When considering how to increase enrollment, no growth plan would be complete without taking brand reputation into account. Making sure prospective students not only are aware of you, but also that they can be confident in a decision to attend your school, is key to filling course rosters and expanding your programs. Below, we discuss how schools can increase enrollment by building brand trust.
1
Online reputation/public reviews
The first step many students take, once they decide that they want to go back to school, is to research their options. Just like reading reviews of a product before buying it, or looking through travel guides of a place before visiting it, checking what previous students have said about their experience is crucial to helping ensure they’ll benefit from the education you offer. Make sure there is an ample, honest collection of public reviews, so students can feel secure about a decision to enroll in your programs.
2
Transparency
Since the goal of going to school is to build knowledge and skills, as well as increasing hireability, it’s important to provide data illustrating how your school can help students achieve these goals. Being open about graduation rates, job placement rates, and growth potential in certain fields will help future students feel confident they’re making a worthwhile investment in attending your school. In fact, several of our partner schools, such as General Assembly, Wyncode, and Hack Reactor, have their outcomes reports publicly available online!
3
Offering value without the expectation of getting anything in return
We spoke with Enrollment Resources, who are pretty much the experts when it comes to building valuable school brands. One suggestion they had was to offer potential students value without expecting to get anything from them:
“When a prospective student invests their time into completing your online survey to find out if they are a good fit for your school or program (and if you’re a good fit for them), their personalized report should be emailed to them as soon as they hit “submit.” Sharing that information with them (their information!) should not be dependent on whether or not they speak with an advisor, book a tour, or complete any other action. The report generated by their answers to your survey should not only qualify them into or out of your program. It should also offer some insight into the next steps the prospective student can take toward their goals – whether it’s with your school or otherwise.”
4
Industry partnerships and valuable affiliations
Joining industry affiliations — like Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU), Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA), and American Welding Society (AWS), to name a few — not only increases access to valuable partnerships, networking, and resource sharing, but it also adds credibility to your school and value for your students. Through these affiliations, you can provide employer connections for your students and alumni and be keyed into industry news, enabling you to tailor your programs to fit future industry needs.
5
Third-party validation
Finally, there is third-party validation. Being endorsed by an objective, outside organization illustrates your school’s commitment to graduate career advancement and its recognition by others. Receiving accreditation is one such way to do this, or you can be evaluated by outside institutions.