PS&L Blog

The good and bad news in admissions and recruiting is you get to start over every year.

For many of the colleges and universities I work with, this is turning into a year like no other in recent memory. They are feeling the effects of the recession in unexpected ways, and some are enjoying increases in applications while others are struggling to make enrollment goals. Knowing what happened or didn’t happen for fall 2009 is important. However, almost as important is the need to look forward to 2010 and beyond.

Now is the time to to assess what we did this year and what we need to do next year to get back on track. Here are some thoughts.

1. The Obvious. We can’t do the same thing next year and expect different results. The not so obvious. We need to think beyond working harder and being “more focused”. The conversion and yield models must change. Forget the last 3 to 5 years of data. For many colleges, look only to the 2009 data for your modeling. It’s that different. Colleges need to consider changing how admissions staffs build relationships with students and families. You also need to evaluate how your institution is differentiated – what was an important differentiator a year ago may be inconsequential today. A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article suggests many changes are being considered.

2. Goals. Ask yourself if your enrollment goals are based on what you want and/or need or the realities of YOUR geographic footprint. Then get really specific and look at the numbers. For students that fit your student profile, are high school graduates up or down? Are there sufficient prospects in the top of the funnel to support your goals (remember yields for many institutions are likely to be down again)?

3. Service. Look at your visit programs. They can’t just be good. They need to differentiate you and be better than your competition. Does your website support what your admissions team is saying? Students (and I’m not just talking traditional-age here) are nearly 24/7 in how they investigate and communicate with colleges. How does that fit with your service model? How about once they enroll? Remember, your applicants live in a social media world and a perceived lapse in service will spread virally.

4. Product. Ugly word to many, but the fact is many students and families think of your academic and student life experiences as a product. They compare your academic programs (your products) to those of other institutions. So first off, who else out there offers the same as you? (I think you’ll find that when you start a program vs program comparison, your list of competitors grows substantially.) How do you match up? Do your programs and services need to be injected with new thoughts and approaches? Are you providing students and families with the information they need to make these comparisons and decisions?

5. Recruiting and Prospect Management. Take a look at how well your admissions staff knows their prospects. Not what the “file” says, but do they know about the student’s goals, their fears, the concerns of their parents, their decision points, the competition. Does the communication flow support the admissions staff’s efforts? Make sure current students and alumni are part of the outreach to engage students and parents. Consider the idea that your staff may need to be more like recruiters than counselors.

These are just a few thoughts as you think ahead to 2010. Look for more thoughts in my next postings. And, I am interested to hear from any you whether you agree or disagree with these thoughts.