Adult Learners: Researched-based Strategies for Recruitment and Retention

Confidential © InsideTrack, 2011 1

Adult Learners: Researched-based Strategies for Recruitment and Retention

2Confidential © InsideTrack, 2011

Our mission is to increase the number of people who attend and finish college

More than 350,000 students coached:10-15% impact on enrollment15% impact on retention and graduation rates


Secret Shopper Research


Our inquiry analysis (secret shopper) program assesses the “prospective student” experience

ResponsivenessAssess inquiries by web, email, and phone based on:• Time to respond• Method of response• Adequacy of response

ComprehensivenessAssess whether information was sufficient to:• Evaluate the program• Determine if qualified• Understand application

process• Understand personal /

financial commitment


Inquiry analysis methodology and scoring standards produce valuable information

Methodology• Outreach process: 3 contact

attempts at 4-day intervals• Personas: “Typical” adult

students• Inter-rater reliability:

Benchmarking sessions, reviews of past analyses

Our Research Team has conducted 221 Inquiry Analyses

Quality Score Benchmarks• Quality measures: adequacy

of information and customer service

• Low range (1-4): poor quality or unsatisfactory customer service

• Mid-range (5-7): problem areas (information, response time, or customer service)

• High-range (8-10): typically “above and beyond,” only minor issues (e.g., slow response time)


All sectors struggle to provide adequate information regarding the level of commitment

Adequate information on personal / financial commitmentsInquiry analysis of 221 private sector and non-profit programs

All Non-Profit Private ProgramsAll Private Sector Programs

All Non-Profit Public Programs74%

26%

Yes No

24%

76%

Yes No

31%

69%

Yes No


Online programs rated highest by“prospective students”

Comparative ratings of comprehensiveness and responsiveness

Inquiry analysis of 221 for-profit and non-profit programs

N=480N=2044N=790N=560 N=485Ground Online0

2

4

6

8

10

6.77.5

5.4

7.0

Comprehensiveness Responsiveness

(Out

of a

Pos

sibl

e 10

)

N = 92 N = 92 N = 129 N = 129


Private sector rated highest overall by “prospective students”

Overall ratings of comprehensiveness and responsiveness

Inquiry analysis of 221 for-profit and non-profit programs

For-Profit Non-Profit Private Non-Profit Public0

2

4

6

8

10

7.6

6.7

5.3

Ove

rall

Inqu

iry A

naly

sis

Scor

e(O

ut o

f a P

ossi

ble

10)

N = 53 N = 105 N = 63


Response time by institution type for Secret Shopper Study


Challenges with non-response


Discussion Questions: Reflect on the Prospective Student Experience

• How long does it take your institution to respond to prospective students?

• What goals do you have in place regarding response time for phone calls, e-mails and replies via web forms?

• What do you do to help students understand the personal and financial commitment required when making a decision to go back to school?


Adult Student Research


• Full-time professional seeking promotion

• Parent returning to workforce

• Adult returning for B.A. after 10 years

• Recent college graduate striving for M.A.

Their situation

• Career achievement

• Financial security• Better quality of life

Their goals

• Full-time work• Family /

parenting obligations

• Financial constraints

Their obstacles Their needs

• Clarity on long-term goals

• Connection betweengoals and short-term actions

• Assistance organizing commitments

• Motivation & support• Connection to the

university community

Our research generates unique insights


Inquiry Drop Dataset / Gender Total

Undergraduate Graduate20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%58.6%

42.9%

57.7% 57.2%61.3%

41.4%

57.1%

42.3% 42.8%38.7%

Gender

FemaleMale

Other Hispanic or Latino

Black or African American

White0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%

Race & Ethnicity

Drop Reasons

Inquiry Reasons

Total

Undergraduate (IPEDS)

Graduate (IPEDS)

About the sample for the Adult Student Research Study

• 57K prospective students; 45K enrolled students

• Similar to nationaldistributions ingender and ethnicityfor age 25+

• Institutions (or divisions)that focus on adults

Comparisons are to 2007-2008 IPEDS data (2008 Spring and Fall Enrollment Components)

Age Drop Reasons

Inquiry Reasons Full-Time Part-Time

40 and over 16.8% 29.2% 4.5% 22.2%

25-39 54.9% 51.4% 19.8% 47.2%

Under 25 28.3% 19.4% 75.6% 29.4%

Age unknown 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.9%

Data Set


Non-starts committed to their education often choose a competitor

Differences between bands are significant at 99% leveln=18,088

Non-start Reason Rank PctCompetitor 1 18.2%

Suitability 2 17.9%

External 3 17.8%

Finances 4 13.9%

Delayed Start Term 5 13.4%

Program not offered 6 11.6%

Administrative 7 3.0%

Commitment to degree 8 1.9%

Not Interested 9 1.1%

Managing Commitments 10 0.9%

• Top reason = a competitor

• Below the median– Finances– Delay to

subsequent terms

What drives an inquiry to a competitor over your institution?


Academics is not a leading cause of early exit

• The top 2 reasons– Nearly 30%,

managing life outside of school

– Finances a close second

Drop Reason Rank Pct

Managing Commitments 1 29.7%

Finances 2 25.9%

Effectiveness 3 13.2%

Commitment to Graduation 4 9.3%

Health and Support 5 8.6%

School Community 6 6.8%

Academics 7 6.5%

n=30,41399% confidence level between bands

How do you help students overcome these barriers?


Inquiry Reason Rank Percent

Referral 1 18.8%

Convenience 2 18.0%

Availability of Program 3 16.9%

Location 4 11.9%

Class Format 5 9.1%

Reputation 6 8.7%

Flexible Scheduling 7 5.5%

Admissions Requirements 8 4.1%

Ease of Process 9 1.8%

Finances 10 1.6%

Referrals are the top reason driving inquiries

Differences between bands are significant at 99% level

The value of referrals • Low cost

• High conversion

• Realistic expectations

n=12,478

How do increase referrals?


Net Promoter® is a way to measure and grow customer loyalty by asking one simple question

Net Promoter® rating—how likely are you to recommend to a friend or colleague?

*Developed by Fred Reichheld, director emeritus at Bain & Company, and Satmetrix.

Net Promoter® Score


Creating an action plan

Objective: develop a plan for implementing one actionable insight• Review change planning worksheet• Identify one insight or idea to develop • Break into groups and collaborate to design your change plan• Share plans and anticipated benefits as a group

Adult Learners: Researched-based Strategies for Recruitment and Retention

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