The Evolving Role of Marketing in Student Recruitment & Retention

(The Reality of College & Career Readiness)

Steve Kappler

Assistant Vice President

ACT, Inc. steve.kappler@act.org

Agenda

The Data

– What we see

Using the data

– Score Senders

– EOS (list buy)

It’s all about the DATA (What we know)

College & Career Readiness System

Academic Readiness

Academic Behavioral Readiness

Career and Educational Planning

25 36 32

8th/9th

Grade

10th

Grade 11th/12th

Grade

Longitudinal Assessments College Readiness System Scores

ACT College Readiness Standards

Define Knowledge and Skills College Readiness Benchmark Scores

Test

College

Course PLAN

The

ACT

8th

Grade

9th

Grade

English

English

Composition 13 14 15 18

Math Algebra 17 18 19 22

Reading Social Sciences 15 16 17 21

Science Biology 20 20 21 24

The ACT Benchmark Score indicated a 50% chance of obtaining a “B” or a 75% chance of obtaining a “C” in corresponding credit-bearing college courses

EXPLORE 8th-Grade Benchmark = 17

Translating Scores to Skills

8th-Grade On Course Benchmark: 17

Indicates that the student is on course

for meeting the ACT benchmark in

grade 11-12

Mathematics: Basic Operations &

Applications - Score Range: 16 – 19

Solve routine one-step arithmetic

problems (using whole numbers,

fractions, and decimals) such as

single-step percents

Solve some routine two-step

arithmetic problems

Enrollment Management Trends Report, 2012

Achievement Matters

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Number of ACT College

Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2011

458,399

397,712 242,869

278,528

245,604

College Type Attended by College Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2011

Bachelor’s Degree Completion Within 4 Years by ACT Composite Score

Range and High School GPA

Bachelor’s Degree Completion Within 4 Years by ACT Composite Score

Range and High School GPA

How to Use What Students Tell Us

Enrollment by College Choice Number and ACT Composite Score, 2011

Enrollment at Same College Type as Preference by ACT Composite Score

Number of Graduates Taking the ACT - 2011

IL

144,469

MI

116,823

TX

101,569

CA

99,022

FL

117,575

OH

92,313

CO

52,930

TN 68,524

48,565

MN

44,952

WI

47,693

NY

52,255

AL

37,800

LA

35,870

GA

42,929 MS

28,167

KY

46,428

OK

28,223

KS

23,628

IA

22,968

UT

25,161

AR

27,020

ID

11,321

OR

11,715

WA

13,677

AZ

27,952

NM

13,599

NE

16,461 IN

20,462

PA

24,280

VA

20,526

WV

11,505

NC

16,736

SC

21,064

NJ 20,796

MA 14,975

MD 12,687

RI 1,487

CT 10,809

DE 1,481

SD

6,983

ND

7,057

WY

5,533

MT

6,037

NV

6,931

AK

3,022

HI

3,259

ME

1,476

VT 2,053

NH 2,884

DC 1,480

> 100,000

70,000–100,000

40,000–70,000

20,000–40,000

10,000–20,000

< 10,000 Source: ACT Annual State Report

Updated: August 2011

Percent of ACT-Tested College Students Enrolled Out-of-State by ACT Composite Score, 2011

Median Distance to College by ACT Composite Score, 2011

Percent of Graduates Taking ACT/SAT- 2011

More than 50% of graduates taking SAT

More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT

Source: 03/2008 WICHE data for number of H. S. Graduates per state, ACT Annual State Reports, College Board Annual State Summary

Updated: August 2011

CT 26/84

DC 28/74

DE 16/72

MA 22/85

MD 20/71

NH 18/75

NJ 19/75

RI 12/66

VT 28/65

20/56

35/56

24/53

31/47

40/51

34/27

24/63

72/12

36/58

76/6

79/7 100/19

76/5

81/3

98/3 60/26

64/20

100/5

73/6

72/7

61/3

71/5

91/5

100/8

100/4 81/8

100/10

100/5

71/5 100/5

29/67 69/20

17/72

28/85

9/86

24/69 100/6

18/66

56/69

47/78

66/64

65/17

More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT & SAT

Percent of ACT-Tested College Students Enrolled Out of State by State Category, 2011

Median Distance to College by State Category, 2011

EOS = Educational Opportunity Service

(ACT’s list for purchase)

Average Number of Times EOS Students Were Selected by Time of First Testing & ACT

Composite Score, 2011

The Case For the Score-Sender

Annual ACT Test Takers

2011 Graduating Seniors = 1,623,112

2010-2011 Tested Juniors = 1,182,215

Over 2.8 Million Students

Tested Each Year

(PLAN Tested Sophomores = 1,127,875)

Sample Inquiry Pool Data: Regional Public

Total Inquiries N App Enroll Yld

18,973 3,409 1,186 6%

ACT Scores N App Enroll Yld

4,873 1,185 561 12%

All Other Inquiries N App Enroll Yld

14,100 2,224 625 4%

Sample Inquiry Pool Data: Regional Public (contd.)

