Education

How Universities Are Seeking to Enroll More Students

Universities and community colleges are up against many challenges in today’s world. Not only has a steady decrease in state funding negatively affected most schools’ bottom line year to year, but the resulting rise in tuition costs is discouraging many students from attempting to enroll in college at all.

Furthermore, the increasing popularity of online courses as a more affordable and flexible option for higher education has many students turning away from the idea of attending a traditional four-year course at university. Ultimately, all of these challenges and more have many schools scrambling to enroll the number of students that they need. Moreover, retaining those students for all four years of school is a challenge in and of itself as well.

These challenges have caused many schools to become more creative in their recruitment efforts so that they can adapt and overcome the obstacles in their way. Read on to find out how schools are mobilizing to get their enrollment numbers up.

New marketing campaigns

There was once a time when universities could rely on word of mouth, reputation, and family legacies to bring in students. These days, though, there are many more options available to students and more information than ever before is available about practically every school via the Internet. Moreover, many students are opting to forge their own paths in terms of their education and are thus not as interested in attending the same schools that their parents and grandparents might have.

To polish their credentials and attract students, schools are adopting new marketing tactics that are proving to be highly effective in bringing in students. Digital marketing through the Internet is something that many schools are taking advantage of. Some schools are even working with a higher education marketing firm to enjoy the benefits of having a digital marketing campaign designed specifically for them.

The use of social media for marketing is also something that many schools are catching on to. This move makes a great deal of sense as a large portion of a university’s target demographic is on social media every single day. By designing targeted ads geared towards prospective students, schools can increase their exposure and foster more engagements with students. Once a student has an interest in a school, then they can engage in a conversation with that school directly on social media, making it easier than ever for schools to inform students about their programs.

Timing communications correctly

The prospective students of today are vastly different from those of past generations. They become quickly deterred and even irritated at times when they are inundated with information that they don’t view as relevant to their decision-making process. This is why schools have had to learn precisely what prospective students want to know and at what times. By timing emails correctly and sending students information that they both want to read and need in order to make their decision, schools can seem less aggressive in their recruitment efforts and more informative.

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