RECRUITING TRANSFER STUDENTS FOR RETENTION AT FOUR YEAR INSTITUTIONS Ryan D. Wagoner
Agenda Transfer Numbers Transfer Operations Recruitment Plan Communication Plan Retention Efforts Future Direction Discussion 2
Transfer Numbers Process Freshman v. Transfer Applications = 20,677 3,111 Admits = 14,930 1,764 Enrolled = 5,128 1,061 Yield = 35% 60% Undergrad pop = 22,263; increasing each year w/ fresh, but flat-lined for transfer since 2010 Breakdown of transfer source = 431 KCTCS 393 non-resident 237 Other KY 3
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Transfer Center Staff Process Director Transfer Center/Degree Audit APEX Associate Director APEX Transfer Enrollment Coordinator APEX Transfer Enrollment Coordinator Transfer Enrollment Coordinator Transfer Enrollment Coordinator 6
Recruitment 13 recruiters (5 out of state) Community College visits fairs and individual visits Recruitment through Advising with Undergraduate Studies partners Transfer Advisor w/ BluegrassCTC Pre-application course equivalency determination www.uky.edu/transferequivalencies
CRM CRM Direct Texting Marketing/Publications & Calling CRM = Constituency Relationship Management System Prospective student database Email management system Events management system List generation for data driven communication 8
Communication Plan CRM Direct Texting Marketing/Publications & Calling 9
COMMUNICATIONS MIX T e x t i n g & C a l l i n g Mix of Outreach Efforts Direct Marketing/Publications SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Tumblr. Ads, posts, pictures and videos SMS/TEXT Text messaging sending messages directly to a handheld device/phone EMAIL Targeted emails that are responsive to users devices DATA/CRM AUTOMATED CALLS Service like Call-Em-All which can leverage a recorded voice with a desired audience DIRECT MARKETING Letters, postcards, view books, brochures, invites, specialty mailers WEB COMMUNICATIONS Internet based communications using department specific websites and technologies 10
Email EMAIL Texting & Calling Direct Marketing/Publications Nearly all students and their parents will open an email from a campus they are considering.* Mondays are best for email read rates Personalized subject lines are 22.2% more likely to be opened (e.g. The deadline has been extended, Ryan!) In 2013-14 cycle Enrollment Management sent over 2.4 million emails Mobile first, responsive emails based on the user device In February 2015, 61.5% email read rates sourced from a mobile reading environment *https://www.noellevitz.com/papers-research-higher-education/2014/2014-e-expectations-report 11
Basic Analytics Analytics Direct Texting Marketing/Publications & Calling 12
3.5 Billion Google Searches per day 1.2 Trillion Google Searches a year WEB COMMUNICATIONS 13
Web Communications Texting & Calling Web Communication Direct Marketing/Publications 1.5 million visits to ApplyUK.com 4.7 million page views received on ApplyUK.com Average 25-30 visitors on our pages at any given time Over 3,000 pages of information across all EM websites Desktop, tablet and mobile device ready *https://www.noellevitz.com/papers-research-higher-education/2014/2014-e-expectations-report 14
Calls/Texting Texting & Calling Direct Marketing/Publications Reinforcement of email/letter Dates and deadlines Event invite calls/texts Reminders - day before/day of 61,000 phone calls generated from our call center efforts, all student staffed Over 4,000 text messages sent in 2013-14 cycle 205,000 automated calls made in 2014-15 cycle More than half of students and parents are willing to receive text messages from campuses.* *https://www.noellevitz.com/papers-research-higher-education/2014/2014-e-expectations-report 15
Direct Marketing/Publications Campaigns Significant print and direct marketing efforts 21 Preview Nights Invites, postcards, etc. Online Transfer Fairs KCTCS Football Visit Day Targeted direct mail View books, postcards, letters, brochures, etc. Refreshed, rebranded, and updated each cycle 16
Retention Efforts 6 Orientation dates for Fall; 2 for Spring 40-bed Living Learning Community K Week Activities 11-week, 1-credit Academic Orientation (UK 201)
Retention Numbers
Future Directions Future Directions Texting & Calling Direct Marketing/Publications Stop assuming Freshmen and Transfers are the same Transfer-specific research to meet their unique needs Increase specificity of message to type of student Increase financial resources for transfers Increase partnerships with out-of-state CCs Recruitment through advising/earlier contact with students Enhanced measurement and analytics, specific to transfers Institutional research specific to transfer TRANSFER MATTERS provide necessary data 19
Questions and Discussion