A declining high school graduate population coupled with current economic and public health concerns indicate higher-ed will now be competing for an increasingly shrinking pool of prospective students. As a result, it is more important than ever for universities to eliminate barriers to student enrollment. Currently, prospective students (and their families) must navigate a complex process that lacks clear information about requirements and degree pathways. Adding more urgency, the current rise in transfer students indicates academic journeys will be increasingly complicated. Therefore, universities must prioritize the visibility of clear degree pathways to attract and successfully enroll today’s students.
While every institution has a different set of “rules” and processes to navigate, with an absence of dedicated resources, students are often left to manage the transition on their own, jeopardizing their academic success or even hindering enrollment altogether. So, how do universities engage today’s prospective students and provide better support on their journey?
Provide the Tools
With prospective students coming from various paths, backgrounds, and resources, it is difficult for universities to dedicate the human resources necessary to provide personalized support. One way to scale support for individual journeys is to enable self-service for prospective students exploring enrollment at the institution.
Through this channel, prospective students would log in, upload any prior education and exam records, receive program recommendations, and explore pathways according to their interests and education records. For transfer students, these maps would show the course curriculum for specific majors, including recommendations based on both interests and work completed to date, and illustrate the preferred pathway between partnering institutions.
This functionality can also become a marketing tool for universities when it allows "stealth applicants" to explore an institution's program offerings without starting the application process. This process creates "qualified leads" that can be loaded into the institution's CRM for recruiting purposes and create a high-touch opportunity for supporting the prospective student journey.
If you’d like to learn more about improving your prospective student journey, join us at AACRAO’s SEM conference, where Stellic will be at booth #309, offering demonstrations of our latest tools for attracting and supporting prospective students.