In This Issue
- Cost, value, and affordability
- How Engaged Are Online Students?
- Demography is Not Destiny, Part 2
Cost, value, and affordability
By Bob Sevier, Senior Vice President, Strategy
Last fall, I was fortunate to be one of the speakers at the iThink hosted by Target X. For the 100+ enrollment and admissions officers who attended, the conversation was lively and heart-felt.
Not surprisingly, much discussion centered around college cost and its other dimensions: value and affordability. Because understanding these terms is so important, I wanted to take a minute to establish some working definitions.
Cost is a non-relational, objective variable. It is easily demonstrated and relatively easy to understand (assuming you clarify between cost before aid and cost after aid). From my perspective, cost is best used when you are the least expensive and your students are commodity oriented (cost and convenience).
While cost is relatively easy to understand, value is not. “Value,” is a highly relational term because students and parents ultimately define it as part of a larger question: Are you worth the cost?
Our research indicates that of the three terms—cost, value, and affordability—the term “value” is losing currency for two reasons. First, when colleges say “value,” families hear “this is how we justify our high cost.” The value issue is further complicated because when colleges describe their value, they almost always do so in terms that do not differentiate their institution from their competitors. They talk about the value of great faculty and the value of small classes. Unfortunately, their competitors use the same value propositions. This strategy actually undermines value rather than enhancing it.
The third term is “affordability.” Of the three terms, “affordability” is of the greatest interest to students and families. Like other terms it is highly relational. Because of this, one great strategy is to create a handful of personas that show you met the needs of different kinds of students from different backgrounds. Remember, however, that your financial aid packages should include a blend of gifts, grants, and loans.
How Engaged Are Online Students?
By Bob Sevier, Senior Vice President, Strategy
A recent NESSIE study looked at the experiences and outcomes of both traditional students and online students. The findings challenge many of the assumptions about the advantages of traditional, face-to-face instruction.
“Online courses seem to stimulate more intellectual exchange and educational gains,” the report says. According to the November 14, 2008 Chronicle of Higher Education, this may have to do with instructors’ special efforts to engage students, it suggests, as well as the courses’ appeal to motivated, self-directed learners.
The Chronicle says, “Ahead on many counts, online students were as likely as their campus-based peers to spend at least 10 hours a week preparing for class, to participate in discussions that enhanced their understanding of social responsibility, and to believe that their campus environment was very supportive of their academic success.”
**SOURCE: NATIONAL SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Demography is Not Destiny, Part 2
By Bob Sevier, Senior Vice President, Strategy
In the last issue of QuickTakes, I outlined three variables that I believe have a greater impact on enrollment than does demography. In this edition of QuickTakes I will present the remaining four.
Know how to recruit
Ultimately, to be successful, you must know how to recruit. This means that you have:
- Well-trained staff
- Sufficient resources
- Clearly defined the type of student most likely to persist
- Clarified your target geography
- An understanding of the college-choice variables that students value
- A written recruiting/financial aid plan that dovetails with your larger marketing and strategic plans
Most of these elements are pretty self-explanatory. However, I do want to quickly touch on a handful of them.
First, you need to have sufficient resources. I don’t understand why colleges are trying to recruit larger classes with a smaller commitment to resources. A better move is to cut other areas more deeply or even eliminate some areas so that you can make sure you are investing sufficient resources in admissions.
Second, define the students you want. Surprisingly, many colleges and universities launch their recruiting strategies without having a clear understanding of the kinds of students they want to recruit. As a result, their strategies are less effective, more expensive, and more likely to lead to later retention problems.
Third, understand the college-choice variables that students value most. Savvy colleges spend less time on what they want to say and more time on what students want to hear.
Know how to use financial aid adroitly
I am not an expert on financial aid. Fortunately, I know two of the best: Jim Scannell and Kathy Kurz of Scannell and Kurz. One of the best moves you can make is to undertake a comprehensive financial aid assessment. Information on Scannell and Kurz can be found at: www.scannellkurz.com.
Offer a well-appointed campus
Today’s students, as part of our larger consumer culture, have high expectations. They expect great facilities, ubiquitous technology, beautiful landscaping, and amenities ranging from climbing walls to juice bars. Of course, care must be taken not to draw resources away from your academic core nor to be caught up in an ill-conceived facilities arms race with your nearest competitors.
Use of an integrated marketing model
Colleges and universities that use a robust integrated marketing model which embraces reputation building (you might call this “pre-recruiting”), recruiting, and retention will have a distinct advantage in the marketplace. Importantly, this model must begin with a clear understanding of what type of student persists. It then involves building a reputation in the markets where sufficient numbers of these students live. Next, the model brings to bear sufficient recruiting resources. Finally, the model stresses a proactive approach to retention that centers on delivering an exceptional student experience. More than enrollment management, an integrated marketing model precedes recruiting (brand building) and continues to alumni relations and beyond.
Conclusion
Of course, the number of students in the marketplace is important. But as you have seen, there are other variables—variables that are largely up to institutional control and can have an equal or even greater impact on your ability to recruit students.
Resource note: If you would like to talk about any of these items, or how Stamats can help you evaluate your recruiting efforts, please let me know. Thank you. Bob (bob.sevier@stamats.com)
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