Today some colleges are faced with declining enrollment, however Carroll University is forecasting an increase in enrollment in 2009 indicating that they are targeting the right prospective students. How do you define the right prospective student?  Carroll uses email marketing as one of the key tools in the admissions funnel and has determined that 18% of all prospects who open their emails enroll at the Institution.

Clearly, the Carroll University Admissions Office is making the grade when it comes to their eMarketing initiatives to prospective students. With Informz, they have implemented an email marketing strategy that supports their goal of building relationships with prospective students, while shifting admissions counselors’ energy to more targeted, personal follow-up. They know exactly the right message to send to the right person…at the right time.

Using the Informz API, Carroll University built a web service that integrates Informz with their Jenzabar database, which synchronizes their data, triggers timely email communication, eliminates importing and exporting of data and writes activity back to the student record. Because of this automation, Carroll University has saved over $15,000 by eliminating some direct mail pieces,  five hours of IT staff time AND the Admissions Office is now more focused on prospects that are likely to enroll.

In addition to the significant savings from using Informz, the Admissions Office is using real-time data to determine quantifiable ways in assessing whether or not their triggered emails are contributing to more enrollees at the Institution. For example, Carroll uses targeted emails to drive people to create a login to their online Portal and they have established a triggered email campaign after a prospective student creates a login for their Portal.

How Many Enroll At Your College as a Result of Your Email Campaigns?
In a year, Carroll University receives approximately 50,000 leads and of those, 11,000 request more information from the school.  Of the 11,000 requests, Informz reporting shows that 3,600 opened an email from the Institution and 18% of those actually enroll at the College.  Of those who didn’t open an email, less than 5% enroll. 

Are You Automating the Campus Tour Registration Process?
A recurring campaign that Carroll University runs, invites prospects to visit the campus.  If they open the invitation email, they are then asked if they want to schedule a visit with an email that contains a registration form.  They are then sent reminder emails and follow-ups.  If they do not respond, triggers are set in the system to contact them again. 

Are You Connecting Your PEP Scoring with Your Email Initiatives?
Carroll University calculates Predictive Enrollment Points, (PEP), for every prospective student.  Each PEP score includes Informz real-time reporting data: opens, clicks, forwards and the recipient’s actions are factored, re-calculated nightly and accessible through the student record in their Jenzabar database. The Admissions Counselors use this data to narrow their focus on those prospective students expressing the most interest from their online behavior.

Are Your Admissions Counselors Focused on the Right Audience?
According to Jim Weisman, Vice President of Enrollment at Carroll University, “Resource allocation is really important to Admissions Offices and it comes down to sending the right message to the right person and Informz automates this for us.  If you are not targeting, you’re wasting your resources.”  Carroll University admission counselors are cultivating stronger relationships by using email response tracking data.

Through sound enrollment management practices and carefully planned email communication strategies, Carroll University is achieving their new student enrollment goals. Since 1992, they have increased their enrollment class by 250%.