How Transfer Recruitment Drives
Immediate Results
Innovative Strategies for Growing, Shaping, and Enrolling Your
Transfer Pool
Glenn Hamilton
AVP for Undergraduate Enrollment
Dominican University
The Transfer Imperative: Recognizing the Broad Value of Transfers
Multiple Value Propositions Make Transfers Attractive Regardless of Institution Type or Goals
Competitive Private
Institutions
Growing Public
Institutions
Maintain or Grow
Enrollments
20%
Growth in transfers as
share of undergrads,
last 5 years
Fill Unused Capacity
Respond to Political
Pressure
40%
>2x
Average attrition rate in
a freshman class
Growth in common course
numbering, 2010-16
Serve Access or
Diversity Mission
1.5x
Likelihood a transfer is
African-American or Latino
(vs. a 4-year junior)
Regional
Institutions
Stable, Selective
Institutions
Sources: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, College Board analysis of NCES Beginning Postsecondary Survey, Education Commission of the States, EAB
research and analysis.
2
No Longer Taking Transfers for Granted
Transfers Quickly Evolving from “Nice to Have” to Highly Competitive
Three Trends Highlighting the Race for Transfers
Rising Financial Aid Demands
Difference in Discount Rates,
Transfers vs. Freshmen
(percentage points)
Aggressive Strategic Moves
from Privates
Georgia Independent
College Association
Statewide 2-year
Articulation Agreement
2013
20+
Worsening Funnel Metrics
2007
Avg. Transfer
Yield (Privates)
2014
56% 50%
2015
11
• Association of 25 private colleges
guarantees admission to qualifying
students from GA 2-year system
Avg. Transfer
Melt (Privates)
7%
11%
• Four colleges agree to waive gen ed
requirements for A.S. holders
“We took our eye off the ball with transfers and lost control of our pipeline. Now we have to rebuild our relationships with our local
2-year partners in the hopes of getting them to push students our way again. But we’re not the only game in town. Our
competitors are looking to transfers to make up for softness in the high school pipeline. They’re trying just as hard as
we are to build these partnerships, and now we’re playing catch-up.”
Vice President for Enrollment Management
Private Master’s University, Midwest
Source: Hardwick Day; Noel-Levitz 2014 Funnel Benchmarks Report;
EAB interviews and analysis.
3
A Handful of Institutions Get More Than Their Share
Institutions Meet Transfer Goals by Developing Pathways, Reaching New Prospects, and Scaling Outreach
Transfer Strategy
Institutional Exemplar
Keep Students on Track
to Transfer
• 36,000 undergraduates, ~40% transfer
Attract Unengaged
Prospects
Guide Prospects to
Deposit
• Created a streamlined advising
partnership with 2-year partners
• 16,000 undergraduates, ~6% transfer
• Deployed four on-site transfer
concierges to 2-year campuses to
recruit/advise prospects directly
• 6,000 undergraduates, 15% transfer
• Designed a student web app to allow
prospects to assess progress to degree
Evidence of Success
90%
Growth in full-time transfer
enrollments, 2005-2013
430
New transfer
enrollments, 2009-2010
13%
Growth in transfer
enrollment, fall
2014 − spring 2015
Source: EAB research and analysi
4
Dominican University in Brief
A Top-Value Performer with Close Community College Ties
Dominican’s Transfer Context
Three Primary Feeder Colleges, All in Close
Geographical Proximity to Dominican
Triton
College
Wilbur Wright
College
Morton
College
A Director of Transfer Admission
Responsibilities include cultivating
relationships with and educating
community college guidance
counselors
Colleges Crucial for Transfer Volume
•
•
•
•
•
•
A private, religiously affiliated university
3,696 total students
50+ undergraduate academic programs
5+ grad schools offering 20+ master’s degrees
10 miles from downtown Chicago
One of the most affordable universities to make both
the U.S. News & World Report top tier and Colleges of
Distinction lists
Source of Transfer Students
Other
(25%)
Community
College
(75%)
5
Dominican’s Transfer-Recruitment Approach
Combining Native Capabilities with Partnership Initiatives
Homegrown Tactics &
Capabilities
Partnership Initiatives
Undertaken in Collaboration with
Third-Party Experts
Developed and Coordinated by a
Dedicated Director of Transfer
Admission
Inquiry Stage
Intensively Managing Referral
Relationships
• Build prequalified inquiry pool for future enrollment
terms
Transfer director visits all partner
community colleges on a monthly
basis. Highly expert staff resource
frequently on campus, available to
give students immediate answers
regarding key transfer questions.
