Presented by ACT Assistant Vice President Steve Kappler at the 2012 Stamats Integrated Marketing Conference in Chicago

1. The Evolving Role of Marketing in
Student Recruitment & Retention
(The Reality of College & Career Readiness)
Steve Kappler
Assistant Vice President
ACT, Inc.
steve.kappler@act.org

2. Agenda
 The Data
– What we see
 Using the data
– Score Senders
– EOS (list buy)

3. It’s all about the DATA
(What we know)

4. College & Career Readiness System
 Academic Readiness
 Academic Behavioral Readiness
 Career and Educational Planning

5. Longitudinal Assessments
College Readiness System Scores
8th/9th 10th 11th/12th
Grade Grade Grade
25 32 36

6. ACT College Readiness Standards

7. Define Knowledge and Skills
College Readiness Benchmark Scores
College 8th 9th The
Test Course Grade Grade PLAN ACT
English
English Composition 13 14 15 18
Math Algebra 17 18 19 22
Reading Social Sciences 15 16 17 21
Science Biology 20 20 21 24
The ACT Benchmark Score indicated a 50% chance of obtaining a “B” or a
75% chance of obtaining a “C” in corresponding credit-bearing college
courses

8. Translating Scores to Skills
Mathematics: Basic Operations &
Applications - Score Range: 16 – 19
 Solve routine one-step arithmetic
problems (using whole numbers,
fractions, and decimals) such as
single-step percents
 Solve some routine two-step
arithmetic problems
8th-Grade On Course Benchmark: 17
Indicates that the student is on course
for meeting the ACT benchmark in
grade 11-12
EXPLORE 8th-Grade Benchmark = 17

10. Enrollment Management
Trends Report, 2012

11. Achievement Matters

12. Percent of ACT-Tested High School
Graduates by Number of ACT College
Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2011
245,604
458,399
278,528
397,712
242,869

13. College Type Attended by College
Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2011

14. Bachelor’s Degree Completion
Within 4 Years by ACT Composite Score
Range and High School GPA

15. Bachelor’s Degree Completion
Within 4 Years by ACT Composite Score
Range and High School GPA

16. How to Use
What Students Tell Us

17. Enrollment by College Choice Number and
ACT Composite Score, 2011

18. Enrollment at Same College Type as
Preference by ACT Composite Score

19. Number of Graduates
Taking the ACT - 2011 NH 2,884
ME
1,476
WA
13,677 VT 2,053
ND
MT 7,057 MN
6,037 44,952
NY MA 14,975
OR WI 52,255
11,715 ID SD 47,693 RI 1,487
11,321 MI
6,983 116,823
WY CT 10,809
5,533 PA
IA 24,280 NJ 20,796
NE 22,968 OH
IN
16,461 IL 20,462 92,313 DE 1,481
NV 144,469
6,931 WV VA
UT MD 12,687
11,505 20,526
25,161 CO
CA KS 48,565 KY DC 1,480
52,930
99,022 23,628 46,428
NC
16,736
TN
68,524
OK SC
AR 21,064
AZ NM 28,223
27,020
27,952 13,599 AL GA
MS
28,167 37,800 42,929
TX
101,569 LA
35,870
AK
3,022 FL
117,575
HI
3,259
> 100,000 20,000–40,000
70,000–100,000 10,000–20,000
Source: ACT Annual State Report 40,000–70,000 < 10,000
Updated: August 2011

20. Percent of ACT-Tested College Students Enrolled
Out-of-State by ACT Composite Score, 2011

21. Median Distance to College by
ACT Composite Score, 2011

22. Percent of Graduates
Taking ACT/SAT- 2011
20/56 9/86
60/26 98/3
72/7
35/56 28/85
64/20 81/3 71/5 100/5
100/5 CT 26/84
17/72
61/3 DC 28/74
69/20 DE 16/72
76/5
31/47 100/5 29/67 MA 22/85
73/6 65/17
24/69 MD 20/71
100/19 79/7 71/5 100/6 NH 18/75
24/53 18/66 NJ 19/75
100/10 RI 12/66
76/6 56/69 VT 28/65
34/27 91/5
72/12
100/4 81/8 47/78
100/8
36/58
40/51 66/64
24/63
More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT
More than 50% of graduates taking SAT
More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT & SAT
Source: 03/2008 WICHE data for number of H. S. Graduates per state, ACT Annual State Reports, College Board Annual State Summary
Updated: August 2011

23. Percent of ACT-Tested College Students
Enrolled Out of State by State Category, 2011

24. Median Distance to College by
State Category, 2011

25. EOS = Educational Opportunity
Service
(ACT’s list for purchase)

26. Average Number of Times EOS Students
Were Selected by Time of First Testing & ACT
Composite Score, 2011

27. The Case For the Score-Sender

28. Annual ACT Test Takers
 2011 Graduating Seniors = 1,623,112
 2010-2011 Tested Juniors = 1,182,215
(PLAN Tested Sophomores = 1,127,875)
Over 2.8 Million Students
Tested Each Year

