Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Recruiting & Retention Technology
Gaining Acceptance
9/1/2007
The power of the web has changed the way
higher education institutions handle recruitment,
admissions, enrollment, and retention. Find
your next yield bump here.
Back in the 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president and the internet was still a novelty, college recruitment was remarkably low-tech. Most prospective students visited high school guidance offices, wrote away for information about schools, attended college fairs, and visited campuses they were considering. Most admissions and recruiting activities were paper-based; student requests came in on letterhead and colleges replied with printed catalogs that cost a bundle to produce and mail.
Not surprisingly, with the rise of the internet, many if not most colleges and universities have digitized the recruitment process, and also are employing a vast array of technologies (see “Going Mobile”) to manage processes such as admissions, enrollment, and retention. Administrators may still utilize spreadsheets, but they are no longer dependent upon them; they are now happily exploiting the era of web-based student information systems, custom direct marketing projects, online scheduling software, and data-mining and analytics initiatives. The change is perhaps the best news for trees—nowadays, just about the only thing missing from these processes is paper.
Webifying Operations
The most universally welcomed advances in the world of recruitment, admissions, enrollment, and retention technologies are web-based student information systems, although they are not necessarily the latest developments: Dozens of magazines (including this one) routinely report on software packages like Blackboard, Datatel, Campus Management, and more. At the University of Mississippi, for instance, officials have relied on SAP Student Lifecycle Management since 2003 to manage interactions from the moment a student is interested in Ole Miss, to the moment he or she graduates. The system enables students to complete almost every step of the student lifecycle through web-based interfaces. Specifically, they can apply for admission, register for classes, check grades, and make payments. Transfer students also can use the system to electronically switch records from their previous institutions to the new one. According to CIO Kathy Gates, the technology has streamlined processes so dramatically that student enrollment has increased in excess of 15 percent since ’03. The next phase for the university: degree audit, so students can see what classes they need to finish their degrees.
Recommended Reading
- Where the Risks Are
Knowing what to spend on data protection and where to focus the effort isn't easy. Security assessments help eliminate the guesswork by identifying where your most critical risks lurk.
- Technology Forever
Who says classroom learning has to culminate with a formal degree? Tech-enabled lifelong learning programs are utilizing videoconferencing, vodcasting, and more to reach out to the 50-plus nontraditional student.
- They Say They Want A Revolution
As sustainability efforts ramp up on campuses, educators share eco-friendly dorm practices-- the ideal way to educate students about environmental issues.
- Getting More out of Mobile
Sure, cellular and handheld devices are quintessential communication tools, but savvy institutions are getting extra bang for their mobile tech bucks.
- It's Bandwagon Time
Colleges and universities worldwide are turning to the hosted SaaS model and saying goodbye to issues like patch management and server optimization.
- Waiting It Out
Have you given up trying to bring faculty into the world of emerging technology for teaching and learning?
