Revolutionizing Student Engagement and Retention at Guilford Technical Community College
Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) is a leading community college in Jamestown, North Carolina, known for its comprehensive programs and student-centered approach. It is the fourth largest institution in the North Carolina Community College System and the largest in the Piedmont Triad. With a diverse student body facing unique challenges, GTCC sought to enhance communication and support systems to improve student retention and engagement. To achieve this, Orna Shearin, the CRM Specialist at GTCC, partnered with Element451.
The Problem
GTCC faced multiple issues that made their admissions and student engagement processes challenging:
- High-touch Student Needs: Many students at GTCC deal with unique life circumstances such as working full-time, managing family responsibilities, and facing food and housing insecurities.
- Retention Issues: Due to the diverse and often non-traditional student population, GTCC typically experienced lower student retention rates.
- Fragmented Communication: The need to manage communications across multiple departments without overwhelming students or causing them to unsubscribe was a significant challenge.
- Manual Processes: Managing student interactions and administrative tasks manually was time-consuming and prone to errors.
Solution and Implementation
Unified CRM Platform
Element451 provided a single platform for managing all student communications, ensuring consistency and efficiency and allowing GTCC to drop multiple task-specific tools.
Personalized Communication
GTCC leveraged Element451 to send personalized emails and texts, including welcome messages, reminders for census dates, and information about support services.
AI-Powered Chat
The introduction of Element451's BoltBot facilitated over 1,000 monthly conversations with students, addressing common queries and providing a personal touch when needed.
Element451 has transformed how we interact with our students. From personalized emails to automated reminders, the platform has significantly improved our communication efficiency and effectiveness. Our retention rates have seen a notable increase, and our students feel more supported and engaged.
The Results
Improved Open
Rates
Personalized communication resulted in email open rates of 33-35%, significantly higher than the industry average.
Increased Payment Rates
Automated payment reminders sent via email and text led to higher payment rates and reduced instances of student de-registration for non-payment.
Enhanced Student Retention
A comprehensive strategy, included midterm tutoring reminders and support service notifications, and contributed to improved retention rates, as students returned for multiple degrees and credentials.
Successful Event Management
Element451's Events feature facilitated the creation of event landing pages for graduation ceremonies and other events, with students actively engaging and responding to communications.
Get Started with Element451
If you're looking to transform student engagement and retention, explore the powerful capabilities of Element451 and see how it can help your institution achieve similar success. Schedule a demo with our experts to learn more. Empower your institution to create meaningful, personalized, and engaging interactions with students today.
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