1. Andy Benoit, Vice President for Enrollment & Access Management
Increasing your applicant pool in today’s financially challenging environment
Andy Benoit, Vice President for Enrollment & Access Management
Lander University, Greenwood, SC
Session ID# T3 | Tuesday, February 5, 2019

2. Higher Education Environment Today … In Charts & Headlines
High School Graduation Trends
High School and College Completion
Funding Support for Higher Education

3. Demographic Trends: Projected percentage change in the number of public high school graduates by state from through
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

4. Demographic Trends: U. S
Demographic Trends: U.S. High School Graduating Classes, Percent Change from 2013 (Public)
Source: Inside Higher Education

5. Demographic Trends: Total U. S
Demographic Trends: Total U.S. Public and Private High School Graduates (Actual and Projected) from 1979 – 2032

6. Demographic Trends: Percentage of the population 25 years and over who completed high school or college by age group, 1940 – 2015

7. Demographic Trends: College students predicted to fall by more than 15% after the year 2025
Only a handful of states, colored in blue, are predicted to see an increase in the number of students attending regional four-year colleges and universities between 2012 and The rest will see declines in students. In the red-colored states, the drop in students will exceed 15%. The dots represent large metropolitan areas. These urban college markets, such as San Diego, may diverge from their state’s or region’s trends. Nathan D. Grawe, Carleton College
But student demand is expected to grow for the nation’s most elite colleges and universities between 2012 and The dots represent large metropolitan areas, which sometimes diverge from their state’s growth forecasts. Nathan D. Grawe, Carleton College
Source: US News & World Report

8. Funding: State funding for higher education remains far below pre-recession levels in most states, 2008 – 2018

9. Funding: ‘Anemic’ State Funding Growth State support for higher education increased 1.6% from 2017 – 2018 (slowest in five years)
Source: Rick Seltzer; Grapevine; Inside Higher Education

10. Limited Budgets for Operations and Travel
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ?
Limited Budgets for Operations and Travel
Limited Budgets for Prospecting
Limited Resources for Staffing Increases
REMEMBER: STUDENTS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE UNIVERSITY!

11. HOW TO BUILD A QUALITY APPLICANT POOL
Lander Case Study
Generating the Pool

12. LU Freshman Funnel Data Trends: Applicants, admits, and enrolls demonstrated from fall 2011 - 2018
Chart represents the number of first time freshman applicants, admits, and enrolls. There was a decline over time of the number of applicants, but a moderately stable number of admits and enrolls until marked increases began in For the third straight fall semester, the 2018 fall class indicators showed all-time highs in applicants, admits, and enrolls.
Source: LU Office of Enrollment & Access Management

13. LU Changing The Trends: Overall Enrollment Impacts from 2011- 2018
The chart represents Lander’s overall fall semester student enrollment over the past eight years. It illustrates several years of declining enrollment, and the strengthening of the overall enrollment that happened beginning in Fall 2016.
Source: LU Office of Enrollment & Access Management

14. How did LU do this?
Institutional commitment to human capital
Real market identification
Generate interest and prospects
Additional programming
More follow up and more contacts

15. Generating the pool: institutional commitment to human capital
Determine strengths and challenges in staffing … get to know who you are
Who communicates? Who are delivering the prospects?
What resources are needed to recruit prospects?
How do we train people? When do we train people? How do we develop people professionally and operationally?
How can we keep people?
Be honest with administration about results with current resources

16. Generating the pool: Real market identification
Look at the data … it tells a realistic story. IT and IR are important.
Where have apps, admits, and enrolls come from in three years? in five years?
What is your composition goal of your classes (demographic)?
What is your short and long-term enrollment goal? Overall? Freshmen? Other areas?
Use educational data support services from ACT and the College Board for test-taking data and appropriate analytics
Identify primary, secondary, tertiary markets

17. Generating the pool: Generate interest and prospects
Who are the constituencies? How do you reach them? When do you reach them?
What is your outreach plan? Visits, fairs, special recruitment events?
Suspect and prospect plans
Carve out existing money for prospect buys (ACT, College Board, NRCCUA, others)
What is your funnel and the sources of contact at each level?
95,240  4,762  2,857  800

18. Generating the pool: Additional programming; events ease transitions, make informed decisions easier, they introduce the college for the first time to some, they engage a vision
Analyze what programs you have. Are they working? What could be changed? People will attend 3-5 events a year…
How are your campus community and constituencies helping?
How is your campus presentation and climate?
How can you get more people to campus?
Is the experience at your events positive?
Do the events have a purpose?
Are you targeting each of your markets?

19. Generating the pool: More follow up and more contacts
What do you communicate and when do you communicate it? Look across your division and the campus relative to the cycle.
What pieces do you have? Are they effective?
Does everything you say and do reflect your plan?
When do you start communicating? How many points of contact are you making in the enrollment life cycle?
Remember your suspects and prospects … CONVERSION!!
Don’t stop contacting. If you don’t have resources, use what you have. TERRITORY MANAGEMENT!
Invest in communication tools if you can.

20. Final Thoughts
There are no experts! Only people who have failed and learned from their failure.
Money is not everything. It’s helpful, but you can succeed with even a small amount.
Be honest about goals with administration and constituencies.
Be bold! Don’t be afraid to try!