Mobile Websites, Mobile Apps & Social MediaTrends in Undergraduate Admissions

Chris J. Foley The Office of Undergraduate AdmissionsJanuary 2012

A survey of 1,000 freshmen across the country

When asked to describe themselves, the “Class of 2015” used two words:

LazyTechnology“What we glean from this response is that they are a generation that is used to taking the path of least resistance. They are pros at using technology to their advantage, and expect information, answers and solutions to be delivered to them in real-time.”

Source: Mr. Youth, “5 Ways to Friend the Class of 2015”

Mr Youth’s “5 Ways to Friend the Class of 2015”

• Help them express their personal brand• They live in a public world of fans and followers• Your brand is complimentary to their own

• Integrate organically into their world• Know where they are and what’s hot• Know what it means to be cool• Allow them to co-create with your brand

• Get in good with their friends• Know how they define “friend” in social media• Know the purpose of each social community• Understand their taboo’s are not what you think

• Become an on-demand brand• They communicate 24/7 and expect this from brands• They are always on the lookout for what’s next

• Get to know them before assuming what they want• Their preferences in brands has shifted• Reaching them requires attention to details• Understand what incentives will motivate them

Perceived Usefulness of Technologies for Admissions Practices

Scale: 1=None, 2=Some, 3=Very

School Web Site

Email Cell Phone

Text Msg Social Networking

Notification of acceptance 2.9 2.6 2.1 1.8 1.8

Notification of application info & deadlines

2.8 2.7 1.9 1.8 2.0

Building relationship with counselor

-- 2.5 1.9 1.6 1.8

Campus tours at a distance 2.6 -- -- -- --

Informational (and forms) 2.8 2.6 2.1 1.7 2.2

Learning “what’s happening” on campus

2.6 -- -- -- --

Source: Lindeck & Fodrey. (2010). “Using technology in undergraduate admissions.” The Journal of College Admission: The Journal of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. 208. 10-17.

5 Findings on Use of Social Media in Admissions

• The use of social media by college admission officers is on the rise, though tried and true methods such as college fairs still take priority (62% plan to dedicate more resources to social media).

• Facebook is the top social media tool used by admission departments.• Colleges fan pages are directed at three audiences included prospects,

enrolled students, and alumni, and have goals of providing campus news and answer questions.

• Admission departments typically post to Facebook at least once per week.

• Admission officers believe that prospective students use Facebook to get a realistic view of what a college is like.

Source: Cappex.com, “Establishing a Benchmark for Social Media Use in College Admissions: 2010 Social Media and College Admissions Study”

. . . And it’s not just high school seniors

How does this impact IUPUI?

Some Application Statistics• 55%-60% of our fall freshman applicants’ first contact

with our office is the application.• Another 20-25% of our fall freshman applicants’ first

contact with our office is their test scores.• In line with national trends at other campuses.• For other admit types, this percentage is higher because

we have fewer means to reach out to them as prospects (e.g., fewer outreach events, fewer college search websites, fewer names “clearinghouses” like the College Board’s Search Service)

Survey of “Stealth” 2011 Applicants

N = 249

63%

9%

14%

10%

4%

Pageviews of enroll.iupui.edu by Operating System

Windows78%

Mac12%

Mobile9%

Other1%

10/15/2011 to 1/22/2012

Windows84%

Mac11%

Mobile5% Other

1%

8/1/2010 to 10/14/2011

To repeat, how does this impact IUPUI?

More students (even those we know about) are “secret shopping”

us, and more are using mobile technology to do so. Also, they are

participants in, not simply recipients of, developing (and

personalizing) our brand.

Some initiatives from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Facebook Pages

Twitter

Our Goals for Social Networking This Year

• “Meet students where they are”• Adding personalization and spontaneity to

recruitment, but within a manageable and professional framework

• Get comfortable with joining in the conversation that is already happening

• Adding a “social” element to our recruitment—not simply pushing out news

• Begin the “echo chamber”

We need to go mobile.

Where do we need to go?

Examples of Mobile Apps and Mobile/m. Websites

Mobile App Mobile/m.-Versions of Websites

Mobile Apps vs. Mobile/m.-Versions of Websites

Mobile Apps• Loaded on phone• May be able to work off-line• Better for providing services

(e.g., Oncourse, reference material, books)

• Meant to provide a richer experience, but it has to be an experience worth the time to download, explore, and commit storage space to

Mobile/m.-Versions of Websites• Faster loading• Fewer graphics/more text• Larger fonts• Meant to push out

information or services• Have to be accessed over

connection (either WiFi or mobile network)

• Not loaded on phone

Where are we planning to go?• Virtual tour for mobile phones• Mobile version of enroll.iupui.edu website• Explore the usefulness of an app to prospective students• Expand friends/fans/followers• Have “at IUPUI” Facebook pages for all recruiters• Collaborate with schools/departments to expand “echo

chamber” effect and leverage content• Develop a better understanding of this new world• Investigate the future . . . Google +, Youtube, more!

Chris J. Foley The Office of Undergraduate Admissionscfoley@iupui.edu