August 12, 2013

Closing The Recruitment Cycle

Aug. 12, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Alex Causton-Ronaldson | Comment Count

As Todd Gibby, Hobsons Higher Education president, discussed earlier this year concerning big data:

"As it has in the broader business world and public sector, there is no doubt that over time this trend can have a monumental impact on student performance and influence the way our market operates. But a more immediate question being discussed among educators, university leaders, and vendor-partners like Hobsons is: How can we tap into this BIG resource now?"

In the EMEA market, we are also seeing an emerging trend of universities rethinking their unique selling points and how to use data to maximise their engagement with prospective and current students as well as alumni. As the foundation for recruitment decisions and marketing campaigns, it is vital that data is treated with care to ensure it is consistent and reliable so it can be segmented correctly.

Idris Mensa-Bonsu, data coordinator at Hobsons EMEA says:

“We receive data from our clients for follow-ups from higher education fairs and agencies that generate leads from prospective students. From this, institutions are able to make decisions on what faculty and courses to invest in depending on the level of interest from international students. Recently, one institution leveraged data to alter course offerings in an effort to attract engineering students from abroad. They used data fully to inform their academic teams on how changing the names of engineering courses can dramatically impact enrolment initiatives.

The importance of clean, accurate data is so important. When looking at the data, I often find that the smallest mistakes can have a massive impact on what I am analysing. Just one omission from a core data field can be the deciding factor in whether admissions and enrolment professionals can accurately target students effectively. Data reconciliation processes not only help enrolment staff maintain the most accurate and up-to-date student information in their CRM but also advise on trends in the market."

As prospective student information is mined and segmented further to cultivate genuine relationships through personalized messaging - interests, social background, academic performance, demonstrated interest in a particular university, and residency - it is now more important than ever before to consider the composition of the data you are using. Check out the recording of our webinar Closing the Recruitment Cycle for more insight into whether you are collecting the best and most accurate student data and how to use it to communicate with prospective students to drive enrolment.