Rethinking Admissions To Increase Enrollment

In a high-level presentation to VPs of Marketing & Admissions, Rob Westervelt, formerly of George Fox University, presented the challenges GFU faced and the 7 Success Principles they applied to successfully grow admissions by 37% in a single year and enroll three consecutive record Freshman classes despite lower inquiry and application rates.

Mitigating Summer Melt is a problem not for the fainthearted. According to research, the percentage of prospective students who melt away—do not enroll after completing an application and making a deposit—may be as high as 40% for some higher educational institutions. So what are the solutions? 

As a leader, you've probably learned what we tell our clients: “Putting a process in place, IS a process.” It takes persistence, patience, and perseverance to put them in place—and keep them in place. With the advent of agile project management principles, leaders have embraced the principle that continuous improvement is more successful than drastic overhauls, and small iterations can be deeply transformative.

That's a long title, but here's our case for certifying sales professionals:

First, certification​ implies that a level of performance or competency has been attained. A certified sales professional has been observed and measured while performing acknowledged best practices and processes for his/her industry and target market(s). Anyone who has been in sales for any length of time knows that selling software as a service (SaaS) is radically different than selling pharmaceuticals or copiers or whatever.

>> We believe it's time to certify sales teams to ensure the outcome.

Due to the buzz surrounding the phrase "Sales Enablement" you might think it's new. Sales enablement is not so much a new concept as it is a reference to a strategy with a renewed focus on the inclusion of all the resources a sales team needs to be successful.

The​ surest way for an organization to increase and sustain revenues is to attract, recruit, and retain the best talent (People) that can conceive and create the right sales and marketing strategies (Promotion). Once the strategies are in place, create processes and equip team(s) to execute them (Process). Once all these are in place and operating successfully, the right culture (Presence) must exist to keep it all together.

Hiring the right admissions counselor can be daunting, particularly because of the turnover most enrollment team leaders have experienced. It’s a complex puzzle with a multitude of factors that need to be considered. Do they meet all your criteria? Will they fit in with the current team?

5 Characteristics of an Effective Admissions Counselor

The one constant in the enrollment process is change. Admissions processes have always been in flux and complicated because these teams assist prospective students, who are always evolving. All Enrollment Team leaders are familiar with the difficulty of building—and rebuilding—strong enrollment teams.

In a recent blog post, we shared how colleges and universities can stand out from the noise by saying less but meaning more by articulating their differentiators. In this blog, we build on that by looking at the differences between value propositions, messaging, and positioning—and how they translate into results.

Higher education is a sector where differentiation is paramount because the result for students is typically the same: to receive accredited recognition for their academic fulfillment. So, how does a university demonstrate to prospective students that their institution is unique from the rest and ensure the university brand isn’t lost in the sea of options?