Utah State yields its largest classes ever. See how they did it.
We are excited to announce that Utah State University is the winner of the CampusESP Q1 ESP MVP Award. Utah State is one of our leading-edge partners in student enrollment– and their focus on the influence families has generated positive yield results for the institution.
Utah State joined the CampusESP community in March 2020. USU has leveraged CampusESP to engage with over 27,000 prospective families and 7,500 current families, with a special focus on the predominantly Native American population at the USU Blanding campus. USU uses the platform to centralize communication for the full parent lifecycle– from enrollment to student success and beyond.
Ryan Jensen, USU’s Assistant Director of Communications for Admissions, summed it up best: “Knowing how important parents are in their student’s college decision-making process, we wanted a way to communicate relevant information to all parents that are both timely and unique to their needs.”
And it’s working: In Fall 2020, Utah State yielded its largest class ever.
Innovating the enrollment process
Our partners at Utah State know that parents are key influencers in student enrollment decisions. That’s why they use CampusESP to send families “enrollment nudges,” or important updates, including:
Application deadlines
Scholarships opportunities
Orientation registration
Virtual programming
To support enrollment goals, USU ensures that parents are getting exactly the right message at exactly the right time. In fact, USU customizes all communications for families, based on the student’s stage in the enrollment funnel. They also send targeted messages to special groups, including parents of out-of-stage students, Latinx families, first-generation families and more.
With clear and accessible communication, USU ensures that students and their supporters are better prepared for next steps in the enrollment process.
USU students with a parent using CampusESP were more likely to yield
In Fall 2020, Utah State enrolled its largest incoming class in history. For an accomplishment that size, USU has a lot of high-fives to hand out. And a strong family communication plan is part of the story.
In Fall 2020, students with a parent using CampusESP had a 8% higher yield rate than the overall yield rate. In other words, students were more likely to enroll when their parents were informed and engaged in the process.
Why? Well, prospective families have many questions and concerns–especially in Fall 2020– about campus resources, safety and cost. With a strong communication plan, Utah State was prepared to address these concerns, while building trust with families. That makes a difference.
Prospective parents were more engaged than their student
Utah State’s family communication is not just practical, but strategic. In some ways, engaging prospective parents can make an even bigger impact than engaging prospective students.
At Utah State, the average email open rate for prospective parents is 45%– or in other words, 11% higher than the open rate for prospective students. That means more enrollment nudges are getting absorbed by a larger audience.
The engagement level is even higher with certain key populations. For a smaller sample of about 300 self-identified parent inquiries who signed up for CampusESP, the average email open rate is a whopping 65%. These are inquiries that are basically raising their hands and asking for next steps. And USU makes sure to engage them with information and news about the school.
Utah State leverages this engagement data to make enrollment decisions and develop their content strategy. According to Ryan: “From a marketing perspective, we track the click and open rates of announcements and reminders… If parents aren’t reading certain posts or are opening some types of announcements less than others, it helps us evaluate the messages and frequency we send things.”
The result? Compelling content that makes families excited to send their student to USU. Way to go, Utah State. Keep up the good work and GO AGGIES!