Today’s parents are highly involved in their student’s college search

From scheduling campus visits to discussing financial options to ultimately selecting which institution is the best fit for their student, parents can be very influential in enrollment outcomes. That level of parental influence has only been amplified in the face of a global pandemic. 

Last year, CampusESP released a new module that has helped more than 15 institutions focus parent involvement on student enrollment. At the end of our first enrollment cycle in September 2020, we dug into the results with two of our early partners, Angelo State University and The University of New Orleans (UNO).

The early results were overwhelmingly positive, especially at the top of the funnel. We saw that parents of inquiries opened over 2x more admissions-related emails than their student. And that heightened level of engagement certainly made a difference: Students with a parent using CampusESP were nearly 3x more likely to convert from inquiry to applicant.

This year in particular, institutions will be searching for a life raft. First-year and international enrollment have dropped over 10%, competition continues to grow for a shrinking pool of students, and the downstream impact of the net tuition revenue loss will sting for years ahead. Institutions need to get creative about how to pull in more students. Engaging parents at the top of the funnel can help reach college enrollment goals . 

Prospective parents are more engaged than prospective students… Especially at the top of the funnel

At UNO, the average email open rate for prospective parents was 63%. To put it in perspective, that’s 42% higher than the average email open rate for prospective students. 

We did an analysis of email engagement throughout UNO’s enrollment funnel. Unsurprisingly parent email open rates exceeded students open rates across the board. However, the point at which parent engagement most exceeded student engagement was the inquiry stage. Parent inquiries opened 2.7x as many emails as their student.

UNO seized the opportunity to get in front of a highly engaged and influential audience. Throughout the 2020 enrollment cycle, UNO sent parent inquiries regular email updates through CampusESP about the following topics:

• Opportunities to visit campus and attend admissions events

• Upcoming priority application deadlines

• Reminders to complete the FAFSA

• Fall 2020 reopening plans and other COVID-19 updates

Of course, UNO also sent these types of messages to prospective students. However, by duplicating their marketing efforts with an audience twice as receptive, they increased their likelihood of generating more campus visits, pulling in more applicants, and building a multifaceted relationship with their institution.

Students with engaged parents are more likely to apply

It’s one thing to know that parents are a receptive audience, but it’s another to prove that their involvement drives student behavior.

To test whether CampusESP could influence student behavior through parent engagement, UNO and Angelo State sent targeted messages to parents based on their student’s enrollment status. Parent call-to-actions would update as their student moved through the funnel:

• Parents of inquiries would receive reminders to schedule a tour

• Parents of applicants would get nudges to submit application materials

• Parents of admitted students would see messages about enrolling in classes

We found that students with a parent using CampusESP had higher conversion rates and yield rates than the general population of students. However, as we drilled into conversion at the funnel-stage-level, it became clear that parent involvement was again most impactful at the inquiry stage. At both Angelo State and UNO, students with a parent using CampusESP were nearly 3x more likely to convert from inquiry to applicant.

In conclusion

The 2020-21 enrollment cycle is going to be another tough one. Most institutions will be trying to recover from this year’s net tuition revenue losses. Many families still feel the strain of Covid-related financial pressures and safety concerns.

As students and their families again consider whether to delay enrollment, institutions have an opportunity to get involved in the conversation. That means engaging parents during college enrollment season — and even before. With a strong parent communication plan, institutions can proactively address their concerns and differentiate their institutions from the start of the family’s college search journey.

To learn more about CampusESP for Student Enrollment, click HERE.