Enrollment Management

Cal State University Taps Tech to Boost Enrollment

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 11/15/18

In an effort to lift recruitment and enrollment efforts, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is expanding its relationship with enrollment marketing provider Liaison International.

The campus currently has 14,700 students enrolled in its bachelor and master programs. In 2013, the latest year in which data was publicly available, the university reported that 31,361 people had applied; 19,675 were admitted; and 5,763 enrolled.

"The CSUDH story resonates with our prospective students, but we've struggled to reach our target audience with this message," said Christina Rios, interim associate vice president for enrollment management at the institution, in a statement. She added that the use of Liaison's technology and its "dedicated higher education marketing team" will help the campus "strategize, develop and implement high-touch campaigns that get our story out there."

CSUDH has been working with Liaison since the entire California State University system of 23 universities partnered with the company in 2016. That was when the system launched Cal State Apply, a centralized admissions management service now used by all of its campuses to manage 1,000,000 applications annually. Liaison provides help services behind the scenes for CSU applicants.

Now, CSUDH will be the first CSU campus to begin using Liaison's Enrollment Marketing Platform (EMP). This cloud-based application is intended to help universities boost their enrollment. Admissions officers use the system to deliver personalized communications to prospective students through multiple channels, including digital and print. According to the company, the software helps users identify and engage top prospects and better manage recruitment campaigns.

Specifically, the California institution will use EMP in campaigns designed to hook applicants, send acceptance communications and enroll new students. For example, the campus will develop an eight-page "variable acceptance packet" that will go to every admitted student. "We want to not only improve yield, but we're also looking to foster a sense of community long before new [students] step foot on campus," said Rios.