Applications N App Enroll Yld

940 854 251 27%

All Other Inquiries N App Enroll Yld

13,160 1,370 374 3%

The only source code yielding higher than ACT

scores was applications:

If you take applications out of the mix, the yield

for all non-ACT score inquiries was:

Initial Source Types in the Funnel

Enrolled

Applicants

Initial Source N All Other Sources 69% ACT Scores

26%

ACT Scores

35%

ACT Scores

47%

All Others

40%

All Others

32%

Apps 5%

Apps 25%

Apps 21%

More than 265 fields of data provide a

complete student profile:

Overview of Student Data in the ACT Record

– Personal/demographic data

– Admissions/recruitment data

– ACT Scores, norms, and prediction research

– High school courses and grades

– Educational plans, interests, and needs

– Activities and accomplishments

Key Points about Personalizing, Customizing, Segmenting

Your ability to segment, customize, personalize and target is entirely dependent on the amount of student-level information you have available … and when you have it available

Through the ACT student record… – you have the most complete information available

– you have it at the earliest point in the recruitment cycle

– you have it in the most portable format

What do you know about your prospective students?

Your Institution:

Public 4 Year University

In Colorado

Full-time Enrollment – 9,711

Yearly Tuition/Fees - $6,280

Meet Ann Wants to major in Accounting – likely a

good fit

Will probably have difficulty with

freshman math and science

requirements

Needs expectations managed about

honors courses

Strong probability that she will enroll at

your school

Good idea to inform her about campus

employment or Work-Study

opportunities

Highly involved in high school –

possible campus leader

How do we

know so much

about Ann?

Ann took the ACT and sent her score

report to you

Wants to major in Accounting – likely a good fit

About Ann:

Wants to major in Accounting – likely a good fit

About Ann:

About Ann: Will probably have difficulty with freshman math and

science requirements

Test College Course ACT

English English Composition 18

Math College Algebra 22

Reading Social Sciences 21

Science Biology 24

College Readiness Benchmarks

About Ann: Will probably have difficulty with freshman math and

science requirements

Needs expectations managed about honors courses

About Ann:

Strong probability that she will enroll at your

school

About Ann:

About Ann: Good idea to inform her about campus

employment or Work-Study opportunities

Highly involved in high school – possible

campus leader

NOW, how much do you

know?

Enhancements to the

ACT Electronic Record

Beginning in September 2012, ACT will

begin appending 5 new data elements to

the ACT Score Report:

– Interest-Major Fit score

– Four predictive modeling indexes

The Interest-Major Fit Index

The Fit score shows the strength of the

relationship between a student’s profile of

interests and the profile of interests of

students in a given major.

Interest-major fit clearly benefits both

students and the college they attend:

students in “good-fit majors” are more likely

to stay in college, stay in their major, and

finish sooner.

Predicting Enrollment

Behavior with Four Indexes The Mobility Index predicts the likelihood of a

student enrolling at an out-of-state institution

The Institution Type Index predicts the likelihood

of a student enrolling at a private institution

The Selectivity Index predicts the selectivity of

the institution at which the student is likely to

enroll

The Institution Size Index predicts the size of the

institution at which the student is likely to enroll

Variables Included in

the Four Indexes Academic Variables Demographic Variables

ACT Composite Home community size

High school GPA High school enrollment

Years of foreign language Type of high school

Program of study in HS Enrollment Preference Variables

Years of math coursework Campus mix (score sending pattern)

Highest degree expected Level of college choice

Student Characteristic Variables Preferred college size

Planned work hours in college Preferred college type

Family income Intended major (7 groups)

Involvement in science Preferred distance home to campus

Involvement in athletics No college in mind

Involvement in music Scores sent to comm. college

How will you

maximize your ACT

score report data to

recruit, enroll & retain

your students?

Key Takeaways

1. Know what data you actually have

– Understand the role of students choices, and their achievement, and fit

2. Counsel students

– Release their name to EOS

– Send you their scores (a new campaign?)

3. Require an official score report

– You get more data!

Key Takeaways

4. Use what you know to buy better lists

5. Decide which score report elements will help with campus goals and initiatives

6. Identify any barriers to using the data

— Delivery method from ACT – paper or electronic

— Student information system capabilities

Key Takeaways 7. Discuss data sharing with appropriate campus

stakeholders 8. Incorporate new data elements into your

communication plan (market segmentation) – email, print, phone calls, etc.

Questions?

Steve Kappler

Assistant Vice President

ACT, Inc. steve.kappler@act.org

About Student

Preferences

Enrollment Information Service

Comprehensive database for strategic

marketing and segment/territory management

containing aggregate data on all ACT-tested

students

Enrollment Funnel Through EIS

1.6 Million ACT-Tested Students

Campus Scores Received

(Visibility)

Campus Enrolled

(Yield)

Breakout by:

Ability

Geography

Race/Ethnicity

Family Income

Intended major

Enrollment Preferences, etc.

Market Overlap

Competitor Analysis

Purchased Names

Inquiries

Applicants

ACT Tested

Population

Purchased Names 75,000

Inquiries 40,000

Applicants 6,000

ACT Tested Population

(Total 1.6 million)

1,479,000

Sample Student Pool for Alpha University

Alpha has info on these students

EIS provides the rest of the pie

Do you have the complete picture?

Create Customized Queries on Demand

Key characteristics

– Gender

– Educ. major

– Race/Ethnicity

– Family income

– Religious pref.

– College selection

variables

Geographic variables

– States

– ACT EIS segments

– High school districts

– High schools

– Distance from campus

Academic performance

– GPA

– Class rank

– ACT scores

Data Provided by EIS

Market Potential

Market Penetration (Visibility) and Yield

Market Position and Collegiate

Competition

Strategic Enrollment Planning

Best Uses for EIS

Manage primary markets

– Identify underperforming high schools

Identify new markets

Train new admissions counselors

Help senior administrators set realistic goals

Develop marketing messages tied to student

interests and characteristics

Identify competing institutions for specific markets