Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

CRM software helps improve student recruitment, retention

Arizona State and the University of Alabama are among the schools that have improved their student recruitment and retention numbers since implementing CRM software.

It’s no secret that colleges and universities have struggled to recruit and retain students since the 2008 recession, but using customer relationship management (CRM) software from companies such as Jenzabar, Ellucian, and Campus Management has proven effective in elevating many schools’ marketing techniques and improving enrollment.

Campus Management’s Talisma CRM software increases efficiency across many processes and enables schools to focus their efforts more wisely. Its Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) solution is designed to follow students after graduation and help build stronger alumni relations as well.

Talisma CRM helps automate communications with students, prospects, and alumni via eMail, chat, telephone, SMS text messaging, and print formats. The program is capable of measuring the effectiveness of its marketing efforts through analytics, allowing for more targeted and effective campaigns. Designed to work as a stand-alone program or in conjunction with a school’s existing student information system, Talisma CRM is customizable to fit schools’ unique needs.…Read More

1 2 3 4

Three ways to improve your college’s recruitment program

Colleges’ recruitment efforts are based on large amounts of student data.

In today’s competitive climate, institutions face a significant conundrum: the need to simultaneously increase student enrollment and reduce student recruitment costs. This challenge has motivated institutions to stretch beyond their traditional recruitment boundaries.

In fact, admissions offices across the U.S. are taking a deep look into how they manage the student enrollment process. In many cases, institutions have adopted a business approach to enrollment management.

The admissions offices at these institutions apply a robust set of tools within their Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system to assist them with targeting and reaching specific student populations, often outside their traditional target population.…Read More

1 2

Digital signage as student recruitment tool

Digital signage shouldn't be used just as a digital bulletin board on campus.

An advanced digital signage system won’t just keep the campus community informed — it will attract students impressed by the tech-savviest of higher-education institutions.

From music to politics to technology, higher-education institutions have always been a proving ground, a place where new concepts are tested and often become commonplace in society.

Not surprisingly, some colleges and universities are again ahead of the curve, this time in adopting new approaches that deliver unified communications (UC), specifically harnessing the convergence of digital signage and video.…Read More

1 2 3 4

Schools reach out to prospective students via Facebook

Colleges and unversities use social media such as Facebook to recruit students.
Colleges and universities increasingly are using social media, including Facebook, to recruit students.

Colleges and universities are becoming increasingly proactive in using social media to reach prospective students, acknowledging that today’s teenagers are very active online.

A Maguire Associates survey of U.S. public and private institutions offering four-year undergraduate degrees found that senior enrollment officers are incorporating the internet into undergraduate recruitment and communication. The survey found that 77 percent of senior enrollment officers have begun to use social networking sites in the face of the economic downturn and continued digital innovation.

Brian Shulman, dean of the School of Health and Medical Sciences at Seton Hall University, said combining social media and public relations efforts has improved the school’s image exponentially in one year.…Read More

1 2

ED looks to crack down on misleading college recruiting

Duncan said ED's proposed rules would increase colleges' accountability to students.
Duncan said ED's proposed rules would increase colleges' accountability to students.

Some of the nation’s largest online colleges could be barred from tying recruiters’ pay to the number of students they enroll if the Obama administration’s new list of rules for for-profit institutions becomes federal policy.

The administration’s set of 14 proposed guidelines for for-profit colleges—announced June 16—was created in response to widespread student complaints of deceitful recruiting practices at some of the most profitable institutions.

Many of the proposals aim to ensure that federal aid is distributed only to students who are qualified to take college classes.…Read More

1 2 3