Enrollment Insights Podcast

This episode is a recording of a previous Niche webinar in conjunction with Jeremy Tiers from Tudor Collegiate Strategies to discuss the results of our Class of 2022 Fall Survey.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

In this episode, you will hear from Matt Scogin, President of Hope College. Matt is the 14th President of Hope College and has been in the role for just over 2 years now from what might be seen as a nontraditional path to the office.

Previously he oversaw operations and strategy at global financial advisory firm Perella Wineberg Partners, and before that spent 5 years as the senior VP and chief of staff at NYSE Euronext, the company that oversees the New York Stock Exchange and five exchanges in Europe. Service has played a role throughout his life as well, and service is a primary message of the bold Hope Forward campaign.

1:02 - How family RV trips, trying to study something you're not passionate about, and trying to convert from long-distance to sprinting are connected

3:00 - Brainstorming through collecting feedback and then reflection

4:52 - What is Hope Forward?

9:12 - The myth of colleges needing to behave like businesses

10:21 - Reframing the price under Hope Forward

12:40 - Making the shift from the degree as purchased good to a degree earned through experience and hard work

14:54 - The inspiration for changing the funding model and a call for a coalition of colleges rethinking funding

17:38 - Data collection and modeling to fuel bold strategies

22:31 - Addressing the "what-ifs" and planning for long-term sustainability

25:41 - Timelines for change and comparing higher ed to the airline industry

29:08 - Building buy-in for bold long-term changes

31:24 - Origins of Hope Forward

32:13 - Marketing and communications: The critical role in bold changes

33:05 - The merits of criticism and turning down the volume on negativity towards change

35:04 - Tuition resets, their attraction, and Hope's move to play a different game

38:33 - What a coalition of colleges moving to a free from tuition model might look like

40:21 - How to get in touch with Matt and continue the conversation

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

This episode is a recording of a previous Niche Insights Panel to discuss Data-Driven Enrollment Management. Guests DJ Menifee (VP for Enrollment at Susquehanna University) and Sacha Thieme (Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Admissions at Indiana University) discussed data-driven enrollment management and recruitment strategy. We discussed hot topics around the field and took audience questions.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

This episode is a recording of a previous Niche Webinar that covers the results of the 2021 Niche PK-12 Enrollment & Marketing Survey. We discussed some of the trends that we observed with practical takeaways through the lens of six insights from the survey.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

In this episode, you will hear from Nija Meyer.

Nija is the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. Nija joined Woodward Academy in 2014 to lead the Academy’s marketing and communications efforts and was promoted to Vice President for Strategic Marketing and Communications in 2016.

>In that role, Nija was responsible for sharing the Woodward story with all audiences, including prospective families, current families, alumni, and friends of the school, using all available channels including the Academy's website, the Woodward magazine, media relations, advertising, and social media.

In 2017, her responsibilities expanded to include Admissions when she was named the Academy's Vice President for Enrollment Management. She leads a highly skilled team dedicated to welcoming new families to Woodward and ensuring an exceptional experience through every step of the student's journey—including inquiry, application, admission, retention, graduation, and beyond.

Nija previously served in strategic marketing and consulting roles for The Coca-Cola Company, Andersen Consulting's Strategic Services, and GE Capital. She graduated with honors from Emory University and has a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. 

3:25 - "If you never try, you never know."

4:08 - Creating new ideas and escaping old ones

4:28 - Using parent feedback to brainstorm ideas

5:30 - Not enough schools are surveying families during the admissions process

6:20 - You can't measure what works without a baseline

7:05 - Surveying parents throughout a family's journey with a school

8:20 - Why having a strategic focus on student/parent experience is important no matter how a school is performing with enrollment

8:59 - The "COVID bump" is temporary

9:15 - The factors that threatened enrollment before the pandemic are still out there

9:50 - What millennial parents expect from schools

11:00 - "Customer" isn't a dirty word for schools

13:50 - Schools that charge tuition are competing for "share of wallet"

15:05 - Exceptional customer experience examples from the corporate world

18:43 - What happened to the buzz around Chief Experience Officers in schools and who should own that responsibility

20:17 - Where customer experience starts in schools

21:29 - Retention warrants the same attention as acquisition

22:50 - How Woodward is prioritizing customer experience

25:07 - A customer experience tactic borrowed from Starbucks

26:55 - Personalizing the admission tour

30:10 - It's okay not to have all the answers in the moment

30:40 - Centralize opportunities for parents to ask questions and share ideas

34:09 - How to get started with customer experience at your school

35:53 - "Stick with your plans and don't let up."

