Digitally Engaging Students Yields Record Enrollment
Challenge
Huston-Tillotson University (HT), an HBCU located in Austin, TX, is a tight-knit community of students, faculty, and staff with a goal of providing educational access to all. A few years ago, the university’s primary means of communicating to students was to engage with them personally throughout the recruitment process, primarily through in-person conversations, open houses, and college fairs. However, when the pandemic affected enrollment rates across the country, HT’s applications dropped roughly 30%, and they knew they wanted to reach and support students where they were now spending most of their time–on their phones and computers.
Solution
To strengthen their application generation efforts anew, Huston-Tillotson partnered with Encoura to successfully connect with students most likely to enroll. Initially, HT and Encoura focused outreach on students geographically close to the university, and then branched out with strategic digital marketing strategies to reach new markets and boost engagement for both traditional and adult degree programs. They knew connecting with the right students on the right channels with messaging that was proven to align with student interests would be a successful strategy.
Strategic Enrollment Consulting
Funnel & Market Analysis
Eduventures® Student Mindsets™
Encoura Combined Data Set
Smart+® Predictive Model
Geofencing
TikTok
Campaign Performance & Recommendations
Enrollment Lens®
Class Planner®
Results
Huston-Tillotson’s enhanced approach to recruitment skyrocketed engagement and enrollment. Through the success of its outreach strategies with Encoura, the university achieved a 10-year record high for its traditional students–an accomplishment that even required HT to set up a strategic partnership with another local university to house an overflowing 150 students. Additionally, Huston-Tillotson nearly doubled its typical spring open house attendance, increased its male enrollment numbers for the first time despite national trends, and surpassed its application goal for the Adult Degree Program. With such strong success, the university knows that combining predictive modeling with the latest digital solutions is the smartest strategy for continued enrollment success.
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