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Combating the Cost of Enrolment No-Shows to Colleges

No clearing, no clarity 

Colleges rely on ‘bums on seats’ for 11% of income, to meet targets and as a benchmark for success. This makes student recruitment crucial – but the student recruitment and marketing process shouldn’t end once the student has RSVP’d. Even after their place is confirmed students can still be a no-show, and colleges are left to foot the bill that comes with running a course  below capacity levels.

So what can be done to limit the impact this has on your college?

 

  • Understand the market – personalise communications

 

Colleges currently are educating and training more than 2.7m people either full-time or part-time, but the demographic interested in each college and each course will be unique.

What students look for from a college is very different from what might be considered when choosing a school or university.

As just one example, the average distance between home postcode and learning location for college students is 17 miles, while for university students it’s 52 miles. Learning about your demographic and sending them the relevant information could help boost both enrolment and retention rates.

 

  • Continue to market after enrolment

 

If you have been running successful, personalised marketing campaigns to recruit students, don’t stop there. Empty and half-empty classes impact on the reputation of the course and college, so you want to be sure your signed-on students will be with you come September. This is why it’s important to keep communication with your students while they are in ‘limbo’ between confirmation and Day 1 at your institution – ease them into their start date.

 

Working example

If you know a group of your enrolled students are due to start a business management course in September, but they are located 30-50 miles away, you could send each of this group a personalised communication with route options for them to travel to class along with information about their course and branded items. This might put concerns over travel at rest as well as provide relevant information to make them feel prepared for the course. Branded items will also make them feel committed and part of the college community.

 

  • Engage with students’ post-start date

Students are local ambassadors for your college, and as such, should be marketed to. throughout their time at your institution (and beyond!).

Generation Z are more likely to recommend your college than any generation before – making word of mouth an important marketing tool to consider.

By communicating regularly with your students across channels you can build the affinity they have with your college and become more likely to move from a consumer of your services to an ambassador for them.

 

At AlphaGraphics, we specialise in helping FE institutions deliver data-driven, automated marketing campaigns. To find out more, visit: https://education.alphagraphics.co.uk/about-us/