Www.swansea.ac.uk. The Applicant Experience at Swansea University From Enquiry to Enrolment...
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Www.swansea.ac.uk. The Applicant Experience at Swansea University From Enquiry to Enrolment Professor Alan Speight Pro Vice Chancellor, Student Experience
The Applicant Experience at Swansea University From Enquiry to
Enrolment Professor Alan Speight Pro Vice Chancellor, Student
Experience Swansea University
Slide 3
www.swansea.ac.uk The Student Experience 1994 Group Enhancing
the Student Experience - Nov 2007 Our aim is to engage as much as
possible with students at every step on their educational journey,
from contact before and during admissions processes, providing
excellent support and experiences during university life,
encouraging progression to postgraduate level and continued
engagement with alumni.
Slide 4
www.swansea.ac.uk The Applicant Experience A students
experience of a university does not begin at the moment they step
onto campus at the beginning of their course, and it does not end
at graduation. The early relationship between student and
university is important during the application and admissions
process, in preparing students for university life, and to initiate
their engagement with and attitudes towards their university in the
best way possible. Applicant Experience creates expectations for
Student Experience, and is the formative stage of the relationship
between student and department.
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www.swansea.ac.uk The Applicant Experience A successful
applicant experience means: 1.Applicants make informed choices
2.Swansea recruits students of appropriate quality in sufficient
quantities for our schemes of study The applicant experience is
commonly described as a journey where the student moves from
enquiry to application to selection to enrolment.
Slide 6
www.swansea.ac.uk Pre-Application Growing the Pool Positive
engagement and enquiry response requires transmitting accurate and
persuasive information to potential students Official Sources of
info: School TalksHE fairsNSS ProspectusUniversity
websitesUnistats/KIS data Careers ConventionsDept Brochures (course
content) UCAS Course InfoMasterclasses/Campus Visits Open Days
(July/Sept/Oct)Agents Our goal is to provide persuasive information
to a diverse market that enables candidates to choose us with
confidence. Ideally this information would be applicant focussed.
Overlapping recruitment cycles make this a labour intensive area of
work.
Slide 7
www.swansea.ac.uk Pre-Application Unofficial Sources of
Information: League tables Blogs Social Networking Sites
Parents/Friends Application Support Companies While we cant
necessarily control this information, we need to be aware of how we
are perceived and be able to respond.
Slide 8
www.swansea.ac.uk Swansea University case study UG UK/EU
Slide 9
www.swansea.ac.uk Growing the pool By 2012, the majority of
applications to Swansea were from Wales (56%); South West (12%);
South East especially M4 corridor (10%); West Midlands (6%) Focus
groups of sixth-formers in Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Chester and
Leicester showed that only 1 in 5 knew enough about Swansea to
consider applying Clearly, additional promotion and engagement
outside the traditional catchment areas would be needed for the
University to be able to grow the pool of applicants
Slide 10
www.swansea.ac.uk Aims and objectives Coordinated recruitment
and admissions strategy across the University, involving central
and College recruiters Recruitment campaign focused on extending
catchment area Aiming to engage effectively with prospective
students at each part of the process Provide timely and relevant
information at each stage of the applicant journey to: encourage as
many as possible to progress from initial contact through to
enrolment ensure that new students are appropriately prepared and
have realistic expectations of the Swansea student experience
Slide 11
www.swansea.ac.uk Activity #making waves recruitment campaign
Digital and outdoor advertising and promotion
Slide 12
www.swansea.ac.uk #making waves
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www.swansea.ac.uk Activity #making waves recruitment campaign
Digital and outdoor advertising and promotion Overhaul of
University website
Slide 14
www.swansea.ac.uk Web Restructured website and improved online
content: A-Z course listings searchable database of courses
Standardised course pages consistent style and content Swansea
student experience pages
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www.swansea.ac.uk Traffic to branches of swansea.ac.uk
Slide 16
www.swansea.ac.uk Activity #making waves recruitment campaign
