Service Line: Enrollment Strategy

Technology has changed our enrollment and marketing landscape. The channels where we operate in order to engage with students have multiplied, and the task of keeping those channels up-to-date with relevant content can be overwhelming.

We recently hosted a webinar called It’s Time to Redefine and Redesign Student Search, where we made the case for a new model of Student Search—one that’s market-minded and student-centric. We got so many great questions that we didn’t have time to answer live, so we’re delivering those answers now.

Student Search is a marketing effort traditionally associated with undergraduate recruitment, but with major demographic changes upon us, we’re focusing our attention on non-traditional audiences. I propose we consider shifting our strategies too—specifically Student Search for graduate recruitment.

In 2018, I attended a higher education marketing conference where one idea in particular captured my attention: authentic voice. At the time, I was a Director of Graduate Programs—35+ master’s, doctoral, and post-bachelor’s programs, to be more specific.

Student Search, as Carnegie is redefining it, is building a cross-channel, personalized, and responsive communications plan that ultimately is more about the prospective student than it is about the school.

Student Search, as Carnegie is redefining it, is building a cross-channel, personalized, and responsive communications plan that ultimately is more about the prospective student than it is about the school.

Unfulfilled aspirations for website personalization are nothing new in higher education. For years, website projects have broached the topic of personalization during the planning stages only to encounter one of many barriers to implementation. How much content is needed to drive personalization? What technology is required? What does success look like?

It’s spring semester, which means more acceptances and award notifications, automated communications, and sleepless nights—because we all know mistakes happen. Every season. Higher ed Admissions directors and Enrollment Management VPs across the country likely found themselves waking up in a cold sweat last week.

Let’s face it: we live in a personalized world. Facebook ads appear for products you’ve Googled, Netflix recommends shows based on past viewing.

As students started online classes during the pandemic, many for the first time, there was often an underlying question: Are they actually paying attention?