Schools May Not Be Reaching Tomorrow’s Students.

Wakefield, MA - CourseAdvisor, a marketing and lead generation company that operates one of the top online education directories (OED), and Eduventures, education’s leading research and consulting firm, recently announced results from an online poll of executives representing a mix of more than 75 online and campus-based postsecondary educational institutions. Surveyed during an online webinar, more than 33 percent of executives from the participating educational institutions noted that they were not sure if they were reaching tomorrow’s candidates.

Led by Noah Carp, Senior Analyst with Eduventures, and Greg Titus, founder and CEO of CourseAdvisor, the webinar discussed postsecondary marketing trends, the changing student profile, best-practice ways to reach today and tomorrow’s students, and advanced tools for lead generation and enrollment strategies. As the postsecondary market grows and the student landscape continues to evolve, Eduventures projects school spending on marketing initiatives to grow to almost $2B by 2010 – after topping $1B in 2006. The webinar, “How to Identify Your Ideal Student: Using New Marketing Techniques to Boost Enrollment,” can be viewed at: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/135484837.

“Data is a key ingredient in postsecondary recruiting, but today’s institutional leaders are still figuring out how to capture the right data, and how to put that data to use,” said Noah Carp, an Eduventures Senior Analyst. “Schools need to leverage data to drive strategic decisions, evaluate objectives against the backdrop of broad market dynamics, craft marketing plans that are targeted, and invest in the technologies to facilitate these initiatives.”

The online poll also found that while more than 60 percent of respondents are implementing traditional advertising and direct marketing programs and/or relying on events to connect with candidates, less than 50 percent are using search engine optimization techniques or buying leads, and 4 percent admitted to having none of those marketing vehicles in place.

“The postsecondary education market is changing, and today’s colleges and universities can no longer rely on reputation or traditional marketing techniques to connect with and enroll the ideal candidates,” said Greg Titus, founder and CEO, CourseAdvisor. “We deliver the mathematical, data-driven way to match the right student with the right school so school administrators can focus on retaining the ideal students from enrollment to graduation.”