Increasing Enrollment

Most student recruitment and enrollment teams know how important it is to increase the number of applicants in the spring who become actual students in the fall. The average number of applicants needed to fill a seat is 2.5, and this target serves as a conservative basis to project enrollment. However, with intentionality, your team can convert a higher percentage of applicants leading to more robust enrollment.

Changing Our Perspective

Most teams encounter the same pitfall with their enrollment process: the system is designed to meet the needs of the administrators and fails to meet the needs of families. There’s a good reason for this. School administrators are juggling too many tasks and must look for the most efficient ways to complete their job responsibilities. However, if you fail to recognize and empathize with your families’ enrollment experience, you will build processes that leave families behind.

You can divide your families’ needs into two categories: practical and emotional. We need to consider both categories in our process.

1. Practical: Families can easily access the communication and technology required to enroll.

   • Do you have clear communication outlining your enrollment process?

   • Is the application on your website mobile compatible?

   • Are you using preferred means of communication? (ex. txt vs email)

   • Are your enrollment materials in native languages?

   • Do your timelines make sense for families’ schedules?

2. Emotional: Your process eliminates fear and increases trust.

   • Is your brand message consistently communicating how you make their lives better?

   • Does your process allow families to interface with staff?

   • Are you answering frequently asked questions?

   • Does your team respond to emails and phone calls promptly?

   • Are you sharing testimonials and stories of success?

Plotting Your Applicant’s Journey

The next step is to plot an applicant’s journey through the enrollment process. Every step in the process needs to accommodate the practical and emotional needs of families while simultaneously checking off your administrative to-do list. This allows you to design with intentionality as you put yourself in an applicant’s shoes. Below is an example of an applicant’s journey:

Bonus Points: Find the Tipping Point

If you are working in a high-quality school, families will experience a point where they get off the fence and trust that your school is the best fit for them. For some schools, the tipping point is when a family steps into a classroom and experiences your incredible teachers in action. You may have a charismatic staff member who captivates the hearts and minds of parents over the phone. For others, it’s a student shadow day where the child can build a relationship with one of your students. Search for your tipping point, and leverage it to increase conversions.

Track Your Results & Celebrate

If your team hasn’t been tracking your conversions, this is the year to start! As you perfect your enrollment process through the lens of your applicant’s journey, you will see more and more applicants turn into students at your school.

Sawyer Schafbuch is a StoryBrand Certified Guide and founder of Everydesk, helping quality schools recruit students. He recently moved to Des Moines, IA with his wife and daughter.