Highlights: The E-expectations of College-Bound High School Juniors and Seniors

Stephanie Geyer

Associate Vice President for Web Strategy and

Interactive Marketing Services

Finding answers since 2005

Visit any partner site to find the latest studies, including the 2012 E-expectations of Juniors and Seniors white paper and trend reports for our recent Mobile and Communication Preferences studies.

E-Expectations Research

http://bit.ly/NkfloGFind all of the past studies here!

Telephone survey of 2,000 high school students

• Facilitated in March and April 2012

• List source: National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA)

• 95% confidence interval

• +/- 3% margin of error

Methodology

An opportunity to compare their preferences with our practices

Look for this logo to signal data points from the E-Recruitment Practices study of 256 U.S. colleges and universities facilitated by Noel-Levitz via Web survey in April 2012

• Guidance Counselors (74%)o African-American (82%) compared to Caucasian (71%)o Web plays extremely important (77%) compared to Web

plays no role (58%)• Friends (68%)

o Have access to a mobile device (72%) compared to those who don’t (60%)

• Teachers (66%)• Family (66%)

o Caucasian (69%) compared to Asian (59%) and Hispanic (58%)

o Parent attended college (70%) compared to parent didn’t attend (56%)

o Have mobile phone (69%) compared to those without (59%)• Coaches (38%)

o Male (43%) compared to female (33%)o African-American (43%) compared to Asian (31%) and

Hispanic (35%)o Inquiries (41%) compared to applied (30%)

PEOPLE helping students formulate their lists of schools

Web search just trailing print

• Brochures/print mail from schools (72%)• Will give an e-mail address (74%) compared

to those who wouldn’t (57%)• Google, Bing, or Yahoo search (67%)

• Asian (77%), African-American (74%) and Hispanic (72%) compared to Caucasian (63%)

• E-mails I get from schools (62%)• The College Board (51%)• MyCollegeOptions (40%)• CollegeWeekLive (30%)• Cappex (12%)• Zinch (8%)• Peterson’s (5%)

RESOURCES students use to form the list of schools they’ll consider

Using SEO strategies?

42% of 4-yr privates34% of 4-yr publics21% of 2-yr schools

What resources are most influential?

Tour Web site Talk with a student

Talk with admis-

sions rep

College search sites

Guidance counselor

Brochures College's Facebook

page

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

54.54

4.16

3.84 3.853.7

3.533.38

2.29

4.59

4.12 4.09 4 4.04

3.753.59

2.47

SeniorsJuniors

What challenges did they experience on the last college site they visited?

55% couldn’t find what they wanted because of challenges with the site navigation• Juniors were much more likely to have

challenges finding academic and cost content than seniors

Content PrioritiesFirst target Most important Mobile

Academics 55% 47% 23%

Money 23% 29% 17%

Process 11% 11% 11%

Visit 5% 3% 3%

Campus 3% 5% 3%

Athletics 3% 3% 3%

Most effective way to learn about a school’s ACADEMIC PROGRAM OPTIONS

Live chats/webcasts

Blog posts

Social media

Videos of faculty/current students

Independent online sites

Web search

E-mail from program faculty

Presentations from faculty/students during campus visit

Printed brochures

Descriptions on a Web site

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

29%

30%

38%

43%

50%

53%

56%

58%

74%

68%

24%

31%

38%

43%

48%

50%

55%

61%

68%

71%

Seniors

Juniors

• 41% Browse through an alphabetically-ordered list

• 33% Use a search box• 26% Look through a college or

departmental page for all of the programs within that area

Alpha-ordered list is the top method for sharing academic program options

Most effective Way to Learn About COST, AID, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Blog posts

Social media pages

Live Chats/Webcasts

Search

Calculators

Independent online sites

Videos explaining how to apply for aid/scholarships

Presentations from financial aid staff

E-mail from financial aid staff

Printed brochures

Details on a Web site

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

9%

11%

12%

18%

16%

20%

19%

21%

28%

34%

49%

8%

9%

10%

15%

15%

16%

16%

21%

28%

29%

49%

Seniors

Juniors

23% of all students have used one, down from 36% in 2011

• 31% of seniors had done so, compared to 15% of juniors

Why haven’t they used a calculator yet?• 74% haven’t found one, up from 50% in

2011o No significant difference between juniors

or seniors

Calculator Use Decreased

Got net price calculator?

90% of 4-yr privates77% of 4-yr publics59% of 2-yr schools

Most effective way to learn about a school’s CAMPUS LOCATION AND COMMUNITY

Live chats/webcasts

Blog posts

Social media

Independent sites

Videos

Search

E-mail messages

Printed brochures

Campus visits

Web site details

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

29%

30%

36%

42%

44%

44%

52%

62%

69%

69%

25%

30%

34%

41%

47%

46%

50%

58%

72%

68%

Seniors

Juniors

Can they find your inquiry form easily?When they find the content they need on your site, they’re going to look for a way to

connect and engage!

1. Inquiry form2. Visit options3. Faculty e-mail links4. Admissions e-mail links5. Catalog detail

Inquiry form online?

88% of 4-yr privates77% of 4-yr publics62% of 2-yr schools

More than two-thirds (67%) have regular access to a

mobile device• 20% are using tablets• 52% of college-bound

students have looked at a college Web site using a

mobile device

Site optimized for mobile?

35% of 4-yr privates39% of 4-yr publics7% of 2-yr schools

Are students interested in using Webcams to interact with college personnel?

