Redefining Markets to Surpass Enrollment Goals

Challenge

For nearly 130 years, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) has offered students the opportunity to “discover their strengths, seize new career-focused opportunities, and establish strong bonds.” However, its location presented both challenges and opportunities to the admissions team’s recruitment efforts. While being located in New Haven, Connecticut, gave the university credibility as one of five higher education institutions in the area, it also faced strong regional competition leading to a loss of students in its primary market. Additionally, the SCSU team recognized its data limitations and knew that it needed to develop a strategy to make data-driven decisions in order to reverse enrollment declines.

Solution

SCSU turned to its enrollment partner, Encoura, to develop a strategy that included understanding and investing in the right markets to boost student engagement and enrollment. The admissions team leveraged the Encoura Platform and the Smart+® predictive model to organize and interpret its data in meaningful ways that empowered it to clearly present a plan to leadership, refocused travel on its most strategic markets, and developed parent/guardian communications with double-validated email addresses. Additionally, consulting strategy sessions with its Encoura reps led to identification of growth markets, transition of campaigns from written to video content, and changes in its annual yield event.