As millions of students submit applications to attend higher education institutions each year, the process can easily start to feel distant and impersonal. The volume of incoming applications is extremely high, and many colleges are strained for resources when it comes to reaching out, following up, and delivering customizable experiences.

According to the U.S. News and World Report, the number of applications that colleges receive has been steadily increasing over the last five years, particularly among first-generation learners and students from minority groups. Students expect and deserve a first-rate experience that matches the level of their investment.

With these trends in mind, colleges and universities are faced with a high-stakes problem—keep the student experience engaging, or lose out on enrollments to competing institutions. 

Not sure what to do or how to plan? Let’s take a closer look at some workable strategies.

What is Student Engagement (in the Early Days)?

The concept of student engagement tends to change depending on what part of the lifecycle you’re addressing. For instance, engagement in the recruiting process is naturally a different concept (with separate outcomes) than engagement for a student in the middle of their degree program.

For the sake of admissions and enrollment, we tend to think of an engaged student as one who is actively participating in all steps of the enrollment process and has the resources and communications they need to move forward. At this phase, the student is most likely working alongside a recruiter or admissions counselor.

Beyond the point of enrollment, engagement shifts to become more focused on the individual’s interaction with the campus community. As we’ve mentioned before, the definition of engagement changes to be more in line with the description below.

“An engaged student or learner is one who actively participates in their educational journey. The engaged student finds relevance in their chosen field of study, connects their experiences to intended goals, and finds ways to become part of the broader community.” 

Why is Student Engagement Important to the Enrollment Cycle?

Although it’s helpful to think about student engagement from the perspective of classroom experiences, engagement is not exclusive to academics. As a metric, colleges need to measure the level of student engagement from the point of first interaction, and that often means looking closely at the admissions process.

The reason for this is that prospective students start to form relationships and expectations early on. If a school’s marketing and recruiting strategies fail to attract modern students (and convince them to apply), there’s already an engagement gap. 

Future students want to hear messaging that speaks directly to them. They want to feel like a real person—not a number in line. They want reliable help and support, where and when they need it most. 

When higher education institutions build marketing engines around these qualities, achieving high engagement becomes a reality.

What Results Come from Strong Engagement?

For schools that have high engagement standards throughout the recruiting and enrollment processes, it’s only natural to want to keep those sentiments strong. The benefits and results are also clear, as engaged students tend to perform better and finish their chosen degree.

As the Center for Community College Student Engagement points out: 

“Student learning, persistence, and attainment in college are strongly associated with student engagement. The more actively engaged students are—with college faculty and staff, with other students, with the subject matter they are studying—the more likely they are to persist in their college studies and to achieve at higher levels.”

In other words, it’s never too early to start thinking about the impact that positive enrollment experiences have on a student’s future. That foundation of personalization, trust, and support often carries students to the finish lines of their degree programs, making an enormous impact both individually and collectively. 

Strategies to Increase Effective Student Engagement

Now that we’ve taken a look at how recruiting, admissions, and enrollment play a role in shaping the student experience, let’s turn to the practical side. Any strategy to encourage students must start with a clear understanding of your ideal student—who they are, what they hope to achieve in the learning process, and how your programs can help them get there.

From there, it’s all about designing creative initiatives that speak directly to student success, while showcasing the support structures at a particular campus. Technology solutions and platforms can help college leaders instill change and create more positive experiences for all.

As you work to keep students engaged, acknowledge how and where they spend their time, especially in an online context. Students rely on convenience, flexibility, and speed when they research and look for information from admissions offices. This means that if your school has the capacity to text, chat, email, and connect socially, you’re more equipped to be successful.

Plus, these options also allow for more consistent communication as a way to engage students, even outside of traditional business hours. Keep students in the loop at all times, and answer questions whenever they pop up. By doing so, you’ll keep the wheels turning and generate more excitement.  

Let’s face it—many schools use lots of outdated legacy applications to run their admissions, enrollment, and registrar processes. But if your students are also interacting with these disjointed platforms, the engagement experience won’t be a positive one.

Eliminate confusion and increase engagement by choosing user-friendly tech that benefits all parties. From both a student and internal perspective, you’ll be able to reduce duplicate efforts and give everyone the data they rely on. 

Even if your school or campus has a long list of impressive facts and figures, students really care about how those things impact them. Internally, they want to know how the campus will change their lives, or how specific courses will prepare them for future careers.

To answer these questions and relate on a personal level, use stories, testimonials, and opinions from actual students. Not only does this build trust and create transparency, but it has an immediately noticeable impact on engagement in the admissions process. When prospective students have the chance to interact with actual peers (as opposed to staff members), they can better picture themselves in the same spot.

When students begin to research college options, they want to know what to expect during the teaching and learning phase of their education. To better engage students early, preview the perks of attending your college or university. Starting with the admissions process, you can introduce many options that are available once students enroll. This might look like:

Important critical thinking skills that students will learn both in-class and throughout campus activities

Online courses and remote learning options that help students find flexibility

Exclusive course materials or academic perks that set academic programs apart from competitors

Small groups and community support structures to help students build relationships and connections

Even though “engagement” is in the name, a student-centered platform like Element451 helps schools connect the dots and create well-rounded strategies to keep students engaged from enrollment to graduation.

With a centralized place to record and keep student data, and a suite of tools designed to make marketing totally simple, it’s no wonder that institutions of all shapes and sizes rely on it. For example, Blinn College, a county-owned public college in Texas, saw a 10% enrollment increase and a 33% dropout decrease when converting to Element451. 

These results happened because Blinn replaced a cumbersome tech stack with a single student-friendly platform, making it easier to streamline communication and become more efficient at every stage of the enrollment process. 

Because of Element451, Blinn’s diverse body of students now benefits from:

Having one point-of-contact in the recruitment cycle

Getting access to detailed, effective messaging from admissions staff members

Receiving reminders about timely payments and important deadlines

Overall, better engagement has been transformational to Blinn’s campus culture. This goes to show that when students are actively engaged in the admissions and enrollment cycles, the benefits extend for months and years to come.

>> Read Blinn College’s Student Engagement Success Story << 

Although many still think about the admissions and enrollment processes like well-designed funnels, the truth is that we’re all hoping to connect with students on a deeper level. Fostering engagement means going beyond basic application reviews, and pointing your students toward a potentially rewarding future.

Get to know your prospective students at each stage of the enrollment cycle, and sit back and watch how the relational approach changes student outcomes—in and outside of the classroom.

Invest in an engagement platform that pays off by elevating the student experience. If it’s time for your school to stand out from the rest, Element451 has you covered. 

How to Increase Student Engagement at Your Higher Ed Institution

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