The best channels and strategies for engaging prospective parents
Dramatic decreases in enrollment are impacting colleges across the country, and admissions teams are struggling to find creative ways to attract, engage, and register students. With 99% of prospective parents saying they are involved in their student’s college selection process, those adjusted plans need to include ways to inform and engage families.
That’s why we partnered with Ruffalo Noel Levitz again this year to ask prospective parents what they want and need from institutions during the search and admissions process. The largest study of its kind to date — featuring 6,400 families — digs into how parents want to be communicated with, how they will tour campuses, and how they are planning to finance their student’s education.
There’s a lot of insight into today’s college families, but these three themes catch our attention and make a case for investing in a strong parent engagement strategy.
1. Parents want to hear from colleges more than ever
Don’t be shy — prospective families want to hear from the schools and their students on the regular! This desire for constant communication has grown steadily year over year, with 85% of families now wanting communication once a week or more.
What should you be communicating about? Top requests from parents include:
Details about your institution's academic programs
Admission requirements and timelines
Cost and financial aid information
Housing options
ACTION ITEM: Create a calendar of important enrollment topics to email prospective parents about, from inquiry to deposit. Even if you can’t manage weekly outreach, a regular cadence will go a long way to engage families. If you need help scaling to that weekly expectation, a prospective parent engagement solution can help.
2. Parents still want most communication through email
For the third year in a row, it’s no surprise that the most preferred channel for receiving communication from an institution is email. We all spend a lot of time in our inboxes, so be where your families are.
While the desire to receive email stayed steady, there was an 11% increase in requests for a family portal, with 44% of families considering it a top channel in 2022.
ACTION ITEM: Make sure you have a clear plan for collecting parent email addresses so you can connect with them in the way they want and expect. Don’t wait until the application — the earlier, the better!
3. SMS gets your message to those who need the most support
Text messages are a great way to get important reminders and alerts in front of families, fast. However while 36% of families prefer text updates, only 18% of institutions utilize them as a prospective parent communication channel.
SMS is a method more schools should consider, particularly those considering accessibility of information or trying to reach particular audiences. More than 50% of families of color, first-generation, and lower-income families consider text messages their communication channel of choice.
ACTION ITEM: Look at the make-up of your families and determine if your communications channels match their needs. Consider learning more about the benefits of texting prospective parents, particularly for time-sensitive notifications.
Want to learn more about today’s prospective families?