Recruiting Intelligence

Growth-minded institutions are taking a long, hard look at their approach to non-traditional students. 

This is part 4 in our 5-part blog series on reaching and enrolling non-traditional students. Here are links to part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Truth is, courting and supporting non-traditional students has been part of the mix for decades. Most institutions of higher learning have embraced this broad swath of students. For some, the non-traditional market segment was part of their original focus. We think of them as “born this way.” For others, they are demonstrating market adaptability. We call these institutions “transformed.”  

 Which type is your institution? 

 Both have strengths to embrace and challenges to overcome. 

This ebook provides a very comprehensive look at non-traditional students. Many adult learners think that they are too late, too old, and will not fit in. In reality, there are more non-traditional students than traditional pursuing their education. Marketing to this audience is challenging as they are often working full-time and may lack the confidence to go back to school. This book offers real strategies that we should all consider.  ~ Dr. Richard Carter, Associate Vice President for Global Engagement at University in South Alabama 

Read on to take a closer look at these two roads to an institutional identity that embraces non-traditional students. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses associated with each route, while also offering food for thought about your own path. 

If you’ve been following this series on non-traditional students, or paying attention to the shifting student landscape at all, then one thing’s clear: non-traditional students are a valuable growth market. And your competition knows it.

This is part 3 in our 5-part blog series on reaching and enrolling non-traditional students. Links to part 1 and part 2.

Yes, non-traditional students demand more than traditional students. They need flexible schedules, targeted certificates, different student service support, and a strong return on their investment. And institutions are (finally) responding. Is yours?

Five years ago, when we published “Quality. Cost. Convenience. How academic leaders are competing for today’s non-traditional students.” – an e-book available for free to Intead Plus members – there was a lot of speculation about MOOCs (massive open online courses). Would they eat into the non-traditional piece of the pie?

While it’s true that student interest in MOOCs soared during Covid, the actual threat they pose to degree programs is, well, not much.

I love the blend of data, environmental scans, case studies, and basic recommendations that are interwoven in each section. This ebook is excellent for institutions that seek to fine-tune their non-traditional services or begin the process of addressing their needs. It covers the many daunting challenges that universities face when focusing on this student segment. ~ Mary Marquez Bell, retired Vice President for Enrollment Services, SUNY Old Westbury

From what we’ve seen, MOOC students are mostly filling leisure time with these types of programs (rather than pausing other academic pursuits). Typically, MOOC students only engage in the coursework a few hours a week. They really aren’t reaping any financial gains from having taken these courses, either. And, in the end, most are pleasantly surprised they actually learned something. So that’s good – for the student and you!

The more urgent conversation has shifted to involve certificates and credentials, for-profit online colleges and universities, and extension programs. Read on for what you need to know.

For a while, there were fairly common rules. First you graduate high school around age 18. Then go to university. Four years later you graduate with a degree and an employable set of skills. Got it. 

But times have changed. And university tuitions don’t stop rising. And that’s exactly what’s happening right now. Traditional students are heading for the enrollment cliff making way for a more non-traditional set of students. And that means new rules.

Last week we started this 5-part blog series on reaching and enrolling non-traditional students. Find part 1 here.

Today’s students are vastly different from those of decades ago, but colleges are still structured as if 18- to 21-year-old, full-time students are in the majority. ~ The Lumina Foundation Report on Today’s Students

Let’s look at the basics. Typically, a traditional university student is:

• 18-24 years old
• Enrolled full time
• Lives on campus
• Financially dependent
  

Intead’s ebook is a timely resource appropriate for the seasoned administrator as well as educators just beginning to tackle the challenges of digital marketing today. Bringing together expert advice from experienced administrative colleagues and successful marketing strategies from work with Intead’s institutional partners, this book stimulates the reader to address the recruitment of non-traditional students from a holistic context that pays attention to student learning methods, delivery of academic content, academic success services, and other areas of student support non-traditional students need to achieve their goals. ~ Jon Stauff, Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at South Dakota State University

Per the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), of the 15+ million students enrolled at US Colleges and universities in 2021, nearly 65%  were between ages of 18 – 24. Of course, age only tells us so much. A student can be both 18 and non-traditional.

By NCES standards, a non-traditional student is someone who meets one or more of the following criteria :

• Outside the traditional 18-24 age range
• Financially independent
• Has one or more dependents
• Is a single parent or caregiver
• Does not have a high school diploma
• Delayed enrollment into postsecondary education
• Works full time
• Enrolled part-time

Other bodies of research define the term more broadly, also including students who are either married or are veterans.

