were the ways that UMO Washington prospects learned about UMO.

Ad Sources for Wilmington: April 2015 Application received, followed by word of mouth and various other modes of communication, were the primary ad sources for the Wilmington location in April 2015.

Applications Received at Nontrad Locations: April 2015 The nontrad locations, including the online programs, received 311 applications in April The graph below provides the distribution by location.

Web Analytics: March 2014 to April 2015 The chart below demonstrates how web traffic comes to the UMO site—direct traffic to the site, search engines such as google, and referrals from other websites. Google, the search engine which drives a lot of traffic to UMO, recently made some changes to “Mobilegaddon” which improves the way mobile device users see our page. Our page is very responsive to theses devises. The average visit to our site is over 2 minutes, and most viewers see at least 2 pages per visit. About 1/3 of our visitors are newcomers.

Phone Calls to UMO There were 917 calls received at all UMO central phone numbers, with 590 unique callers for the month. About 50% of all calls came through the switchboard at the number, with the remaining calls coming to all other location and vanity numbers. Fifty-six % of the callers used land lines, and the remainder called from other devices.

Conclusions 1.Application received was the top way that new prospects showed interest in UMO in April 2015; this type of activity has been happening with traditional students since applications went online some years ago, but the online app has become a way for adults to search out info about colleges now. 2.Hobson’s Nontrad, Cappex, billboard, radio and TV still play an important role in marketing UMO. Our new logo has provided greater visibility, and our athletic teams have given the University Trojan logo greater recognition. 3.New students in the trad population continue to come to UMO in large numbers. This situation will provide challenges in academic advising and retention. 4.First time contacts for the nontrad population are picking up, and summer enrollment goals have been met. With the coming election season getting off to an early start, TV will become very expensive. Our admissions reps will need to keep up their outreach schedules in order to continue to attract newcomers.