Packs: pre-built customizable campaign library

Mayland Community has ended its 7 year enrollment decline.

Scheduling appointments, sending outreach communication, and managing applications are now automated.

Texting and segmented communication are engaging students better.

Element451 has been one of the best decisions we have made, especially for a small college who was kind of stuck. The support has been phenomenal. I just could not ask for a better experience.

Mayland Community College (MCC) is a nationally recognized community college with multiple campuses across North Carolina. 

Founded more than 50 years ago, MCC strives to promote individual, community, and economic growth by providing affordable, high quality and easily accessible lifelong learning through more than 70 areas of study. 

Jennifer Grindstaff, the coordinator of recruitment and health science admissions, and her team at MCC wanted to provide a high-touch, personalized communication experience for students in rural North Carolina. 

Not only did Grindstaff recognize the necessary shift to a digital-first approach, but there were only two employees handling the work that would have normally been assigned to four or five. 

When MCC began to see enrollment figures decrease in 2016, Grindstaff and her team in the admissions office knew serious changes needed to be made. 

We are in Western North Carolina, right on the Tennessee border. The forgotten part of the state. There are very low expectations from students in our area so having these beautiful communications to go out to students just makes a world of difference.

From Repetitive to Revolutionary: Automating Manual Tasks

Before implementing Element451’s AI-powered CRM, the MCC admissions team faced numerous challenges in their workflow. First and most important was the lack of a CRM. Tasks such as scheduling appointments, sending outreach communication, and managing applications had to be done manually, which was often slow and cumbersome for the short-staffed team. 

Additionally, the manual nature of these tasks made it difficult for MCC to reach out individually to each prospective student with timely information about their programs and services.

MCC took advantage of Element451’s robust and hyper-personalized communication tools to help streamline their recruitment process and automate some workflow steps. 

This automation saved them time on menial tasks such as segmenting, sending automated emails, and incorporating text messages into their communication plan. 

"We realized people were much more receptive and interacted with texts than with phone calls or emails. To have that capability to sit at my computer to do it and to know they're not going to call my personal cell phone, that's huge! And being able to track it – We know that when they get a text message, they're clicking on the link to the apply page. It’s not the email, it’s the text," says Grindstaff.

People were more receptive and interacted with texts than with phone calls or emails. To have that capability to sit at my computer to do it and to know they're not going to call my personal cell phone that's huge! And being able to track it – We know that when they get a text message, they're clicking on the link to the apply page. It’s not the email, it’s the text.

Additionally, MCC also began using Element451’s pre-built customizable campaign library, Packs, and automated communication features to reach out individually and specifically to each prospective student in order to ensure that they received the right information at the right time, and in the right channels.

Hope on the Horizon: Enrollment Numbers Rise Again

Due to these new tools, MCC's enrollment numbers have steadily increased since 2016. The enrollment team can now work more efficiently and accurately without having to understand complicated IT systems or manually manage tasks. 

Thanks to personalized communication, prospective students are now more informed about relevant MCC programs and receive timely communication resulting in a higher level of engagement.

Grindstaff believes that Element451’s tools have revolutionized how MCC approaches its recruitment process, enabling them to better serve current and future students: "Element451 has been one of the best decisions we have made, especially for a small college who was kind of stuck. The support has been phenomenal. I just could not ask for a better experience."

With Element451, MCC has been able to streamline their processes, save time, improve their communication with prospective students, and increase their enrollments — all while saving time and valuable resources.

Revolutionizing Community College Enrollment: Mayland Community College Implements Element451

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