Digital and outdoor advertising and promotion Overhaul of
University website Improvements to Open and Visit Days
Slide 17
www.swansea.ac.uk Open and Visit Days Improvements to Open Day
and Post-application visit days: Booking systems Central and
subject- specific activities
Slide 18
www.swansea.ac.uk Activity #making waves recruitment campaign
Digital and outdoor advertising and promotion Overhaul of
University website Improvements to Open and Visit Days Coordinated
communications from enquiry to enrolment
Slide 19
www.swansea.ac.uk Communications Coordinated University-wide
communications strategy Agreed communications calendar Mix of
email, SMS and post Communications sent via new CRM system
Consistent style and content Specific information at relevant
points of the cycle themed communications including Programme
information; Student life; Employability/graduate prospects
Monitoring of email opens and click-throughs to refine style and
content of emails
Slide 20
www.swansea.ac.uk E.g. Pre-arrival communications To overcome
issues of inconsistent and contradictory information; and under-
prepared new students: Coordinated email and postal campaign All
comms. sent via CRM using consistent style and content Weekly
emails, same day each week what youve missed section for late
applicants
Slide 21
www.swansea.ac.uk Activity #making waves recruitment campaign
Digital and outdoor advertising and promotion Overhaul of
University website Improvements to Open and Visit Days Coordinated
communications from enquiry to enrolment Customer Relationship
Management system
Slide 22
www.swansea.ac.uk CRM for UK Recruitment and Admissions Phase
1, CRM launched July 2013: Rolled out to all recruitment staff
across University Single data source for enquirer and applicant
data Record enquirers (via email, telephone or in-person) Record
and manage prospectus requests Load and cross-reference Open Day
bookings Hold applicant data from SITS student record system Allows
us to cross reference the various groups to target communications
appropriately
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www.swansea.ac.uk CRM - Key Benefits 1 Cross-referenced data
allows us to send reminders to enquirers who have not yet booked an
Open Day and/or not applied etc Allows coordinated communication
across all areas of the University following an agreed
communication calendar Suite of reporting options on conversion
rates etc, including Dashboards for quick reporting
Slide 24
www.swansea.ac.uk CRM - Bespoke dashboard reports
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www.swansea.ac.uk CRM - Key benefits 2 Communications Defined
comms. calendar Standard communications, generated via workflows
Tie-in to Dotmailer to send html emailshots (fully mobile-friendly)
via automated processes. SMS messages Email opens and
click-throughs recorded in the CRM record Welsh comms. as
standard
Slide 26
www.swansea.ac.uk CRM Phase 2 October 2013 to June 2014
iCapture app to record enquiries at HE conventions and other events
Social media integration (facebook and twitter) 2 way SMS messaging
Enquiry management and FAQ library Applicant portal to make an
enquiry, request a prospectus and communicate up to enrolment with
SU Schools and Colleges Database
Slide 27
www.swansea.ac.uk Results so far - 2013 In 2013 applications
increased by 23.3% the fifth largest increase in applications to
institutions with 10,000+ applications This included a 47% increase
in applications from the areas targeted by the #makingwaves
Campaign 26% increase in accepted applicants the fourth largest
increase across the UK of institutions with 1000+ new students With
only a slight drop in average tariff scores and number of students
admitted with AAB+ or equivalent Maintained proportion of students
from Communities First areas within Wales
Slide 28
www.swansea.ac.uk Results so far - 2014 Applications for 2014
have increased by a further 25% (56% increase over 2 years) A
further 34% increase in applications from England (98% increase
over two years) Welsh applicants now account for only 42% of the
pool; with the largest increases in applications coming from
London, the South East and the South West
Slide 29
www.swansea.ac.uk Summary Providing an effective applicant
experience means being applicant- focussed and demonstrating with
clarity: That we value each application The attractiveness of our
courses Our requirements for admission and progression The support
and facilities available to new students The unique student
experience we offer by virture of our academic strength and
location/lifestyle. It requires a collective effort, strong
communication and a desire to attract students who will build a
long term relationship with their chosen subjects and the
University.
