Asbury University Case Study
Student Search Redefined
The Challenge
Asbury University, a private Christian institution, needed an integrated enrollment marketing partner to support its goals for growth and market differentiation. Previous Student Search strategies had failed to demonstrate the yield results and return on investment the University needed.
The Strategy
Carnegie’s partnership started with consensus-building brand strategy to build an understanding of the University’s core differentiators and how to express them. Carnegie has since partnered with Asbury for a variety of integrated solutions, including Audience Segmentation (Darts), Creative and Multimedia development, Digital Marketing, and more. Carnegie integrated Asbury’s personality and Darts into Slate and executed an in-house segmented Student Search across sophomore, junior, and senior audiences. The Slate Optimization partnership also included communication planning, name buy consultation, report building, and campaign monitoring. In the following cycle, the financial aid optimization team designed an individualized approach to financial aid allocation that aimed to substantially reduce the level of tuition discounting, provided ongoing projections and enrollment analytics, and made mid-cycle adjustments to the aid strategy to ensure Asbury met their headcount, net tuition revenue, and student profile goals.
The Results.
Asbury has experienced several indications of the positive impact of a Carnegie partnership. Enrollment leadership noted improved melt and yield rates, increased use and utility of their CRM investment, and consistency in brand expression across campus during the 2022 cycle. Carnegie-generated Student Search inquiries yielded at a rate of 33.5% (versus 30.4% the previous year). Asbury has also seen increases in campus visits, applications, and admitted students during the partnership.
33.5%
Yield rate on Carnegie-generated student search inquiries Fall 2022
1%
Decrease in Melt rate for Fall 2022
2%
Increase in Yield rate for Fall 2022
2023 Optimization
Optimizations for the 2023 cycle included individualized financial aid strategy which helped Asbury to achieve an aggressive goal of 25% growth in first year net tuition revenue, reducing the tuition discount rate by 1 point in the process (September 2023 data). Asbury also saw a 20% year over year increase in first year net deposits in fall of 2023. The Class of 2027 also boasts the highest average high school GPA in recent years and shows a 5% increase in representation from students residing in border states. As Asbury seeks to continue to build classes of best-fit prospective students and achieve its goals for awareness and enrollment growth regionally and beyond, Carnegie is proud to serve as the University’s partner.
20%
YOY Increase in FY Net Deposits Fall 2023
25%
Increase in FY Net Tuition Revenue Fall 2023
1 pt
YOY Decrease in Tuition Discount Fall 2023
Integrated Solutions.
Carnegie has partnered with Asbury for a variety of integrated solutions, including Audience Segmentation (Darts), Creative and Multimedia, Digital Marketing, and more.
“In-house Student Search through Carnegie has given us a tool to meet students where they are in the ways they want to be communicated with. We’re able to connect with students who understand our message and who yield at a much higher return.” Jennifer McChord
Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing
Asbury University
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