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 Its More Than Just Admissions! Dr. Boyd Bradshaw
Millennial Generation Couldnt 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 ? How do you define normal business hours? What is the 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 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
Web Sites Admissions applications Catalogs Self serve systems (FAQ) –Virtual AdvisingVirtual Advising Virtual tours –University of FloridaUniversity of Florida –University of AlabamaUniversity of Alabama –Virginia TechVirginia Tech
Prospective Student Portals General portals College Board My College QuickStart North Carolina CFNC University Portals NC State University East Carolina University
Counselor Pages and Portals NC State University WolfPAW Mississippi State University Information for High School Counselors
IM/Chats –
Flash Animation Kettering University
Video NC State University KrispyKreme Challenge
YouTube Did You Know – 2.0 Carl 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