Tim Copeland's Blog on College & University Marketing and Enrollment Management

Noel-Levitz Follow-Up: Beyond the Hype Presentation Survey Findings

Despite the media consumption habits of prospective students, interactive marketing investment ranks at the bottom of undergraduate recruitment spending priorities. This according to attendees at my recent presentation during the 2008 Noel-Levitz National Conference on Student Marketing, Recruitment and Retention.

Print media garners 36% of the recruitment budget, one-third of institutions have no plans to increase their interactive enrollment marketing spend in FY2009, and measurement tools are identified as the proof needed for more investment. I presented a new paradigm for enrollment managers to approach their interactive marketing efforts strategically, rather than the typical grocery list approach of selecting the tools and technologies.

What Noel-Levitz and Indiana Jones Have in Common

Just returned from the 2008 Noel-Levitz Conference on Student Recruitment, Marketing, and Retention. It's hard to walk away from this event without a notebook filled with actionable ideas, research, and best practices. Unlike some higher education associations,  Noel-Levitz tends to be a bit more vendor friendly so I had an opportunity to speak at this year's conference.

So what is the connection between the venerable Noel-Levitz conference and the world's favorite archaeologist?

College Coach Dislikes Internet Recruiting ... Transparency and The Impact on Yield

Internet marketing and recruitment of student-athletes isn't good for college football, this according to new Arkansas Razorback head football coach, Bobby Petrino. The transparency of information is apparently impacting the coach's recruiting yield. “I don’t like it. It is a trend, and it is because they’re reading people on the Internet,” Petrino told The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this June. “We’re having to offer more guys because of Internet recruiting.”

If you are responsible for enrollment management at your college or university, you are probably thinking ... welcome to my world!