Not Just Bums on Seats
Michelle YoungerLizz Patrick
Martin ThomasMiriam Clift
Marketing and Recruitment
• Introductions
• Research
• Student Recruitment
• Marketing and Communications
• Admissions
• Question and Answer Session
Market Research
Are we offering the right seats to the right bums?
Michelle Younger
• Application and enrolment trends analysis – JACS code level (growing/declining?)
• Competitor analysis – who are our competitors? What do they offer?
• New course development
• Entry requirements – thorough analysis of how we sit in relation to our competitors (University and School level)
Demographic and Mapping Analysis
NE Mosaic Profile D -Ties of Community
MOSAIC GROUP % of NE households
A - Symbols of Success 5%
B – Happy Families 6%
C – Suburban Comfort 11%
D – Ties of Community 16%
E – Urban Intelligence 2%
F – Welfare Borderline 5%
G – Municipal Dependency 16%
H – Blue Collar Enterprise 11%
I - Twilight Subsistence 4%
J – Grey Perspectives 6%
K – Rural Isolation 6%
Z – Unclassified 12%
• Enquire/Apply/Accept/Decline – what do these groups look like? How do they differ?
• Surveys – ISB / SB, NSS, SSS, Website, Open Days, focus groups, other syndicated research with potential students
• New surveys – Acceptance? Interviewed? Entry profile
• Would/will they recommend us?
Are our students (customers) sitting comfortably in our seats?
Student Recruitment
Informed Choices or…
Choose the Best Seat for You
Lizz Patrick
Year 13*
Year 12*
Year 11
Year 10
Year 9
Year 8
Year 6STEM
ASC
Star Student
West Side Story Project
Tea-time Lectures
School Conventions
HE Journey
School Conventions
ACE Days
Talks in Schools Masterclasses
Presentations in Schools
Campus Tours Open Day HE Conventions Out of Region Activity
Evolve@Northumbria Student Shadowing Summer School
Presentations in Schools & Colleges Northern Ireland Tour
Open Day Presentations in Schools & Colleges
Campus Tours Post Application Open Days
Student Recruitment
What do we do?C
hoic
es T
oget
her (
Year
s 9
-11)
Scho
ol a
nd C
olle
ge V
isits
-in (Y
ears
9-1
3)
Pare
nts
Act
iviti
es (A
ll ye
ars)
Stud
ents
into
Sch
ools
Act
iviti
es (A
ll Ye
ars)
Pass
port
(Yea
r 12
and
13)
Aim
high
er A
ssoc
iate
s (Y
ear 1
0 an
d Ye
ar 1
2)
Stud
ent A
ssoc
iate
s (A
ll ye
ars)
DIS
cove
r Con
fere
nce
(All
year
s)
360°
Cam
pus
Pano
ram
as
Student Shadowing Taster Courses Advice and Guidance
Mature Students Induction Mature Students Study Skills Adult Learners Week
* Year 12 and 13 activities are also available to 1st and 2nd
year college students respectively
Adult (19+)
Marketing and Communications
Getting the Message out – an Excellent Seat of Learning
Martin Thomas
Today’s 17 year olds – born in 1991
In-school posters Direct Mailers
Recruitment Fairs
Website
Web Advertising
Search Engine Market
Interactive info on Friends
Photoshoot Video
VIP Pages and Social Networking
Bebo
MySpace
General email comms
Subject
email comms
SMS and email prompts
Subject specific Telecentre Campaigns
Admissions
Application to Enrolment
The Role of Admissions in Student Recruitment
Miriam Clift
The Final Stage…
• Continue building the relationship• Speed and quality of response• Clear and concise decision making
• Impartial and accurate information and advice
• Fairness and Transparency
Who do we select and why?
• Decision Making – applying the Entry Requirements decided 18 months earlier
• Interviews – not only to select the right candidates but for them to select us
• Post offer information giving – a co-ordinated and coherent message. Post Application Open Days, Accommodation, Fees and Scholarships, Health Questionnaires, Placement Handbooks…the list is endless!
• Conversion work – email messages, birthday messages, good luck cards, telecentre campaigns
• Monitoring of acceptances against targets
Who do we select and why?
• Receipt of results – approx 600,000 in August!
• Matching results to conditional offers. Who gets in? Who doesn’t? Why?
• Clearing – are we in or are we out? What should our entry requirements be?
• Freshers’ Packs – those we accept need to know how to enrol and where to be on their first day!
• Enrolment – Job Done!
The Applicant Experience…
“Oxford Brookes … gave me an interview, which I was amazed at, because my grades (BCC) aren't high enough for there (BBC), so my personal statement must have been good. However, I didn't go to the interview because about 2 weeks before my interview, I found out...Northumbria (in Newcastle) - offered me a place 1 week after my interview! This means I must have gotten full marks in my interview, or I wouldn't have found out ‘til mid March!
So, I am a litttttttle bit stressed waiting for results from Swansea and Plymouth (esp Plymouth) but not as stressed as I would be if I hadn’t heard from Northumbria. At least I know I'm definitely going to uni now!”
The Power of the Internet…
“There I was in Costa Coffee in London (on my trip away for our 5th wedding anniversary)... I was on Facebook on my mobile and decided to check my emails - OMG have an email from UCAS saying my status has been updated…”
Some Facts and Figures…
UG Applications 2002 – 2008
UG Applications 2009
Competitor UG Applications 2009
Northumbria UG Applicants
Sector UG Applicants
Northumbria UG Conversion 2008
Sector UG Conversion 2008
+39%
+12.95%
+10.78%
+13.26%
+8.80%
36%
30%
Any Questions?