Dive Brief:
- A student population more familiar and comfortable with targeted marketing using personalized data is hoping higher ed institutions will utilize such data to enhance their college experience, according to a report by eCampus News.
- 82% of students believe using such data will transform colleges in the next decade, and students expect their data to be used. Students want data to improve student enrollment, offer financial aid information and assist with post-graduation job searches.
- Marist College is forging ahead on the use of the Open Academic Analytics Initiative, which can help predict which students will not complete a given course within two weeks of the student starting it, allowing professors and college staff to intervene earlier.
Dive Insight:
As college applicants become more adept with navigating digital marketing and responding to social media pushes, schools must do better to accommodate the changing reality. The schools utilizing data more substantively will be better equipped to respond quickly to concerns students may have about campus life, and this could also pertain to times when controversies engulf campuses. Many college administrations find themselves slow to respond in such situations, a fact that has cost several college presidents their job. Using data could at least lay a foundation of communication between students and what may seem like an elusive administration.
Many students already see their data being used across most platforms for a tailored user experience. The interconnectivity of devices, apps and browsers has led to highly customized ads and product recommendations on Facebook, in their email inboxes and on their mobile phones. Students’ comfort with educational institutions utilizing personalized data indicates a degree of trust they have with higher ed institutions that the data would not be misused (or overused), and suggests they are relatively unconcerned about data used by educational institutions becoming fodder for hackers or scammers.