Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) experienced a very successful enrollment cycle this year. Melody Ferguson, Dean of Admission at PLU shared her strategies on how to engage families over the summer to increase visits, applications, and enrollment! Here are four easy ways to jumpstart your enrollment cycle. 

1. Communicate with parents as early as possible

Make a clear plan to collect parent email addresses early on. And we mean before the application – the earlier, the better! From there, keep the momentum going by communicating with families as soon as you get their information. If you’re worried about sending too much to families…don’t. Look at the data – 88% of prospective parents expect communication at least weekly. 

“A rule that we use in our office is ‘it’s better to send than not send at all,’” said Ferguson.

2. Promote campus visit opportunities to families

Campus visits are one of the top reasons that students choose PLU. Ferguson notices that when they send nudges about visits to parents, they always see a bump in RSVPs. Not very surprising, given that 97% of parents are involved with their students’ college search.

“For anything that’s date driven, you have to get in front of the ‘keeper of the calendar’ – which in most cases is the mom, the dad, the uncle, or whoever else is involved,” said Ferguson. 

3. Build excitement and confidence about the application process

Through CampusESP, PLU informs families about the application by sharing important dates, what to expect, how to apply, and the benefits of attending. They also promote their “Suit Up” for Senior Year initiative, a webinar series that covers topics such as the college search process and where to start, college application and essay tips, and paying for college. Getting families ready for the application can pay dividends. Prospective PLU students with a parent using CampusESP are nearly 8x more likely to convert from inquiry to applicant. 

“Families have told us they really appreciate feeling like they're not just learning about PLU, but they're also learning about the college admission process and the financial aid process,” said Ferguson. “CampusESP becomes a resource for them to go to when they're feeling overwhelmed by the stress of senior year.”

4. Consider special populations and what content matters to those families

It’s important to consider different segments of families and what content would be most helpful for them. Given their high population of first-generation college students (42%), PLU adds specific communication for families who might not be as familiar with the college admission process. This past year, PLU achieved a 49% increase in first-generation college student applications and 46% increase in first-generation college student deposits.  

“We can imagine how the families that have never gone through this process are going to have a lot of questions. Our first-generation families really need us,” said Ferguson. “But really all families need to understand the differences from when they went through this process. There’s so much that’s changing so rapidly.” 

Looking to dive deeper? Watch the full webinar below.

PLU’s parent engagement strategy helped them hit their enrollment numbers this year. If you’re looking to do the same, consider putting Melody’s actionable tips into practice. 

Want to learn more about how CampusESP can help you meet enrollment goals?