An “All Hands on Deck” Approach to New Student Recruitment

An “All Hands on Deck” Approach to New Student Recruitment

Enrolling new college students, either on campus or online, isn’t as “easy” as it used to be. In fact, for the most part, overall college enrollments have been on a decade long decline. And, as Pew Research notes, those declines have resulted in roughly 1 million fewer students in the system since peak enrollment in 2011.[1]

Even though our population has grown.

But why such declines? Well, today, more prospective college students and adult learners are choosing an alternative pathway to a good career and are foregoing college to achieve it. This, even though earning a bachelor’s degree has been shown to lead to better career options and higher lifetime earnings.[2]

But even though the enrollment picture isn’t pretty, there are ways your school could potentially buck the trend.

Today, Conversion Media Group, a national leader in higher education enrollment initiatives, will share a remarkably simple “all hands” strategy for new student recruitment. Additionally, we’ll share with you a highly effective and proven way to help boost enrollments, even if the “all hands” strategy isn’t (or can’t be) instituted.

Now, chances are your school may already have plenty of resources at its fingertips. It may be doing career-day workshops, social media and advertising campaigns, traditional high-school recruitment days and it may have a large marketing budget specifically for new student enrollment… Yet you may still not be reaching your goals.

This is why you should consider the “all hands on deck” approach.

Here’s what we mean:

Between 2011 and 2021, a small liberal arts college in Washington experienced a dramatic drop in enrollments. In fact, its student body shrunk by over half. Clearly, such a large drop (50%) could cause some serous operational difficulties.

However, the school, Evergreen State, decided to try something different, and by this point, it had little choice. It called all hands on deck, and got its faculty involved… in recruiting!

As noted in Inside Higher Ed, Evergreen’s “faculty got formally involved in the student recruitment process. Professors attended training sessions with admissions staffers to prepare them for a new role: meeting one-on-one with prospective students.

One faculty member said, “We took care to be respectful of the amazing work they do in admissions and not step on any toes but really learn what we could offer. The learning curve was definitely hard, but in the end, we felt like part of the team.”[3]

And the results? The school saw its largest enrollment increase in 40 years.

Now it may not be so easy to get your faculty on board with new student recruiting. However, once they’re aware of the fact that a larger student body could equate to job security…

Recruiting your new recruiters may not be as hard as you think.

Of course, your enrollment department cannot rely solely on your school’s faculty for enrollment help (if at all). And even if it can, it’s unlikely you’ll see 40 year highs in new student enrollments.

But that’s where Conversion Media Group comes in.

You see, CMG is a national leader in the higher-ed lead generation.

Because we own and operate US-based contact centers, we talk to thousands of prospective students every week, live on the phone. These are real prospects with real educational goals.

And…

Once they show genuine interest in your school or its programs, we can transfer the call to your enrollment department, live. They’re called live transfer leads.

Get this… We have the ability to deliver perhaps thousands of live transfer leads, every month, straight your enrollment department.

See, we do the recruiting; your enrollment department does the enrolling… no faculty needed!

Now’s the time to buck the trend. Now’s the time to partner with CMG. Simply give us a call at 1-800-419-3201.

Here’s to your enrollment success!


[1] Fewer young men are in college than in 2011, especially at 4-year schools | Pew Research Center

[2] How does a college degree improve graduates’ employment and earnings potential? – APLU

[3] When enrollment sags, faculty can lend a hand (insidehighered.com)