Most enrollment leaders struggle with precision when planning an enrollment marketing budget. The marketing cost to acquire a particular class is indeed calculable, but only if the institution is prepared to measure individual marketing initiatives. And while there may be a great deal of certainty about the divisional budget as a whole, when it comes…Read more
Tag: Enrollment Management
A Guide to the 2019 Slate Innovation Summit
This year marks my fifth Slate Innovation Summit. I think that gets me a pin. Five years ago I was just a few months in to working at Technolutions and nervous about meeting my first clients in person (mostly because I was relatively new and didn’t want to be put on the spot to answer…Read more
Reconciling “the Numbers” and Market Positioning Progress
For most institutions, May represents early returns, to say nothing of frantic or disciplined refreshing of reports to reveal the evidence of the size and shape of the class that may be on campus in the fall. “How are the numbers?” memes abound, making light of the fact that “the numbers” to most only mean…Read more
How to Get Criminals to Seek a Side Door
I vowed I’d not write about Varsity Blues, but this thought keeps nagging me and I feel a little guilt for not pointing it out to you. You might not have a greedy coach or a side door into your admissions office, but here’s the horrifying part you played in the VB debacle. Granted, VB…Read more
What to Do When You Can Do Almost Anything in Slate
I don’t need to tell you that we live in a world of immediacy. You know it even more if you’re actively working with today’s students (no matter the generation). Often, the immediacy mindset transfers into our professional goals. And so, we need the solution, the module, the email, the portal, the [insert anything and…Read more
Addressing the “Parent Factor” in Enrollment Marketing
I’m thinking about the importance of parents. I have good friends who just became first time parents. They’re young and energetic and the birth of Olive Kay thrills and amazes them. In this first week of parenthood, the exhaustion and weight of responsibility is just starting to show itself. They have a lot of that…Read more
Four Ways Prospective Students Search for Your Majors
When communicating with your prospective students, you undoubtedly strive to connect your offerings with their goals, interests and values. In doing so, you emphasize the benefits of your distinctive market positon and your ability to provide an exceptional education that is supportive of your prospects’ plans, hopes and dreams. But because the goals, interests and…Read more
Student Search Reflections
For decades enrollment offices have followed a distinct cycle and workflow. Student search is just one of those tried and true traditions in higher education marketing. I’ve invested the last twelve years in the admission world, both directly from the trenches in admissions and also from the vendor side. For the past seven years, I’ve…Read more
Remaining Agile
Each year, like most people, I take some time to reflect on the previous year, think about where I want to go in the new year and what it’s going to take me to be there. While I think about this on both personal and professional fronts, this year I’ve found myself thinking about one…Read more
Current Location: Your Visionary Destination Needs a Starting Point
We all know people who refuse to use a map. Their confidence in their sense of direction precludes their need for reference. In their minds, they’ll get there eventually—and the adventure of the journey is part of their fun. A few wrong turns don’t phase them. The strategy of “winging it” works pretty well when…Read more