All You Can Do – Easing the Minds of Your Prospective Adult Students The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

1. All You Can Do – Easing the Minds of Your Prospective Adult Students The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning November 6, 2013 Brenda Harms, Ph.D. – Senior Vice-President

2. Converge Consulting is a higher education marketing firm. We use research, Google Analytics, inbound marketing, and strategic communications practices to positively impact student recruitment and alumni engagement for colleges and universities around the world.

3. Thank you.

4. Our Task GROW!

5. The Climate in Higher Education Decreasing or fairly flat traditional student enrollment Heightened panic over budget issues Increased focus on the importance of diversified student audiences Mandate to grow enrollment for most adult student serving programs (or mandate to grow revenue?)

6. The Drivers US now ranks 12thamong 36 developed nations for percentage of post-secondary degree holders. --The College Board In the US, by 2018 63% of all jobs will require post-secondary education. --Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

7. The Drivers • Higher education is the best insurance against unemployment. • While overall unemployment rates werehovering around 10 percent, only 4.5 percent of college graduates are unemployed. • Education is essential for economic prosperity and career advancement. • Workers with a bachelor’s degree enjoy an annual income nearly $20,000 higher than workers who only have completed high school. • The economy will continue to leave workers with minimal or obsolete skills behind. • The economic recovery is being hindered by a lack of workers with the advanced skills and knowledge demanded in this economy.

8. The Drivers • Need to produce an additional 3 million workers with associate degrees or higher and 5 million workers with technical certificates and credentials by 2018 to promote economic competitiveness and economic mobility. • Employers are seeking individuals with both technical knowledge in their field and also practical experience solving workplace problem. • Reminder - Fully 63 percent of jobs in the U.S will require postsecondary education by 2018!

9. The Drivers • During the Great Recession of 2008-2010, four out of five jobs that were lost were held by Americans with a high school education or less. • By comparison, Americans with a bachelor’s degree or above steadily gained jobs during the recession and have seen an increase of more than 2 million jobs during the recovery that began in 2010.

10. The Cost of Not Being Educated

11. The Levels of Education for the U.S. Population • More than 22 percent (over 37 million Americans) have attended college but not completed a degree Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008

12. MY Driver 37 Million Adults

13. The Research • Eight Focus Groups (98 adults) • Four prospective student groups • Four current student groups • Focus – What can higher education do better • Before prospects decide • From the point of yes • Throughout their experience

14. “Doing Better” Assumes we understand we are not currently operating at the level we could be.

15. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide

16. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • What prospects worry about most • Time management • Can I do this after all this time? • Will my family feel like school is more important to me than they are? • Will my work feel like school is interfering with my commitment to (or ability to focus on) my job? • Will the school work with my crazy work travel schedule? • What if my boss finds out?

17. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • What prospects worry about most • Having to show old transcripts • Will they judge me? • I don’t have any time to do anything now – how will I make the time for this? • What if I fail (or fail again)? • Cost

18. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • What can we do – Their suggestions • Let me tell you what I’m worrying about • Reassure me that I’m normal • Don’t act surprised when I show you my old grades • Let me talk to a professor • Help me see how this can work with my schedule • Teach me about paying for college

19. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Transfer Credits “If I don’t have this piece of the puzzle I can’t determine costs, when I will be done, or anything about what I will need to do. You are a University – isn’t this what you are supposed to help me figure out? Why do I need to have an application filled out before you will do this, my credits aren’t on my application, they are on my transcripts – which I gave you 3 weeks ago!”

20. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Our Process – Their Suggestions • The Schedule “My life is a crazy mess with work and three kids, if I can’t even have an idea of what night of the week I’m going to need to have free for school how am I ever going to make this work?”

21. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Our Process – Their Suggestions • The Cost “And I really mean it, what is this REALLY going to cost.” “Telling me the per credit cost is a waste of time because you won’t tell me how many credits I actually need.”

22. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Our Process – Their Suggestions • My Recruiter “The person I talked to at this school was great in comparison to other schools I was considering – she is why I ended up here.” “My company pays for me to go here but I had a hard time getting in. The person I spoke to about coming here said they would get back to me with information and didn’t, I scheduled an appointment that he called and had to change. It just wasn’t a good experience.”

23. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide Our Response

24. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Build a Relationship • This earns you the right to have EVERY conversation

25. Relationship 101 - What’s Really Important My name, kids, spouse, dog, hobbies, house buying drama, issues with my parents, my sister who is struggling with fertility issues, little Johnny who broke his arm at soccer, my promotion, the boss I don’t like, the job I wish I had, the car I just bought, how my dinner out was last night, how my medical appointment went, nursing home drama with my mother, my unsupportive spouse, my divorce, my engagement, my kids, dad not paying child support, the marathon I just ran, the diet I’ve been on, the seven day cruise with my best friend……

26. Relationship 101 - What’s Really Not Our evening program, accelerated format, online classes, faculty who really care, being more than just a number, having a personal advisor, schedules made for working adults, flexible schedules, small classes, great value, low cost, faculty with real world experience, convenient location, employer tuition reimbursement, evening hours, free applications, easy process, free books, military friendly, no additional fees, free parking, safe location, hybrid courses, convenience….

27. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Bring up the issues you know are on their mind • The elephants in the room • Money • Time • Support System • Job • Academic ability • Past efforts

28. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Offer Tools • Time Management • www.studygs.net/schedule/weekly • Financial Aid • Know enough to be dangerous • Get them with GOOD financial aid professionals before they decide

29. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Create a Schedule • Planning is key when life feels overwhelming • Most people can structure their lives if they understand the requirements – not having a set schedule when they are considering you puts you at a disadvantage when recruiting because we can’t calm this fear

30. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes

31. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • What was difficult once you decided this was the right school for you? • Everything • Getting answers • The paperwork for the application • The waiting • Financial Aid • Military • Employer Tuition Reimbursement

32. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • What was difficult once you decided this was the right school for you? • Stupid things – not needing a parking pass to come on campus at night but needing one to show up during the day to turn in paperwork • Lack of understanding of my circumstances by “other” offices • Placement tests

33. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • What can we do – Their suggestions • Keep trying – I haven’t graduated yet • Reassure me that I’ve made a good decision • Get somebody to help me figure this stuff out that can really focus on me • Talk to one another • Be respectful of my time • Get your act together

34. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Communication Between Offices “I swear at this school nobody knows what anybody else is doing.” “Do I really have to be the go between?” “Here’s an idea – talk to each other!”

35. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Return Calls “I’m trying to get into your school and I can’t get people to call me back!” “The realistic time for a return call is same day – not same week.”

36. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • The Application “Letters of reference? I could understand that if this was a really good school but seriously – it is average.” “What is a personal statement? What is the school even doing with that? Complete waste of time.” “My personal statement is that I want to get a job that pays enough to cover my bills. How do I stretch that into a one – two page paper?”

37. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • The Hoops “My favorite is the magic forms that have to be personally handed to you, like they can’t email them, you have to pick them up at the office! Thank goodness I found them online. Some other student thought that was stupid too I guess.” “We work in the real world, we aren’t kids, we know what a good business environment is supposed to look like. Higher Education embarrasses itself with the way it does things.”

38. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Institutional Culture “I could NOT get this school to accept my transcript from another school I went to – something was odd about it. I finally had to have the Dean of the program go with me to the registrar’s office for a meeting and that was a tense meeting.” “I feel like the people in Grad and Adult want to be helpful but it pretty much stops there.” “At my place of employment if people acted this way toward one another as colleagues they would be let go.”

39. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Working Together “I felt like my recruiter and I had to go to battle with the Financial Aid people here. I didn’t mind but I felt bad for her, she has to work with these people all the time.” “You do work for the same school don’t you? You could at least act like it.”

40. Doing Better – From the Point of Yes Our Response

41. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Evaluate the Application Process • We’ve always done it that way can’t be the excuse • What is the point • Personal statements • Letters of reference • Questions regarding “activities” • Work experience requirements

42. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Time for Hard Conversations • Everyone knows what departments on campus are headaches for our adult students – it’s time to talk

43. Doing Better – Before Prospects Decide • Quarterly Meetings Between Departments • Connecting the dots internally • It is easier to be critical of those we don’t know • Things are changing at a rapid pace • What people aren’t up on they are down on

44. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience

45. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • What have been some of the challenges now that you are underway with your degree • The start of every term – seeing the workload • Not knowing how my professor will feel about me needing to take a work trip • Knowing I will be “on the edge” on the attendance policy • Approachable faculty – always a gamble • Group projects

46. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • What have been some of the challenges now that you are underway with your degree • Dealing with main campus • Being sure my reimbursement is on time and I’m not going to be blocked from registration • Having our point of view asked but not acted on • The credits I lost • Not being given credit for all that I already know

47. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • What can we do – Their suggestions • Senior leadership needs to sit in on these classes • Think about it – some of this stuff is just silly • Consider how we feel • Consider other ways to learn beyond just sitting in class • Ask for instructor feedback AFTER the class is over • Evaluate faculty – some are amazing and others are horrible

48. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • What can we do – Their suggestions • Offer this degree at my employment site • Do whatever is possible to make things better with other departments • Work as hard to help me graduate as you did to get me to come to school here

49. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Working Together “Are you seeing a pattern here? Every question you ask us we respond that people just don’t talk to each other here!” “Don’t make students go to the business office.”

50. Doing Better – Throughout Their Experience • Our Process – Their Suggestions • Monitor Instructors “I have one instructor that I know for a fact if our Dean or the College President sat in his class one time he would not have a job here anymore. He is terrible.” “This is hard because we have mainly great teachers who go way above and beyond to help us learn what we really need to know to get good jobs; but the bad ones, they are really bad…. And not just bad teachers, they just are not cut out for dealing with students.”