Category: Article Archives

R. Kent Dussair President CDS Market Research When choosing a college, price and reputation are not the only student and parent considerations. Comfort level, location, size, diversity, academics, campus life, athletics, extracurricular activities, facilities and technology resources are also factors. When considering campus life, student housing along with eating arrangements and the social environment have to be weighed. Housing is an ?important component of attracting qualified students to a college and should be regarded as a tool for recruiting students at all levels, including undergraduate, graduate, international, exchange and transfer. Student housing provides safe, secure and stimulating environments that are […]

Kathy Allie Production Manager Premier Collegiate Communications Two new mailing requirements recently instituted by the United State Postal Service have the potential for dramatically increasing postage expenses. First, the postal service has tightened address placement requirements for flatsized pieces. For most Admissions offices, these include viewbooks as well as other types of catalogs and brochures.

Michael A. O’Grady Vice President of Sales Oventure Technologies I remember about 17 years ago, I was attending a university-wide ?town-hall? meeting at a large state university where I was working in financial aid and admissions. All faculty, staff and administrators of all levels were required to attend. As usual the president held forth and gave accolades to those aspects of the university he thought were going well, and forcefully admonished those he believed weren?t. The routine was always the same. The president would welcome questions after the admonishment and there would be the usual dead silence. And just as […]

Bill Smith President Think Ahead, LLC Web-based financial aid calculators have been available for several years, and many colleges have incorporated them into their outreach and marketing programs. Other colleges have avoided them, fearing that the posting of a financial aid calculator will open a Pandora?s Box. Aid officers sometimes fear calculators will create questions for users, resulting in increased call volume to explain calculator results. Others are concerned they?ll bind their hands, creating the expectation of an unofficial commitment to prospective students. And some worry that their aid packages will appear meager when exposed via a calculator.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. ? Ensure that faculty take attendance every day and establish a mechanism to report students who do not attend class. ? Test or quiz within the first ten days of class for all courses enrolling new students, especially freshmen. ? Package currently enrolled students as soon as they apply for financial aid. Do not wait until the end of the Spring term.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The United States is facing one of the most significant economic downturns in recent history. It is too early to tell how much worse it is going to get, but at a minimum it is likely that most families are very concerned about the national economy and their own financial situations. Uncertainty will create immediate challenges for colleges and universities. The current economic situation may impact college and university retention rates this term. Institutional leaders would be well-served to consider addressing possible attrition issues in the next couple of months.

April Clark CAS CAS is a full service direct marketing service bureau that handles all data processing services from direct mail to telemarketing to email marketing. Direct mail services include list acquisition, list hygiene, database enhancement, letter shop services, data entry and database building. Telemarketing data processing includes adding telephone numbers to databases and lists, scrubbing lists for ?do not call? flagging, eliminating deceased people from databases and other related services. Email marketing services include providing email prospect lists and broadcasting, appending/adding email addresses to databases, ECOA to update email addresses and handling the broadcast of email messages to your […]

Marcia Nance President InterimWin, Inc. Does anyone else identify an eerie similarity between higher ed enrollment VPs and NFL head coaches? It seems like the same NFL head coaches simply rotate among teams. Not unlike head coaches in the NFL, the same group of enrollment VPs in higher ed seem to rotate among colleges and universities. It is next to impossible for an individual who has not been a head coach or VP to break into the ranks of either of these exclusive clubs. If someone is willing to take a chance on the unproven head coach as was evidenced […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Everyone says they understand the importance of financial aid in the enrollment management process. As the costs of higher education continue to climb, most pay at least lip service to the vital role of financial aid. Unfortunately, many speak of it but few have really examined their own aid policies and procedures to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of current and prospective students and their families. ? Have your current paper requirements been seriously evaluated to eliminate all necessary forms? If you require more than the FAFSA for students […]