Enrollment

New Tool Provides Prospective Students Personalized ROI Estimates for Specific Degree Programs

• By Rhea Kelly
• 03/18/21

Seattle-based startup AstrumU has introduced a new Enrollment Marketing Toolkit that uses machine learning to estimate the return on investment for the degrees, majors and courses being considered by prospective students. At the front end of the enrollment process, it provides students with a personalized career map quantifying the value of their educational experience.

Using the toolkit, "institutions can easily integrate insights on career outcomes into their existing enrollment efforts, increasing the effectiveness of student-facing outreach, marketing and communication," according to the company. Prospective students can simulate how a particular program could help them increase their salary, switch career paths or gain in-demand skills.

"At a time when so many students and families are facing significant financial and economic hardship, colleges and universities have an imperative to not only focus on the affordability of the degree, but to provide clear and actionable information — early in the application process — on how each academic experience translates into an economic opportunity," said Kacie Jones, associate director of admissions and recruitment for online programs at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign's Gies College of Business, one of nine U.S. graduate business programs currently piloting the toolkit. "With AstrumU, we have the data to show prospective students how our programs can help them get where they want to go at a more personalized, granular level than traditional employment reports. With a clear path to their career goal, prospective students can apply with confidence."

For more information, visit the AstrumU site.