Engaging students before admission is an excellent way to build engagement with them and their university or college. In this post, we’ll discuss the five best strategies that help educational institutions engage their students using our newly developed application, SIVIO. Moreover, we will also be discussing the benefits of early admission and how to engage students for early admission. So, let’s get started.
Five best strategies to engage students in the pre-enrollment process
1. Omni-channel and a mobile-first approach –
The term “omni-channel” refers to a multi-channel strategy that helps build stronger relationships with prospective students. For instance, a potential student could click on your Instagram ad after seeing it to learn more. Another possibility would be that a student learns about your college from their friends. He called your administration to inquire about the course. In all cases, you must interact with the lead and assist him through the enrollment process.
An omni-channel strategy would come into play in this picture. Nearly all channels are included in omni-channel, which includes using website forms, PPC ads, education fairs, walk-ins, and email-to-phone inquiries.
Many colleges are considering using a mobile-first approach to have direct communication with prospects. Smartphone use among teenagers is around 84%. Students who frequently use mobile devices to look into colleges and courses. Engaging with students who are active on social media platforms shows that you are on trend. One such example is Boston University, which has started a social media campaign with the hashtag #AdmissionTips on Instagram to connect with students.
Their follow-up campaign tells the stories of candidates who have been accepted and reasons why other students should do the same.
The key takeaway is that having a compelling narrative works best when you are prepared to engage with the applicants. Our SIVIO features could be a great help for you to handle every piece of information about prospective and current applicants within a single platform.
2. Segregating and prioritizing inquiries –
One of the key factors for boosting enrollments is speed-to-lead. A minute after a student submits an inquiry, get in touch with them to increase conversion. If you act immediately in this situation, you can quickly turn a lead into an enrolled student.
It is not a good strategy to respond to every inquiry you get. It’s because a strong applicant could be lost if a response is delayed. Segregating and prioritizing inquiries are helpful in these situations.
However, prospective students may not always be reachable by phone. In such a scenario, the enrollment CRM can send out emails to students and follow-up reminders to the admission team.
Enrollment management platforms like ours can help you track your communications with students. With our app, SIVIO, you can separate and prioritize the candidate profiles based on your data.
3. Student-to-admission representative interactions –
You can perform more interactions if you find a suitable candidate. For example, before making any decisions, students usually want to visit campus to get an overview of their chosen college or university.
Online counseling, live chats, and virtual campus tours are some useful alternatives to on-campus activities for productive student engagement.
4. Portals for self-service applications –
Since many educational organizations have set up self-serve application sites, digitally submitting applications is rapidly becoming common. Students can submit the necessary information and documents here. Using self-serve application portals has two benefits.
The first benefit is that students can submit the form online without having to visit the campus location. The second benefit is that institutions don’t have to invest in tools for making student entries. These portals are usually a part of enrollment management systems.
5. Discussions, approval, and enrollment for financial aid –
An integral part of admission is the discussion about financial aid. Ignoring this could reduce the interest of students in the institution. For example, based on the trade, career education tuition could be costly to bear for students. Therefore, most of them would need to apply for financial assistance. The three different kinds of financial aid are given below –
- Government-funded grants: These grants don’t require the students to pay it back to the government
- Scholarships: These scholarships are given to students who have secured good grades
- Private and government loans: This kind of financial aid can be paid after students graduate and get placed in the institution
Enrollment platforms like ours can also help schedule meetings. You can arrange a meeting between an institution’s financial team and students or parents to discuss the availability of financial aid. SIVIO CRM allows you to identify the moment in a candidate’s enrollment process where they left off.
Benefits of early admission
Each year, more students apply for early admission. This is particularly true for students who are applying to top institutions. The benefits of seeking early admission are given in the following points:
- Filling out an early application can be of great advantage to you as it showcases your strong and sincere interest in the college.
- It reduces the stress of applying for admission to several institutions, including the unavoidable backup institutions where your true interest could be minimal
- You won’t have to spend as much time on college admissions, which allows you to focus on activities during your final year of high school
- if you are rejected for early admissions, you can still apply to the same college for the regular spring application cycle
- If you are refused admission, you can still have enough time to apply to other colleges or universities
- Before the mid-winter application deadline when everyone else is applying, you can acquire teacher recommendations and education transcripts
How do we engage students for early admission?
Some incredible ways can help educational institutions engage students for early admission.
- Participate in high school events: Events that are held at high schools are more often excellent opportunities to interact with students. This might include college fairs, career fairs, and other gatherings for students and educators
- Host virtual events: With the popularity of remote work and online learning, conducting virtual events is a great way to connect with students from all across the world. Webinars, online open houses, and virtual campus tours can be conducted
- Use social media to connect with students: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all amazing social media channels to connect with students. You can interact with students through comments and direct messages, share information about your institution, respond to queries, and share news and updates
- Offer early college programs: You can provide high school students with early college opportunities like online courses, summer programs, and dual enrollment. This can give students a taste of college life and aid in their decision-making over their academic interests
Conclusion
If you want to learn more about how the SIVIO CRM app can help you engage students, streamline the admissions process, and request an early admission within a single platform, connect with our team of CRM consultants to see a demo of our SIVIO app.