Marketing Report March 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. Information is used to track what kinds of advertising prompts action for various audiences.

1st Time Contacts Received There were 312 first time contacts received at the nontrad locations in March 2015. Criminal Justice received the highest number of unduplicated student interest, with business management, HCM, ECE, MBA and Nursing receiving strong notice also.

1st Time Nontrad Contacts by School Curriculum interest to the nontrad locations by school in March 2015 showed nearly half of the unduplicated prospects being interested in a program from the School of Arts and Sciences. About 45% were interested in a business program and a little over 5% were undecided.

First Time Contacts for Traditional Admissions There were 620 unduplicated prospective students with interest in UMO traditional programs in March 2015. Their academic interests represent a broad range of programs, with undecided being the most often mentioned.

Nontraditional Recruitment Activities The recruitment activities conducted by nontraditional admissions representative help to promote the University in their local regions. These include community relations events, presentations and recruiting visits, and materials distribution. The nontrad Ad Reps also participate in career fairs at community colleges and businesses. Much of what they do includes first time efforts to get UMO’s name out into the public. The chart below demonstrates their activities during the month of March 2015.

Traditional Admissions Recruitment Events March is a “getting ready for college” month because the focus is on high school students and families who are preparing for the next big step in their lives. Traditional recruitment events include private campus visits with prospective students and their families. The admissions team members make high school visits for one on one meetings with applicants; they talk on the phone with families about scholarships and financial aid; and they help students to complete the forms and documents needed for college enrollment. March is also the time when the traditional admissions team is working with all other campus offices to plan and carry out April, June and July admitted student day events.

Top Sources for Nontraditional Prospects The top source for nontraditional first time contacts in March 2015 was application received. There were 428 applications received as the first type of contact by prospects. Hobson’s nontrad marketing program, radio and TV commercials, billboards and referrals were also mentioned.

Source Information for Traditional Student Prospects Traditional students who made their first time contact with UMO in March 2015 (n = 810) mentioned Cappex website, athletic online questionnaire, college fairs, SAT/ACT score reports, and admissions presentations among others as multiple sources of info about UMO.

800 UMO Phone Calls During the month of March 2015 there were 137 unique calls to the 800 numbers, with most of them going to the Mount Olive location. A large number of calls were fielded by the UMO operator.

Web Analytics Users found UMO on the internet via search engines, like Google, by coming directly to our site or getting referred to us from other websites. The graph below shows 13 months of traffic to the site in all three modes.

Hobson’s 13-Month Nontrad Marketing Campaign: N 1,217 Since its inception a couple of years ago, the Hobson’s Nontrad Marketing Campaign has been revised several times. Over the past year, tracking shows that we have received over 1,200 inquiries via this advertising format.

Applications Received Over 700 applications were received during the month of March 2015, with the traditional admissions office receiving 256 and online programs receiving 156. The graph below demonstrates the distribution of applications by location.

Conclusions Applications continue to be first type contact from many students. Students find their way to UMO through various and multiple sources of information. Many traditional students are undecided about their major in college. Online programs bring additional options for enrollment.

Thanks Thanks to Jennifer Merritt, Georgette Prichard, Ken Davis and UMO admissions representatives for their help in compiling the information for this report.