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EducationDynamics Releases Most Comprehensive Research on Prospective Students for Online Higher Education
2,000 Respondents Reveal Their Secret Likes and Dislikes in the Enrollment Process
| Source: EducationDynamics
HOBOKEN, NJ--(Marketwire - March 5, 2009) - EducationDynamics today released the findings
of a recent survey of nearly 2,000 prospective students who visited and
inquired with one or more schools on its flagship web properties, eLearners.com and EarnMyDegree.com. The survey was
focused on their perceptions on the positive and negative aspects of the
post-inquiry enrollment process. In what may come as a surprise to
traditional higher education institutions, the survey indicated that speed
of contact and method of communication matter most.
"With no geographic boundaries to consider, competition for online students
is intense. When a prospect conducts research and decides to interact
directly with a school, he or she expects a rapid, and personalized
response," says Andrew Gansler, president of the Prospecting
Services Division of EducationDynamics.
Demonstrative of the competitive nature of the industry, nearly 65 percent
of those inquiring about online education requested information from three
or more institutions, while only seven percent of inquirers requested
information from one school. The good news is that of the 2,000
respondents, 89 percent indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied
with the entire school selection process. There is always room for
improvement, however.
Speed
In the technology enriched world of enrollment
management, speed of contact has been heralded as a cornerstone of
successful student conversion. For-profit schools seem to be performing
well on that front. In fact, more than 65 percent of respondents were
contacted within 24 hours of their initial request for information. In
addition, students concur that speed is an important element of the
enrollment process with nearly half of respondents indicating that the
response speed of the schools impacted their final decision to enroll.
However, it is worth noting that 60 percent of the respondents did not
select the school that contacted them first.
"Responding quickly is important, but that by itself is not sufficient,"
continues Gansler. "A school has to engage the student, and explain to them
how their particular offering addresses the prospect's needs and concerns."
Method
When asked their preferred method of communication respondents gave greater
preference to email followed by phone, out-ranking regular mail by a
significant margin. Interestingly, respondents indicated that the form of
communication they most used with their prospective school was email,
followed by phone.
"The findings tell us that many prospects like to step into the 'shallow
water' first, preferring to communicate by email during the early stage.
But eventually, human interaction is a key ingredient to success in the
enrollment process," says Gansler.
In fact, students in the survey revealed that the most useful
school-sponsored activity in their decision making process was enrollment
counselors. The respondents gave high ratings to these interactions, often
commenting that while the enrollment counselors were often assertive, they
were also honest, caring and knowledgeable. In fact, it was the influence
of enrollment counselors that participants ranked them as the single most
influential factor in their school selection; this was followed by
interactions with the school's website, discussions with faculty, printed
literature and current student opinions.
Other useful school-sponsored activities topping prospective students' wish
lists were school website-related activities, such as online course demos,
blogs and forums, and webinars. However, schools are cautioned to use these
methods as a way to supplement a more comprehensive recruitment process and
not as a substitute for direct human interaction.
"At the end of the day, it's a selling process. Some schools are reluctant
to embrace the concept of selling," concluded Gansler. "But if they don't,
another school will, and in the online world, that school may be down the
street or on the other side of the country."
The EducationDynamics
"Prospective Student Enrollment Process Research" was conducted in November
2008 with nearly 2,000 respondents. Of those responding, 32 percent were
studying at the associate's level, 37 percent at bachelor's, seven percent
at master's and 23 percent at the doctorate level. Sixty-two percent were
male with nearly 75 percent falling between the ages of 26 and 59.
About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is the leading
marketing and information services company dedicated to helping higher
education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Its content-rich
and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com,
eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com and its more than 50
special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of
qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition,
the company offers a full suite of Web-delivered services proven to drive
enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. For more information, visit
http://www.educationdynamics.com.