People are applying to colleges and universities at a higher rate today than at any other time in history. In an era of reduced funding and resources, this would seem to be good news. More students mean more money, which translates into more robust programs and services.
But just because a student applies to your institution doesn’t mean they’re the right fit. As pressure mounts to increase completion rates and forge clearer pathways from a college education to a successful career, administrators are less concerned about throwing open their doors and more focused on identifying students whose goals align with the mission and values of the institution.
Fortunately, the process for recruiting those best-fit students is getting easier, thanks in large part to technology.
Consider a few of the ways student recruitment has changed:
Data, Data and More Data
The amount of information tied to each student is staggering. Grades, internships, extracurricular activities and demographics are just the beginning.
Thirty years ago, most of that information was stored in filing cabinets. Now, vast electronic profiles hover above students in a digital cloud that contains everything from names and addresses to majors and academic records.
In a recent video interview, Arlene Cash, former vice provost of enrollment management at the University of the Pacific, in Stockton, California, describes the influence of data.
“The advisers have it. The career center has it. The faculty has it. The president’s office has it,” she says. “Everyone is tracking the same information throughout the student’s career at your institution and even beyond.”
Translation: If it’s best-fit students you’re after, start by looking at the numbers.
Tech-Focused Classrooms
Let’s say you do find the students who are right for your institution. Does your institution offer the kinds of experiences that would make your campus an attractive option?
“Brick and mortar, forget it. Students are taking classes online,” says Cash. “They’re taking mixed classes. They’re looking at the professor doing the lecture before classes begin, and then they’re coming in and talking about the lecture during class.”
Today’s students are increasingly aware of the educational options available to them, and, depending on their age, it’s a safe bet those students have experience with the latest classroom technologies and innovations. Tech-savvy students will want assurances that your institution has the right tools to support students’ particular brand of learning.
Cost Considerations
In 1983–84, the tuition and room and board cost for out-of-state students at a public four-year university was $4,167 a year, on average, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. That figure dropped to $1,783 for in-state students attending public four-year institutions.
Fast-forward 30 years and those numbers seem like a dream. These days, in-state students attending public four-year universities can expect to pay an average of $22,826 per year, according to the College Board. Out-of-state students can expect total costs north of $36,000.
With costs like that, colleges and universities have to be careful: if the price of a higher education is too high, ‘best-fit’ won’t matter — students will be priced out of college. It’s important for institutions to focus on financial aid packages and other means of support as incentives for best-fit students to enroll.
Essential Partnerships
Shifting priorities, coupled with an increasingly complicated funding landscape, present challenges for institutions.
Fortunately, there is one thread that ties all of this together — and can put your institution on a path to a successful recruitment strategy: your choice of technology partner.
“If you don’t have strong partnership, if you don’t work with a company or an organization that can really integrate all of that information as a continuous stream, you’re in trouble,” explains Cash. “Higher education is so different today than it was even five years ago, never mind 30 years ago, and we have to be ready as institutions of higher education and leaders of higher education to think where we’ll be in 10 or 15 years.”
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