How Iona University Increased Inquiries and Improved Yield With Parchment Recruit

Learn how Iona University improved their communication and outreach to prospective students through the implementation of Parchment Recruit.

The Challenge of Finding the “Right” Students

Like many institutions, Iona University is always on the lookout
for ways to improve the quality and volume of their inquiries from prospective students. As a Catholic university, it’s important to maximize interest and to communicate effectively with prospective students who express a desire to apply. Rosanne Cerniglia, Associate Director of Admissions Operations, highlights this by saying, “We are always looking for different ways to connect with prospective students. It’s important to us to have quality data and any tool that can help us communicate more effectively with potential applicants is always something we’ll be interested in.”

A common problem for Iona University was receiving transcripts from students who hadn’t yet applied. They understood that these students were interested, but had no means of communicating with them. In particular, they wanted a better process for connecting with transfer students who sent their transcripts. Rosanne said, “With transfer students, it’s important to us that we connect with them quickly because they want to know what credits are transferring and what their future could look like at Iona. A process that helps us understand where students are coming from helps us cater that communication and get an answer to them quickly.”

A Solution That Fits Existing Technology

In pursuing a solution, Iona University wanted something that would work well with their existing Admissions technology. They found what they were looking for in Parchment Recruit as it integrates seamlessly with Parchment Receive Premium and Slate. Rosanne explains the process by saying, “Our Parchment inquiries are successfully implemented with our Slate CRM instance. Parchment Recruit leads are uploaded to our CRM on a weekly basis. It’s not a burden on our technology staff whatsoever and implementation was quite smooth.”

Reaping the Benefits

The results of implementing Parchment Recruit have been significant. Rosanne says, “A key benefit of Parchment Recruit is that it expands our recruitment efforts geographically. The inquiries we receive from Parchment are from all over, expanding our typical recruitment beyond the tri-state NY area. Recruit gives us more insight into prospective students and allows us to continue to offer virtual event options, such as virtual interviews and online chats.”

And Parchment Recruit is the gift that keeps on giving, as the tool has offered more value each year since their initial launch in 2021. Rosanne explains the growth of the tool for Iona, “Since 2021, our volume of Parchment Recruit inquiries has increased over 30%. Parchment Recruit leads us to quality applicants; as a result, our applicant rate for Parchment inquiries has increased 25% since 2021. To be able to get the increased volume, with quality inquiries, that’s so vital to us in Admissions. Parchment Recruit has been a great solution for us.”

There’s always more to learn.