From Launch to Liftoff: Five Tactics to Increase Enrollment in New Academic Programs

By Jacob R. Docking, Ph.D., Dean of Retention & Enrollment Services, Adrian College

Jacob Docking is currently the Dean of Retention and Enrollment Services at Adrian College. Jacob has previous experience working in higher education at the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Indiana University Bloomington, Due West Education and Harvard University. Jacob also experienced working in Student Affairs at Adrian College. Jacob has a passion for helping students succeed and has dedicated his career to working in higher education. Jacob Docking's educational career began with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Bucknell University. Jacob then went on to earn a Master of Education in higher education from Harvard University. Finally, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy in higher education and a minor in sociology from Indiana University Bloomington.

During the 2022-23 recruitment cycle, [Adrian] College staff implemented five tactics targeted toward increasing enrollments in new programs and saw deposits rise to approximately 100 [from 51 deposits] for Fall 2023 enrollment.

When prospective students turn down their first-choice colleges, one of the top reasons for doing so after cost is that the schools do not offer their desired majors. To overcome this recruitment hurdle as a small private college, Adrian College significantly increased its academic offerings beginning around 2020. The College introduced majors, minors, and certificates in over 30 new STEM, business, and health-related fields. Adrian faculty and staff were able to start so many programs by using a course sharing arrangement with outside colleges who already offered the programs. The outside colleges agreed to stream in the courses Adrian students would need for Adrian to offer the programs.



Passing the new academic offerings was an important initial step toward leveraging new programs for recruitment benefits, but the implementation of specific recruitment tactics coincided with significant increases in new program enrollments. For Fall 2022, the College received 51 enrollment deposits from students interested in the new academic programs. During the 2022-23 recruitment cycle, College staff implemented five tactics targeted toward increasing enrollments in new programs and saw deposits rise to approximately 100 for Fall 2023 enrollment. This represented about a 2x increase over the prior year. Current data indicates that deposits for new programs will significantly exceed 100 for the entering Fall 2024 class. Here are five key recruitment activities that helped drive this surge in new program interest at Adrian College:

1. Multi-Touchpoint Email/Text Engagement:

In Fall 2022, we implemented a multi-touchpoint automated email and text communication plan for students interested in new programs who entered the Adrian admissions funnel. We identify interest in new programs through selection of a new program in an inquiry form or admissions application. Through the Mailchimp marketing platform, students with incomplete applications receive a series of emails and text messages to complete their applications in the first month. The emails average about a 58% open-rate. Concurrently, we send about three program-specific communications. The program-specific emails and text messages include videos, pictures, and infographics relevant to their academic fields. By maintaining consistent communication, Adrian College aims to keep students engaged and informed in the admissions process, increasing the chances of a completed application and ultimately a deposit. Our partner in starting new programs, Rize, provides a wealth of general video, image, infographic, and written recruitment content that is incredibly helpful in marketing the new programs, but college-specific personalization is also key. Adrian adds its unique branding “Innovation Adrian” as a header to all email communications, aiming to make the college and new programs resonate more deeply with prospective students. 

2. On-Campus Awareness and Program Point Person:

Creating awareness about new programs among the marketing staff and frontline recruiters (i.e., coaches and admissions staff members) has been crucial. Providing compelling social media content to the marketing staff is invaluable to spreading new program highlights to prospective students. An internal Adrian College email campaign to recruiters provided three key talking points for each new program, helping staff members communicate compelling curricular elements and professional opportunities for each new program to prospective students. Towards the goal of raising campus awareness, assigning a program point person for the new academic programs is vital to furthering relationships between campus staff and prospective students. Sometimes a prospective student wants more in-depth information than what a coach or admissions counselor knows. Adrian College has established a position where a designated point person (me) learns in-depth details about the programs and is available to answer specific questions from prospective students and their families. For example, the questions could be about the industry certifications students receive in our cybersecurity management program. The program point person brings a deeper level of programmatic knowledge to the discussion (or knows where to get the answers). An on-the-ground point person is helpful for new academic programs built on course sharing with outside colleges because a supply chain management professor, for example, is not physically on Adrian’s campus. 

3. Open House Engagement:

Adrian’s four admitted-student open houses, called “Scholarship Days,” serve as a vital recruitment touchpoint between the College and prospective students and their families. The point person for new academic programs (me) participates in a parent panel during each Scholarship Day. As the point person, I answer any parent questions related to new majors, minors, and certificates. For example, parents sometimes ask “Could you provide more details on the hybrid structure of the engineering programs?” I then proceed to delve into how the dual-degree engineering program with the University of North Dakota is structured. Many of the current Adrian College students that we include on the parent panel have taken an online class in a new program (e.g., one student took classes in our new Certified Financial Planning program). Good student experiences in the new programs can help alleviate concerns about the program classes not being completely in-person.

After the parent panel, a table is set up in the student center for the program point person to talk one-on-one with students and parents who have questions about the new programs. A handout listing many of our new programs is also available. Presenting the full range of new programs is helpful because even if students don’t want to declare a new program, they are informed that they can still take classes in the field (e.g., they can take classes in professional sales without declaring the major). Looking at previous and current course enrollment numbers, taking classes in the new academic programs is a popular choice.

4. Website Presence:

According to a November 2023 survey, a college’s website is the most widely used source of information for students and parents to learn about a college. To help get the new academic program information onto recruitment optimized webpages, Rize built Adrian College a separate “microsite” with the new program webpages. The curricular and career-focused graphics and written content were very catchy.  

While the separate microsite was a good early step for the new programs’ web presence, both Rize and Adrian College staff members wanted to integrate the webpages into the traditional Adrian.edu website. Adrian College’s marketing team worked to integrate the microsite program webpage content into the Adrian.edu website. An example of the integration, in this case Adrian’s information technology degree webpage, is located here. 

5. Targeted Scholarships:

A majority of high school seniors polled in late-spring 2023 reported ruling out a potential college based solely on cost. To address price sensitivity and simultaneously recruit students for new programs, Adrian College recently launched a scholarship for students participating on First Robotics teams. The scholarships naturally attract students interested in STEM-related fields, such as our new engineering and computer science programs. The scholarship was launched in late-spring 2024, will be annually awarded to 10 incoming students, and provides up to $10,000 per student per year. Our first recipient recently posted online, “This scholarship means a lot to my family and I!” This fall, he will be studying in Adrian’s new computer science and cybersecurity management programs.

The AC First Robotics Scholarship provides an opportunity to meet with local high school robotics teams and for the College to be listed as a scholarship provider on the First Robotics website. We are curious to see the scholarship application response during the 24-25 recruitment cycle.

Conclusion

Launching new academic programs represents an opportunity for colleges to attract new students. Simply introducing new majors, minors, and certificates, however, is not enough - an accompanying recruitment strategy is critical to optimize growth. By implementing tactics like multi-touchpoint digital outreach, fostering on-campus awareness and accessibility to program experts, leveraging open house events, creating a website presence, and offering targeted financial aid opportunities, colleges can effectively market their new programs to prospective students and families. Staff time, persistence, and teamwork as well as some resource allocation is required. The costs are worth the outcome as the holistic approach outlined above has enabled Adrian College to double its enrollment deposits for new programs, helping the College build market visibility for future recruitment. Passing the programs alongside proper promotion helps the College yield prospective students who love Adrian but would have previously gone elsewhere. Implementing the five tactics alongside your new programs can help your institution experience the same enrollment benefit.