A 4-part blog series: 4 Reasons to Consider Targeted Recruitment Methods – Part 3: Helping Students Complete Their Applications After COVID-19
Higher education institutions have spent decades using generic list buys to reach potential students and encourage them to apply to one of their programs. Today, schools have the ability to spend less time casting such a wide net to individuals who may not take the bait and instead personalize their messages to prospective students.
Targeted recruitment methods — or a set of predetermined plans of action to attract the ideal learner and get them to apply to your school — can be a simple option for increasing student conversion rates. One key way to do this is by helping students complete their applications when they show initial interest in your school.
Make your application user-friendly and offer assistance
If students are entering the college admissions season for the first time, they may have a difficult time filling out the application on their own. Make your application as straightforward and user-friendly as possible. You can even go as far as offering assistance to students who request a helping hand; providing resources on your website or a phone number for students to call with questions can spearhead the application process.
Help applicants get their transcripts submitted
Did you know you can order transcripts for students that have applied? RAIR (Receive Admin Initiated Requests) is a capability within Parchment Receive that allows you to request a transcript on behalf of a student to help complete their application. How does it work? It’s simple. You just need the name of the school that is sending the student’s transcript and the student’s info (name and birthdate). You pay for the transcript and the request is then completed in the high school’s Parchment account. The transcript ends up in your Receive inbox and you can continue processing the student’s application. This is an easy way to help improve application completions for students who may not have the resources to do so.
“The service has helped [Grand Canyon Education] out tremendously! This is a wonderful service for our students as they do not have to do anything to get their previous transcript and they can focus on starting college. We receive transcripts quickly which helps us get the student’s files matriculated and completed in a timely manner.”
– Oscar Ojeda, Director, Student Intake Operations, Grand Canyon Education
Already have a Parchment Receive account? Follow these steps to order transcripts on behalf of applicants!
Send reminders
Once a student sends transcripts and requests an application, encourage them to finish it by a specific deadline. Send email reminders on a regular basis, as it shows your eagerness and excitement for the student’s interest in your institution.
Connect students with scholarship opportunities
Research by the Pell Institute found that only 9% of low-income students get a college degree by the age of 24, in comparison to 73% of higher-income students. Getting in front of this problem during the application process could keep students from feeling discouraged about enrolling because they don’t have the funds to pay for tuition.
Once you’ve collected data from students showing interest in your program offerings, send over information on available scholarships. This could help students pay fees needed to apply and get them to complete their application altogether.
Targeted recruitment methods offer a different approach to reaching students that show interest in your school. Making it easier for students to complete their applications is an effective way to take advantage of this method, especially when they’ve given you permission to contact them. Collecting data during transcript retrieval gives you the opportunity to cater your message specifically to every student who has made it clear that they’re interested in one of your programs.
At Parchment, we can help you reach your enrollment goals and make it easier for interested students to take steps in their educational journey at your institution. Parchment Recruit is designed to provide access to real-time student data so you can make the most strategic decisions to better nurture relationships with feeder schools and connect directly with students who have proven their academic excellence.
Are you ready to learn more? Contact us directly today at https://www.parchment.com/start-the-conversation/.
