E-Expectations of College-Bound Students

AND Their Parents

Stephanie Geyer, Noel-Levitz

(@StephGeyer)

Reminders:• Tweeting? Please use #eexpect

Find All of the E-Expectations Studies Online

• noellevitz.com (Papers & Research)• omniupdate.com/assets (White Papers)

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2011 E-Expectations of High School Seniors

How are parents and students similar and different in their use of e-recruitment assets?

What are they doing with higher education mobile sites?

How do they benefit from social media resources?

What other online tools are most useful?

Will e-mail still work as a communications tool?

Survey administered by telephone in February 2011

1,089 high school seniors

517 of their parents

List source: NRCCUA/MyCollegeOptions

95% confidence interval

Margin of error: +/- 3%

FAST FACTS THEMES FOR THE STUDY

Ethnicity• American Indian: 1% (12) • Asian: 6% (61) • African-American: 10% (104) • Hispanic: 13% (133) • Caucasian: 48% (507) • Other: 13% (135) • Declined: 9% (95)

Environment Sought• Conservative: 9%• Moderate: 73%• Liberal: 18%

Program• Advanced HS courses: 22%• General college prep: 65%• Vo-tech courses: 13%

GPA• A average: 44%• B average: 45%• C average: 10%• Less than C: 1%

Demographics: Students (1,089)524 males; 521 females

Income• Lower income: 29%• Middle income: 52%• Upper income: 19%

Region• Midwest: 23%• Northeast: 23%• South: 28%• West: 27%

Public v. Private (multiple responses)

• Interest in private schools: 38%• Interest in public/state schools: 89%• Interest in community colleges: 16%• Interest in technical colleges: 12%• Interest in vocational colleges 8%

Stage• Prospect: 12% • Inquiry: 13% • Applied: 20% • At least one decision: 56%

Demographics: Parents (517)Ethnicity

• American Indian: 1% (7)• Asian: 4% (20)• African-American: 10% (52)• Hispanic: 8% (41)• Caucasian: 52% (270)• Other: 13% (66)• Declined: 8% (42)

College Experience• Have attended: 54% • Parents did not attend: 21% • No record: 25%

68% of students come from families where at least one parent attended college

Ethnicity detail:• 78% Caucasian• 62% African-American• 55% Asian• 35% Hispanic

Interest in school type based on parent education level:• If the student’s parent(s) attended

college, they were 10% more likely to be interested in attending a private school

• If the student’s parent(s) did not attend college, they were 10% more likely to be interested in attending a community college

COMPARING STUDENTS AND PARENTS

More than 75% of both parents and students say they never or only rarely read blogs on college sites

Most (86% of and 80% of ) are using e-mail:

Students and parents place academic program information at the top of their list for Web content

Similarities

93% of students provide an address that they check at least once/week

24% of parents pose as their student

Students

say they’re researching with their parents

say they’re deciding with their parents

have a Facebook account

have looked at a college/ university Facebook page

of students with cell phones have browsed a college/university site

Parents

59%

49%

80%

27%

14%

say they’re researching with their student

say they’re deciding with their student

have a Facebook account

have looked at a college/ university Facebook page

of parents with cell phones have browsed a college/ university site

66%

61%

48%

12%

5%

WEB / MOBILE USE AND INFLUENCE

Choose the Option that Best Reflects Your Attitude about College and University Web Sites

If I don’t find what I need on the school’s Web site, I’ll probably drop it from my list.

A bad experience on a school’s site may have some negative effect on my perception of the school.

73%

64%

What is the first link you’ll look for on a school’s Web site?

Enrollment/Admissions Info

24% 21%

Academic Programs

38% 42%

Student Life

7% 6%

Housing

1%

Cost

8% 13%

Financial Aid

5% 10%

Scholarship

7% 2%

Campus Visit

3% 2%

Mobile Details:

82% of students and 86% of parents own mobile phones

Housing details (1%)

14% of students and 5% of parents have viewed a college or university Web site on their mobile phone

Content priorities for students:

Academic information (28%)

Cost details (13%)

Student life (7%)

Scholarship information (6%)

Campus visit details (2%)

Enrollment/admissions details (31%)

For details, see...

Pew Internet & American Life(pewinternet.org)

• African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos are more likely to own mobile phones than Caucasians and more likely to do more with their phones, including access the Internet

• Teens who pay for their own cell phone are more likely to do more with those phones

Search “Teens, Cell Phones and Social Media”

• Teens from lowest income categories are most likely to use their phone to go online

Search “Technology Trends among People of Color”

What would students most like to DO on a mobile site for a college or university?

77%

Calculate college costs

75% Calculate

scholarships

65% Schedule a visit

64% Watch videos

62% Access social media assets

53%

IM with admissions reps

44% Complete an

online application

QR Code Exposure

Have you seen QR codes before?

If yes, have you used them for a college?