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

45%75%

4%

55%25%

96%

Yes No

© 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc.2012 E-Expectations Report: The Online Expectations of College-Bound Juniors and Seniors

Webcam use higher among some students of color

75% of students would talk to an admission rep or current student via webcam

• 81% of juniors • 69% of seniors

Underrepresented students are more likely to use webcams for personal use

• 45% overall• Asian (62%) • African-American (52%) • Hispanic (46%) • Caucasian (39%)

Students say they would participate in live chat sessions…

69% of all students would participate in a live chat event with faculty about a specific program

72% would do so to learn more about cost, aid, and scholarships

Student: I’ve heard your engineering program is one of the best. Can you explain why?

Faculty Member: There are a few important factors to consider…

If only we would ASK them to participate in live chat

While 75% of students would chat with college reps via webcam...

only 4% have actually had these online conversations

Online Channels Offered

4-year private

4-year public

2-year school

Live chats 34% 39% 7%

Instant messaging 16% 21% 10%

Web camera 11% 10% 0%

Webcast events 10% 16% 7%

Skype 35% 19% 7%

FaceTime 4% 5% 3%

Which social media resources do students use at least once per week?

Facebook 79% Pinterest 6%

YouTube 62% Storify 1%

Twitter 27% SCVNGR 1%

Google+ 19% Foursquare 1%

Tumblr 9% None 7%

StumbleUpon 7%

© 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc.2012 E-Expectations Report: The Online Expectations of College-Bound Juniors and Seniors

Facebook use remains steady at 79%

• 46% have—up from 27% in 2011

Visited a school page?

69% have “liked” a school’s page

What do they expect in return? Not much!

• 36% info about admissions deadlines and events• 34% info about academic programs• 30% updates through the news feed• 30% the name of the school to appear in their “likes”• 26% special info they can’t get elsewhere• 26% interaction with page admins• 26% contact from school about admission• 25% photos and videos• 21% interaction with other people who like the page• 20% posts to share• 18% specific info tailored to user profile

• 98% of 4-year privates have a Facebook pageo 70% have a separate

admissions page• 97% of 4-year publics have a

Facebook pageo 74% have a separate

admissions page• 93% of 2-year schools have

a Facebook pageo 21% have a separate

admissions page

Many times/day

1x/day Every other day

2x/week 1x/week 2x/month Never Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Student Use

4-yr Private

4-yr Public

2-year

Twitter use increased to 27% up from 9%

25% follow a school feed—up from 19%How often do you look at Twitter/update? Using Twitter?

4-yr private: 37%4-yr public: 44%2-yr school: 14%

Many times/day

1x/day Every other day

2x/week 1x/week 2x/month 1x/month Never Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Student Use

4-yr Private

4-yr Public

19% use Google+; 10% include schools

How often do you look at/update Google+?

Using Google+? 4-yr private: 7%4-yr public: 10%2-yr school: 0%

78% of juniors; 85% of seniors say they still use e-mail at least once per week

93% will give an e-mail address to schools • Just 5% will give a family or parent account

When?• When they ask for it 55%

• Juniors 63%• Seniors 48%

• Application 40%• Juniors 33%• Seniors 45%

• Post-acceptance 4%• Never 1%

E-mail use remains steady

Will students open e-mail messages form a college or university?

College they are in-terested in attending

College they do not know about

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

97%

68%

3%

32%

Yes No

© 2012 Noel-Levitz, Inc.2012 E-Expectations Report: The Online Expectations of College-Bound Juniors and Seniors

60% say it’s OK to send them texts

Especially…• African-American and Hispanic• Lower income• Students from the South• Mobile users

Why not?• Don’t bother me! 58%• Texting is for family/friends 27%• No data plan 6%• I’m not ready 3%• Too expensive 3%• Phone doesn’t text 3%

It might be time to start your texting program, if you haven’t already

Do you collect cell numbers? How do you use them?

4-year private

4-year public

2-year school

Collect cell numbers? 92% 74% 97%

Relationship-building calls 86% 61% 36%

Notifications 40% 24% 57%

Telecounseling call centers 38% 48% 21%

Individual text messages 35% 22% 21%

Mass text messages 16% 9% 18%

Other 4% 15% 11%

Recommendations

Integrated Strategies Will Leverage Resources and Improve Service

1

6

2

54

3

Test your Web site information architecture with key markets. Do they get it?

Invest in search engine optimization strategies

Self-service

Work on a content strategy—integrate site and social media assets.

Ready for even more mobile users?

Build an editorial calendar to support your social media engagements; integrate with e-mail flow

Experiment with a variety of Webcast/Web cam and live chat engagement options

E-mail: Still NOT Dead

• Keep it in your overall communications flow mix.

• Integrate messages with your social media editorial calendars.

• Be sure that key message themes from inquiry stage are repeated in your yield flows.

• Are you testing your messages?

• Do you have content-matched landing pages to support engagement and conversion?

• Are you measuring carefully and remembering to check in on the results on a regular basis?

Use the communication channels students prefer

• The conversations students have with campus representatives are impactful

• Students use live chat, webcams, and text messaging frequently… and are open to speaking with camps reps through these channels

• Get a strategy in place to line up with the rest of your communications flow.

• Use texting for key upcoming deadlines and use live chat or webcasts to make personal connections

• Set up a measurement strategy and pay attention to the results

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