12
How do the Presidents and the Deans Measure the Success of
Their Marketing Programs?
Seventy-two percent of the deans and presidents interviewed cited increased
number of inquiries for our program as the number-one way to measure the
success of their marketing programs from year to year. The second and third
measures are by surveying the applicants to ask where they heard about the
program (30 percent) and the increased number of inquiries from targeted groups
(19 percent).
By far, the majority of presidents and deans stated that enrollment was their
major way of measuring success. This was based on how many students
applied for the year, if the numbers had increased from the previous year, and
whether or not the school had reached its enrollment goals. In addition to
quantity, they also based success on the quality of students they were able to
enroll. Other less common answers included whether or not students had been
recruited from wide geographic areas, student retention, and comparison to other
schools, and feedback from the students.
Verbatim comments from the presidents and the deans:
Demographics are not just a marketing tool. Recruiting from different
geographical areas is a success versus recruiting from just some areas.Ó
Ò The registrations Ðgraduate enrollment is up! We are the college in MA whose
enrollment is up every year compared to other colleges. Ò
We track through a computer system. How students replied? What attracted the
student to the university, we also use different post offices to track areas
targeted.Ó
ÒWe track each source and record the success of each admitted student
according to the category that generated their inquiry.Ó
Ò We track the students who have applied to the program. Students interested
would go into a database here. After 30 days, if we did not hear from the student
would send the 10 point letter. After a few more months, if we still have not heard
from the student, we would send another invitation of our program information
session.Ó
Ò We keep detailed data on point of inquiry to enrollment.Ó
Ò If we meet our targeted goals, it is an indication of our success.Ó
Ò We receive feedback from students about what they liked about us.Ó
