Fall Recruitment: Flip the Script

What Does this Fall Recruitment Cycle Look Like? 

Jamie Gleason, Capture’s Director of Undergraduate Initiatives, recorded a series of videos covering some of the new and unprecedented challenges enrollment offices are facing as they embark on the Fall 2021 recruitment cycle. The videos are organized around these three game-changers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • There is no travel, or very limited travel; 
  • Search leads are, likely, at an all-time low; 
  • Prospective students are going to high school remotely, so they will have epic exposure to digital media maybe all day.

“This is certainly an era when universities are flipping the script on how it’s been done in the past,” Gleason says. “So, join me and let’s take this journey together.”  

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Let’s Talk About Fall Travel 

Admission travel in the fall “the travel season” is a relic of a pre-digital enrollment era that often serves as a trial initiation for new admissions staff members. And it comes at a tremendous cost. Every year, millions of dollars are allocated to travel, and the ROI of that expenditure is difficult to measure 

In this “Flip the Script” video, Gleason explains how the digital world makes it possible to keep trucking during this altered travel season. It’s a great time to “maximize the dollars you already have budgeted,” he says, and use them in a way that you haven’t thought about before.” 

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How to Recreate a Pool of Inquiries

What should enrollment offices across the country do to increase early application generation during a time when search leads are, likely, at an all-time low? The first thing to remember: All leads are not created equal, Gleason says. Search, college fairs, web inquiries, athletic recruiter lists, walkins … They’re all different.  

A huge challenge for universities during the pandemic is figuring out how to decipher the leads as they change in real time. Which ones should you pay attention to? Which ones should you stop paying attention to? 

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Adapting to an Online Campus 

The last topic Gleason covers in his Flip the Script video series is about being online. Obviously, everyone is spending more time than ever in front of screens during the pandemic. In most places across the country, prospective students continue to learn in a mostly online setting this fall.  

For colleges and universities recruiting these students — for those institutions attempting to gain brand presence — it’s an opportunity to look closely at your digital strategy and website. 

In this “Flip the Script” video, Gleason offers a list of recommendations for enrollment professionals who don’t want to lose out on this unprecedented online activity.   

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Do you want to find out how Capture can help you flip the script on your enrollment challenges and setbacks? Contact us today! https://capture.buzz/contactus