And yes, we hear you. There’s more than a few of you who are bristling at our use of the term “non-traditional.” Truth is, traditionally “traditional” students are no longer the overwhelming majority. And that matters. Which is why understanding the growing and highly important non-traditional audience has become a priority for enrollment teams. In fact, it should be a priority across all of your departmental teams, from nutrition services, to housing, registrar, IT, and career services. (Please tell us that Academic Affairs, Student Services, Career Services and Development are considered a given.)

We can ditch the non-traditional label in due time.

You may see where this is going and why it is important to you as an enrollment professional. The demographic cliff has arrived and non-traditional students are one option for your institution’s continued success. Take a few minutes and we will help you clarify the path forward.

Read on to learn more about reaching specific non-traditional student market niches and the process of engaging them…

Meet Darlene. Her journey as a non-traditional student is one you need to know. Not because it’s unique. But because it no longer is.

Darlene’s dad was a full-time tractor trailer mechanic who stopped his education after high school to take over his father’s business. Her mom was a stay-at-home parent who did not pursue college. It was Darlene’s older sister who became the first in the family to obtain a postsecondary degree.

In high school Darlene was a good student. She even received a trustee scholarship to attend the same university her sister did, but she had her eye on another school. Still, mostly because her parents were footing the bill, she gave that college a try. It lasted a year. Despite her 3.5 GPA, she never did feel at home there. So, she paused her education and went to work. 

You may see where this is going and why it is important to you as an enrollment professional. The demographic cliff has arrived and non-traditional students are one option for your institution’s continued success. Take a few minutes and we will help you clarify the path forward.

Darlene started as a part-time teaching assistant before spending three years working at Walmart. Then Darlene found her way to an office associate position at Columbus State Community College where she thrived. It was there, while successfully holding down a full-time job, she finally returned to her academic pursuits and enrolled in a digital design and graphics program.

She worked full-time while fitting in courses at night, on weekends, and online. When she needed to take classes during weekdays, her department chair was willing to adjust her schedule. And it worked. She earned her associate degree and even got her tuition covered thanks to her school’s tuition reimbursement program.

But that’s not the end of Darlene’s student journey. In fact, a few years and one state later, a friend encouraged her to return to school, but Darlene wasn’t sure if it was the right time. After all, along with her associate degree, she now had a husband, a child, and a full-time job.

This must-read primer will help anyone looking to better position their institution within today’s complex and competitive recruitment landscape. Read this publication, share it with your colleagues and then apply its insights to your marketing strategy. Non-traditional is quickly becoming the new traditional. This is your guide to adapting to the new competitive environment. ~ David Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education at University of Maryland, Baltimore County

It took her all of one week to decide. She had heard from a friend who had heard from a friend that Western Governors University was a good program. So, she applied.

 “I was surprised more people haven’t heard of the university. It’s fully accredited and has a really good success rate as far as graduation and employment rates,” she said.

Beyond the word-of-mouth approval, Darlene chose WGU because the price was right and the program was highly flexible. It was online and offered a “competency unit” curriculum that allowed her to go at her own pace and take as many classes as she wanted for a flat rate. WGU also provided her with a supportive student mentor who connected with her weekly and served as an involved mentor. In a few years’ time, she earned her B.S. in Business—Human Resources Management.

It's a success story for sure, but is Darlene’s degree the end of her student journey? Time will tell, though she does offer a hint at her mindset: “I want to make sure that I can continue to grow professionally, both in terms of responsibility and salary.”

Are you taking notes?

Darlene’s story is one of perseverance and it’s one of practicality. It takes a whole lot of both to make postsecondary education a possibility for non-traditional students.

Understanding that matters a lot, especially as you seek to fill the void being left in your enrollment from the decline in traditional students. Read on for our take on what you should be doing now to engage with this key audience now…

Is it all about the enrollment numbers? Hitting “the number” is the driving force behind so much effort. So much pressure. A growing number of US universities now use education agents. And now, more universities are evaluating agent aggregators. Many have contracts in place with aggregators already and we hope those early adopters take a squinty-eyed, very close look at the results of those contracts.

How many applications? How many enrolled? And the quality of those students throughout the process. Are they succeeding academically?

If you are not familiar, check out our post and a recent (Dec 2022) lively ICEF panel discussion here. Hitting you in the face is a changing student landscape, the pressure to hit your enrollment number, and the agent aggregators who may be able to help, and quickly. Also in your face: the question of trust and integrity.

Some institutions have a hard enough time outsourcing their recruitment to individual agents, even those with third-party accreditation like AIRC. And beyond education agents who also use subagents, agent aggregators are farming out recruitment processes on a massive scale around the world using online platforms to scale the work rapidly. Questions arise as to how well any particular subagent is familiar with your institution, much less whether they are vetted for integrity.

Smart institutions want to know who’s representing their brand on their behalf. Fact: there’s just not enough transparency right now in this student recruitment system.

