Start at the Search Stage

"Funnel"Mentals

Development of your Admissions Funnel

3651 NE Ralph Powell Rd Lee's Summit MO 64064
Phone: 800-862-7759
Fax: 816-525-9401
www.nrccua.org

Introduction

Larry Erenberger, Senior Vice President for Sales, discusses techniques for improving the enrollment funnel.

Contact your Enrollment Consultant

Starting at the Search Stage

This time of year, we begin taking a look at how our next entering class will shape up compared to our enrollment objectives. We're all nearing the end of the recruitment cycle, commonly referred to as the enrollment funnel.

The amazing thing about the funnel is that whatever you put in the top - always reflects what comes out the bottom. Considering this, why would anyone expect their enrolled student class to look any different from the initial inquiry pool? Your enrollment objectives need to be fed into the very TOP of the funnel so your results end up reflecting those factors. Many ask what element has the single largest effect on that outcome.

The answer is - the search stage - combined with an understanding of how to go about creating the optimum search list.

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"Funnel"mentals

Most colleges and universities have already set in motion efforts to enroll their entering class of 2008, and some even 2009. For many, the first step was to engage in their inquiry pool development through purchased lists with student profiles matching enrollment objectives for the next entering class. Unfortunately, most have not completed an analysis of their funnel - by each enrollment objective - before beginning the next recruitment cycle. Too often schools have a tendency to simply repeat the process over and over without much thought about refueling the funnel with the type of searches that will NET the desired results.

Try this suggestion. Turn the funnel upside down for one of your enrollment objectives. For this example, we'll use "increased geographic representation". In this instance, we will use out of state students. For some, this could be out of the county, out of the service area, or out of the metro area.

To keep it simple, we'll separate geographic representation into home state, and each of the next largest five states represented independently, then the rest of the states combined. Thus, we will have seven geographic enrollment funnels.

Using the second largest represented state, we'll first calculate the yield of enrolled vs. admitted students, followed by calculating the admit rate for applications received, next calculate the conversion rate of applied students to inquiries and finally calculate the response rate from your various inquiry pool development activities.

Using this reverse calculation will provide benchmark calculations that can be used in the future to monitor progress in meeting enrollment objectives - long before the admit stage.

Easy math so far. Now the fun part. Log-on to the NRCCUA website www.nrccua.org and see what the market really looks like. With over two million Seniors in the NRCCUA database (representing two out of every three upcoming graduates of the class of 2007), you'll have a great basis for your analysis. Plug in your calculations and see what you need from the market to meet your objectives.

Even though it's already May, and you've worked hard at the enrollment for this fall's class, now is also the time to do a spot check on your class of 2008. Take your enrollment objective funnels and compare them to your 2008 inquiry database. Where you're not on pace with your desired outcomes, make adjustments now. There's nothing wrong with summer communications to rising Seniors. In fact, thousands of new students have been added to our database since you conducted your initial search - and they are looking for colleges that fit their academic goals.

Optimum development of your Admissions Funnel means you know that:

● Females are more responsive than males early in the recruitment cycle. So later, and perhaps repeated communication with males will benefit your ability to recruit them.
● There's not much difference between an A- student and a B+ student academically, but in the B+ population, you'll find more males and much greater racial diversity.
● According to ACT, more minority males test in the fall of their Senior year.
● Sophomores respond at a higher rate than Juniors and Juniors at a higher rate than Seniors.
● Finally, do an evaluation of your search list profile compared to your enrollment objectives. Look carefully at the gender balance, GPA requirements, geographic representation, and under represented populations (racial/ethnic, academic major, etc.) for volume. It's often said the "Devil" is in the detail, but truth is "Success" is in the detail!

2007 Results 2nd Largest State

2008 Results 2nd Largest State

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Visit your NRCCUA representative at one of these upcoming conferences!
Enrollment Consultant	Conference	Dates
Sharon Heatwole	Illinois ACAC	May 2 - 4
Dwayne Smith	Iowa ACAC	May 16 - 18
Mary Napier	Wisconsin ACAC	May 17 - 18
Tim Lawrence	New Jersey ACAC	May 21 - 22
Karen Myhre	Minnesota ACAC	May 22

NRCCUA is coming to a city near you! Be sure to attend one of our Regional Seminars!
Date	City and State	Enrollment Consultant
May 16	Kansas City, MO	Dwayne Smith and Mary Napier
May 18	Minneapolis, MN	Karen Myhre
May 22	Manchester, NH	Dave Flynn
May 23	Charlotte, NC	Randy Condit

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Successful Recruitment Strategies is an online publication of the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA), developed to aid colleges and universities in ongoing recruitment efforts.

Successful Recruitment Strategies is published monthly by NRCCUA's Marketing & Research Division, 3651 NE Ralph Powell Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64064.

Phone: (800) 577-2201 - Fax: (816) 525-9401

On the Web www.nrccua.org