15% 14%

6% 4%

yes

yes

More about…

INTERACTIVE CAMPUS MAPS

Use of Campus Maps

40% of students have used an

interactive map 8% to get sense of campus layout

54% to explore campus

17% to make way through campus

2% to explore dormitories

7% to find specific location on campus

7% as alternative to visit

10% to find a

specific location on

campus

34% to explore campus

17% to make way through campus

8% as alternative to visit

9% to get sense of campus layout

10% to explore dormitories

22% of parents have used an

interactive map

Influence of Campus Maps

Students Parents

CALCULATOR USE AND INFLUENCE

More about…

Influence of Calculators on Perception

36% of have used a COST calculator

26% of have used a COST calculator

28% of have used a SCHOLARSHIP calculator

20% of have used a SCHOLARSHIP calculator

Why haven’t you used a calculator on a college or university Web site?

Students:

Parents:

50%

haven’t seen one

46% aren’t

interested

67%

haven’t seen one

30% aren’t

interested

4% parents handling

SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND INFLUENCE

More about…

Facebook Use

80% of STUDENTS use Facebook 48% of PARENTS use Facebook

Frequency:

• 30% many times/day

• 33% once/day

• 22% a few times to once/week

27% viewed a school-specific site

• 15% of these students posted a comment or asked a question

Frequency:

• 17% many times/day

• 37% once/day

• 30% a few times to once/week

12% viewed a school-specific site

• 26% of these parents posted a comment or asked a question

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Most Appealing Facebook Content

Current Student Comments (campus life)

General Info (news, events, programs)

Athletic Info (games, scores)

Faculty Comments (programs, classes,

research)

Alumni Conversations

(by or about)

53%26%

20%32%

10%

8%

3%

16%

3%

3%

Facebook Influence

Students Parents

*up from 8% in 2010

19% of students follow tweets from a specific college or university

= 9%*

= 5%

Twitter Accounts

Student life

Academic programs,

classes, faculty

Around campus

Dorms

YouTube and Video Preferences

27% of and 17% of

have gone to YouTube or another video site to see resources from schools on their lists

55% of and 43% of

will look at videos on college and university Web sites

48% 31%

31% 43%

15% 17%

6% 7%

MOST INTERESTING TOPICS?

To Blog or Not to Blog?

{ Never }

{ Rarely }

{ Sometimes }

{ Often }

{ Always}

68% 65%

11%

19%

4%

1%

9%

21%

2%

1%

More about…

E-MAIL USE AND PREFERENCES

E-Mail Use and Timing

86% of use e-mail

will give a school a legitimate e-mail address that they check

at least once a week

When?

80% of use e-mail

upon learning of a school

when prompted/requested

after completing an application

after acceptance

26%

26%

44%

3%

31%

21%

46%

5%

93% 81%

General Information

36% 32%

Campus Life

9% 10%

Deadline Reminders

32% 36%

Your E-Mail FlowAfter General Info about Your Campus, Focus on Deadlines and Student Status

Student’s Status

22% 24%

CONSIDER THIS…Conclusion

Are you engaging parents as thoroughly as possible in your e-venues?

Web content for parents?

Recognition that they may appear in your social media channels?

E-mail communication flows?

From 2010 E-Recruitment Practices Report

Does your admissions office collect e-mail addresses for parents?

(yes responses)

Many more admissions offices are now collecting parents’ e-mail addresses.

2-Yr Public 4-Yr Public 4-yr Private0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

200620082010

If yes, when in the recruitment process do you collect the e-mail addresses for

parents? (check all that apply)

4-Yr Public

4-Yr Private

When students inquire 16.7% 20.4%

When students apply 80.6% 85.5%

When students confirm their intent to enroll or send in a deposit

8.3% 18.4%

When students enroll 13.9% 21.7%

On the Web year-round, 24/7 5.6% 15.8%

Question not applicable to 2-Year Publics.

Put Your Assets to the Test!

Facilitate user tests with prospective students and decision influencers on your sites (including mobile)

Explore how they interact with navigation options, content, images, interactive resources

Tackle Your Academic Program Content

Can mere mortals understand the key strengths and benefits of each of your programs?

Can they see what career options emerge with this degree?

Do faculty and alumni stars shine through?

Is content optimized for search engines?

Introduce Your Social Streams

Drive prospects and their parents directly to your social media assets from e-mail, Web site and direct mail communications

Look for opportunities to broaden the conversations (and speakers) in your channels

Redirect some bloggers to focus on smaller interactions

Shoot Video, Post, Repeat

E-mail is STILL an essential layer in your communication flow

Are you getting through to parents?

Use e-mail to interconnect Web, social media assets

Calculated Success

Net cost calculators are required by this fall

Does your calculator: Give a clear, complete and realistic

picture? Inspire users (students and parents)

to reach out for further engagement?

Encourage users to complete the

FAFSA? Show up on pages within your Web

site that make sense? Play a starring role in e-mail

messages and social media posts at crucial times in the enrollment cycle?

Contact Information

Stephanie Geyer, Noel-Levitz• Voice: (303) 594-0370• Email: stephanie-geyer@noellevitz.com• Twitter: @StephGeyer• Facebook: search “Noel-Levitz”