To be clear, we are in favor of agents. Human agents with whom you can connect directly, vet their talent, train, and guide. Intead has been a strategic partner to AIRC for more than a decade and our team fully supports ICEF’s efforts to bring enrollment leaders together with education agents from around the world. Both organizations push for clearly articulated best practices.

For more insights, check out our webinar with AIRC about the State of the Field. Our Intead Plus subscribers also have access to our ebook on University-Agent Partnership Trend Data and our Agent Management ebook all in our resource library available to all.

What we all know is that the system is less than perfect and students lose out when universities and agents are not doing their jobs with integrity.

Education agents, when brought into the fold as a partner, can be incredibly valuable. The key: partnerships, as in humans supporting other humans. 

Like any relationship, a meaningful partnership is built not bought. Is this even possible with the aggregator trend? Scale brings problems and when folks are lazy (and human beings tend to be), scale can bring disaster.

Look at the agent aggregator model from a simple business process point of view. If a company has 7,000 vetted partner sales offices, that company would need a robust credentialing team to monitor and control for quality. They would have a defined process for maintaining a certain quality of sales office staff hiring, training, work processes, and regular review of results delivered. Consider the level of effort hospitals go through to confirm the credentials and qualifications of their clinicians and physicians who have admitting privileges.

As you consider signing up with an agent aggregator, we highly recommend you ask tough questions about their staffing process, the vetting, and the monitoring. For institutions sharing their brand reputation with these outsource partners, it is buyer beware. Like super beware.

If you are not finding the quality control measures in place on the agent aggregator’s side, that means the quality control must be staffed on your side. Which then starts to beg the question: what are you paying for? Answer: the broad, global connection network. Keep in mind, that is something you can develop yourself in a way that is more targeted and more sustainable over the long term. Many institutions with thousands of international students started that process years ago and rely on their network today.

Not sure how to evaluate or where to start? Drop us a note.

Some of these aggregators are growing fast and coming on strong. They are shaking up the education market and making trusted agencies nervous. There are simply too many subagents operating in anonymity. Anonymity creates opportunities for questionable behavior (and we are being nice with our choice of words here).

 As we all broaden our scope to avoid the US domestic enrollment cliff and fold new target regions into our recruitment strategies, agents have an important role to play. Read on for 3 valuable tips on how to get the most out of this potentially beneficial partnership. Hint: it all comes back to developing trusting relationships with fellow, reliable humans.

Your summer intake is taking shape and your dreams of a solid fall enrollment are far less murky. At this point, the numbers are fabulous? Frustrating? Fictitious? Let’s go with that first one.

Data-informed actions, whether the data is good or bad, will always help you improve. Our team recently attended three incredible conferences—the AGB, ACE, and NAFSA—and let us tell you, they were like rocket fuel! We soaked it all up and shared the take aways with you. [Find our 2023 Conference Take Aways Here: AIEA, AGB, NAFSA].

Did you catch a glimpse of the perspectives we shared? With so much going on, many of our faithful readers missed a few important ideas here and there. From the fight over the non-traditional student to the data buffet problem, we left no stone unturned.

Not to worry. Scroll down and check out all the news from the previous quarter.

Oh, and one more thing before we dive in—if you are not there already, follow us on LinkedIn. You’ll see our insights as they break from day to day.

Read on.

Your prospective students spend nearly 6 hours a day on social media. Doubt their usage will dwindle anytime soon. The good news is you know where you can find your audience. It’s just that wrangling their preferred platforms can feel like a lot.

That’s why we look to social media management tools to help organize our many, many social campaigns. The OG being Hootsuite. A global platform for all platforms, helping you and your team manage accounts from a single dashboard. It’s a really great shepherd for your flock of content. What Hootsuite brings for large institutions ranges from:

1. Monitoring all social accounts
2. Scheduling posts in advance
3. Team Collaboration
4. Analyzing social media performance  
5. Targeted Ads
6. Campaigns 

This Hootsuite primer is a great read for the members of your team tasked with managing all the details. Be sure to pass it along. And do take a minute to check it out for yourself. It’s a quick, practical read. 

This is one of our "Getting Started With..." series to help your team make the most of the student enrollment tech tools out there. Share our glossary of these popular posts with your digital team. And... 

Read on.

Let’s start with this: our NAFSA 2023 slides are perhaps the most concise and clear educational tool we have produced to-date. When you have 3 strong speakers and just 50 minutes, you really need to focus if you want to get your point across.

Each slide represents far more content and conversations we would love to have with you. During one of our future conference sessions, webinars, or anytime, really, just reach out and let us know you want to chat.

Today we share our biggest takeaways from NAFSA 2023. These are thinking big opportunities.