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

This episode is a recording of a presentation done as part of Slate Presents. We discussed how to better reach students throughout the funnel with relevant outreach.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

In this episode, you will hear from Corynn Myers. Corynn is a marketing strategist at Convince and Convert working with organizations like Visit California, Oracle, Arizona State University, Purdue, and others to build content strategies for today's attention-strapped world. She also provides recruitment strategy consulting to colleges and universities across the US. Prior to joining Convince & Convert, Corynn led marketing and communications strategy at the University of Michigan where she built U-M's in-house digital marketing team and oversaw digital strategy across presidential initiatives.

0:55 - Eliminating project check-ins improved management style and personal work style

4:08 - Approach projects backward to be more creative and ask for off-the-cuff perspectives

6:58 - Defining thought leaders, influencers, and content creators

11:08 - Intentionality defines thought leaders, but maybe not always influencers

13:24 - How to tactically use thought leaders, influencers, and content creators for marketing

14:39 - Opportunities for using nano and microinfluencers and content creators

15:53 - Focusing on which group to use for your goals

18:45 - A starting point for small schools/teams to engage content creators: Build a content strategy first

22:14 - Finding and nurturing thought leaders, influencers, and content creators

24:52 - Thought leaders aren't defined by title

25:56 - How to you nurture when you recognize talent

28:11 - The fine line between providing guidance and dictating content

29:51 - Pitfalls to avoid

30:41 - Final thoughts

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

This episode is a recording of a previous Niche Webinar that covers the results of the 2021 Niche Senior Enrollment Survey. We discussed how to use the insights to better understand and recruit undergraduate students.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

This episode is a recording of a previous webinar where we spoke to Dean Fusto (Brandon Hall), Meghan Hogdin (Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child), and Jo Thoburn (The Fairfax Christian School) about ways K-12 schools can use proof points like parent testimonials, reviews, data, and student outcomes to advance their marketing and enrollment efforts.

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.

In this episode, you will hear from Romayne Levee, Director of Education Strategy at Mission Minded. At Mission Minded, Romayne gets to work every day helping independent schools and educational organizations to raise their profiles while also benefiting the communities they serve.

She has developed dynamic strategic plans and brand strategies for Mission Minded clients from coast to coast, including San Francisco Day School, Friends School of Baltimore, Flint Hill School, and Marlborough School. Romayne’s volunteer service greatly informs her work. She is the founding Board Chair of Vistamar School, an independent high school in Los Angeles, and currently serves on the Board of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Before her pursuit of serving educational institutions, Romayne served as a partner at several blue-chip advertising agencies in Los Angeles.

2:50 - Using Google for brainstorming

5:15 - Brand defined

6:16 - What brand isn't

8:54 - "No good cause should suffer from poor communication."

9:30 - Who is your brand for?

10:07 - Asking your community about your school's reputation

11:30 - Finding opportunities when the perception of your school's brand isn't what you expect

12:20 - The importance of being ready for what you're going to learn about your institution

14:10 - Encouraging a brand-centric culture at your school

14:44 - "Every single person in the organization is responsible for the way you show up as an organization."

16:38 - Your brand is the sum of the good, the bad, and the ugly

17:41 - Understanding the outcome and the impact of brand

19:35 - The role of brand in admissions

19:56 - "[Some prospective families] step foot on your campus for the first time already having a strong sense of your brand before you've been able to say one word to them."

20:45 - Every touchpoint with families needs to reinforce your brand reputation

22:28 - When you talk about what your school does, make sure it ladders up to the big idea about what distinguishes your school

23:00 - Are you sending the right signals about your school's brand?

23:17 - A common misstep in schools: sending signals around inclusivity

25:25 - Bringing an inclusivity lens to institutional messages

29:14 - Continuing the conversation

Show notes are available on the Enrollment Insights Blog at niche.bz/podcast.

In the Enrollment Insights Podcast, you'll hear about novel solutions to problems, ways to make processes better for students, and the questions that spark internal reflection and end up changing entire processes.