• Ensure compliance with NACAC ethics requirements
• Strategically target high-affinity students and
traditional lists
Application Stage
• Optimization of outreach communication timing,
cadence, and intensity
• A/B tested student communication strategies
Giving Students Frictionless
Access to Expert Guidance
• Customized, user experience-tested paper and web
application
Admission offer packets include
detailed analysis of student’s
transferring credits and information
regarding further credits required
for degree completion.
Yield Stage
• Specialized financial aid optimization
• Student surveys help predict propensity to yield and
offer insight on non-yielding student motivations
6
Cultivating a Highly Qualified Prospect Group
Previously Admitted Students Prove to Be a Rich Source of Highly Desirable Transfers
Transfer Application Rate
Percentage of Students Previously Admitted to Dominican,
by Number of Years After Initial Offer of Admission
4.8%
1.8%
1.7%
Year 1
Student offered admission to
Dominican but opts for
community college
Year 2
Year 3
Student graduates from
community college
Outreach follows NACAC
ethical guidelines—students
enrolled at 4-year institutions
not contacted
Ongoing transfer-recruitment
marketing communications
7
Different Prospect Groups Contributing in Different Ways
Small, High-Response Populations and Large, Lower-Response Cohorts Both Proving Valuable
Application Rate by Audience Source
Entering Class 2016
App Rate
25.0%
Contact Volume
7,600
22.0%
20.0%
Engaged via intensive
15.0%
recruitment methods
Includes students who
previously inquired or
were previously admitted
10.0%
5.0%
1,955
451
2.7%
Inquiry Pool
College Fish
Previous Entering Classes
99
52
76
1.1%
0.0%
Total Applications:
8
Highlights of Dominican’s Transfer-Recruitment Results
Strong Transfer Growth Advancing Larger Strategic Aims
Steep Growth in
Nursing Program Recruits
Nursing Program Transfer
Enrollment (Number of Students)
38
Notable Wins
 Proven viability of transfer route to BSN
degree
 Demonstration of transfer recruitment as
a means of boosting honor student pool
 Proven effectiveness of transfer
recruitment for boosting diversity of
entering class
19
Hispanic Students as a Percentage
of Total Transfer Recruits
9
2014
2015
46.1%
2016
35.5%
38.4%
28.9%
15%
Total transfer-enrollment
growth, 2015-2016
2013
2014
2015
2016*
* Year to date
9
Charting a Course Forward
Three Agenda Items Shaping Dominican’s Plans for Ongoing Transfer-Recruitment Innovation
Transfer-Recruitment Imperatives
Keep Students on Track to
Transfer
Attract Unengaged Prospects
Guide Prospects to Deposit
• Proactively identify new articulation
opportunities with 2-year partners
• Contact high-interest students
outside standard sources (e.g., PTK)
• Promptly answer common questions
(e.g., How do my credits transfer?)
• Develop relationships with 2-year
college transfer staff
• Activate 2-year partner staff to guide
students to your institution
• Support students during admission
without large new staff investments
• Assist 2-year student academic
planning
>50%
Share of prospects
calling the transfer
process “challenging”
77%
Share of transfer
prospects unsure where
they want to transfer
55%
Share of community college
students who intend to
transfer but don’t
The Challenging Road from A to B
Partnering with community
colleges to build out joint
infrastructure required for
seamless transfer
.
Understanding and effectively
working with students’ rapidly
evolving communication
preferences and information needs
Effectively scaling intensive
management of admitted-student
relationships in the months
following admission
Sources: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, EAB
interviews and analysis, Chegg, College Board.
10
Questions?
Glenn Hamilton
AVP for Undergraduate Enrollment, Dominican University
[email protected]
11