We were honored to share the dais with Paulo Zagalo-Melo, SIO and Associate Provost at Western Michigan University and Karin Fischer, Senior Writer at Chronicle of Higher Education. Our focus: what kind of data and other information can truly inform our international student decision-making? And we considered the flip side: what information is TBU (True But Useless)?

A bit of foreshadowing: A focus for the Intead team going forward is going to be on international student employment and all we need to do as a community to make that process work better. You’ll see much more on that topic from us over the next year+. We have some amazing partners to help us get you the data and tools you need to improve your institutional approach. Watch this space.

You want answers about valuable vs. TBU data? Check out our NAFSA 2023 slide deck (download link at the bottom of this post.) Yes, we are making you work for it ; -)

Your enrollment team is furtively evaluating fast-track routes students can take to achieve career growth. How can we promote a new product that clearly has growing demand when its consumer adoption will reduce demand for our primary revenue source?

With rising tuition (a 30-year drumbeat on that one), and fewer traditional aged students in the pipeline, the pressure to produce new revenue is intense. Repackaging what you already produce in new, bite-size chunks makes so much sense to everyone, right?

Credentials in new formats is not new to the scene, but student adoption is growing in large part because employers have woken up to their value. The Intead team did research on graduate level certificates six years ago for one of our top 50 US institution clients and found global employers were still evaluating whether a certificate was as valuable as a full MBA. Employers were not familiar with the new credential and what it would deliver. In 2023, employers in a highly turbulent job market and in need of talent, have decided. Certificates and stackable credentials work just fine. Let’s GO!

And you are in a position to do something about it.

Data from a relatively recent RAND Corporation report Stackable Credential Pipelines, Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes gives us concrete evidence of value and the direction things are going.

In brief, RAND Corporation partnered with the Ohio Department of Higher Education to build a better understanding of how stackable credential pipelines have played a role in the education and training of individuals in Ohio, a state that has taken a leadership role in developing these types of initiatives. The report itself focuses on three fields: health care, manufacturing and engineering technology (MET), and information technology (IT). There’s a lot of good stuff to glean from the report. We were particularly keen on the ROI data (aka job growth). That is, after all, the name of the game for the vast majority of prospective students these days.

Your traditional revenue stream is taking a hit already. Demand for short-term credentials will continue to grow. If your institution does not develop strength in this educational opportunity, your competitors will (or already have).           

It’s time to align your internal team around this and convince those holding you back. Time is running out. Read on for 4 key takeaways on what the RAND Corporation report has to say about student ROI tied to shorter-term stackable credentials. (You’ll especially appreciate takeaway number 3!!!)    

The enrollment cliff has everyone a little on edge. People are burned out and frustrated. Leadership is looking for bigger gains in shorter time frames. And traditional students just aren’t showing up in ways they traditionally have.

It’s so clear that higher ed is at an inflection point. Thank the pandemic. Thank technology. The economy and unpredictable job market. The changing student landscape. What you need now more than anything is support. Ideally in the form of a soothsayer to tell you where and how to invest your time, energy, and resources. If only.

Our advice: take a deep breath and read this post.

While soothsayer we may not be, we do have some perspective on what lies ahead. And our record for predicting changes in the market has proven accurate for more than a decade. Long before the recommendations below became standard practice in enrollment management (they all sound so obvious now, right?), we advised colleagues to:

• Make better use of your CRM (or get one if you don’t have one), and embrace the add on features and API connections that improve tracking and results.
• Identify staff with the skills you need for each function of the enrollment process. Your creatives are not your meet and greeters and they are not your data analysts. You need all of these skills.
• Develop your international alumni as global ambassadors. (Most of you are still not doing this).
• Find reputable commission-based recruiting agents in your target countries and invest time in managing them very carefully.
• Train your domestic recruitment team in the nuances and needs of international students already studying in the US so they know how to address the important topics (visas, parental concerns, economic realities, etc.)

We know, it’s all old hat now. But a decade ago, very new to international enrollment management teams.

Today we are facing some pretty significant headwinds. Post-pandemic changes to how students evaluate universities. Growing financial pressures facing families. Increasing importance of careers and the ROI of your degrees. Heightened interest in certificates and shorter paths to career growth. Political divisiveness harkening back to the US civil unrest of the 1960s (or 1860s?). Are you factoring social justice including climate activism into your marketing plans?

These factors are all part of the student and parent mindset as they evaluate investments in university level education. The pool of nontraditional students is much larger and more diverse than the shrinking traditional student pool. And yet, the international student pool is one that is growing and projected to grow dramatically in the coming years.

If you’re ignoring any of these market segments, we strongly advise you don’t. Our analysis of and predictions about what influences student decision making, the tools and processes you need in place to be both efficient and effective, this counsel has been spot on for a very long time (our blog records act as our receipts).

You’re in the right place. Read on to be sure you are able to anticipate what is next and what to do about it.