29. Sample Inquiry Pool Data:
Regional Public
Total Inquiries N App Enroll Yld
18,973 3,409 1,186 6%
ACT Scores N App Enroll Yld
4,873 1,185 561 12%
All Other Inquiries N App Enroll Yld
14,100 2,224 625 4%

30. Sample Inquiry Pool Data:
Regional Public (contd.)
The only source code yielding higher than ACT
scores was applications:
Applications N App Enroll Yld
940 854 251 27%
If you take applications out of the mix, the yield
for all non-ACT score inquiries was:
All Other Inquiries N App Enroll Yld
13,160 1,370 374 3%

31. Initial Source Types in the Funnel
ACT Scores
Initial Source N All Other Sources 69% 26% Apps 5%
All Others ACT Scores
Applicants 40% 35% Apps 25%
All Others ACT Scores Apps 21%
Enrolled 32% 47%

32. Overview of Student Data in the
ACT Record
More than 265 fields of data provide a
complete student profile:
– Personal/demographic data
– Admissions/recruitment data
– ACT Scores, norms, and prediction research
– High school courses and grades
– Educational plans, interests, and needs
– Activities and accomplishments

33. Key Points about Personalizing,
Customizing, Segmenting
 Your ability to segment, customize, personalize
and target is entirely dependent on the amount of
student-level information you have available …
and when you have it available
 Through the ACT student record…
– you have the most complete information available
– you have it at the earliest point in the recruitment cycle
– you have it in the most portable format

34. What do you know about your
prospective students?

35. Your Institution:
 Public 4 Year University
 In Colorado
 Full-time Enrollment – 9,711
 Yearly Tuition/Fees - $6,280

36. Meet Ann
 Wants to major in Accounting – likely a
good fit
 Will probably have difficulty with
How do we
freshman math and science
requirements
 Needs expectations managed about
know so much
honors courses
 Strong probability that she will enroll at
about Ann?
your school
 Good idea to inform her about campus
employment or Work-Study
opportunities
 Highly involved in high school –
possible campus leader

37. Ann took the ACT
and sent her score
report to you

38. About Ann:
 Wants to major in Accounting – likely a good fit

39. About Ann:
 Wants to major in Accounting – likely a good fit

40. About Ann:
 Will probably have difficulty with freshman math and
science requirements
College Readiness Benchmarks
Test College Course ACT
English English Composition 18
Math College Algebra 22
Reading Social Sciences 21
Science Biology 24

41. About Ann:
 Will probably have difficulty with freshman math and
science requirements

42. About Ann:
 Needs expectations managed about honors courses

43. About Ann:
 Strong probability that she will enroll at your
school

44. About Ann:
 Good idea to inform her about campus
employment or Work-Study opportunities
 Highly involved in high school – possible
campus leader

45. NOW, how much do you
know?

46. Enhancements to the
ACT Electronic Record
 Beginning in September 2012, ACT will
begin appending 5 new data elements to
the ACT Score Report:
– Interest-Major Fit score
– Four predictive modeling indexes

47. The Interest-Major Fit Index
 The Fit score shows the strength of the
relationship between a student’s profile of
interests and the profile of interests of
students in a given major.
 Interest-major fit clearly benefits both
students and the college they attend:
students in “good-fit majors” are more likely
to stay in college, stay in their major, and
finish sooner.

48. Predicting Enrollment
Behavior with Four Indexes
 The Mobility Index predicts the likelihood of a
student enrolling at an out-of-state institution
 The Institution Type Index predicts the likelihood
of a student enrolling at a private institution
 The Selectivity Index predicts the selectivity of
the institution at which the student is likely to
enroll
 The Institution Size Index predicts the size of the
institution at which the student is likely to enroll

49. Variables Included in
the Four Indexes
Academic Variables Demographic Variables
ACT Composite Home community size
High school GPA High school enrollment
Years of foreign language Type of high school
Program of study in HS Enrollment Preference Variables
Years of math coursework Campus mix (score sending pattern)
Highest degree expected Level of college choice
Student Characteristic Variables Preferred college size
Planned work hours in college Preferred college type
Family income Intended major (7 groups)
Involvement in science Preferred distance home to campus
Involvement in athletics No college in mind
Involvement in music Scores sent to comm. college

50. How will you
maximize your ACT
score report data to
recruit, enroll & retain
your students?

51. Key Takeaways
1. Know what data you actually have
– Understand the role of students choices, and their
achievement, and fit
2. Counsel students
– Release their name to EOS
– Send you their scores (a new campaign?)
3. Require an official score report
– You get more data!

52. Key Takeaways
4. Use what you know to buy better lists
5. Decide which score report elements will help
with campus goals and initiatives
6. Identify any barriers to using the data
— Delivery method from ACT – paper or
electronic
— Student information system capabilities

53. Key Takeaways
7. Discuss data sharing with appropriate campus
stakeholders
8. Incorporate new data elements into your
communication plan (market segmentation) –
email, print, phone calls, etc.

55. Questions?
Steve Kappler
Assistant Vice President
ACT, Inc.
steve.kappler@act.org

56. About Student
Preferences

57. Enrollment Information Service
 Comprehensive database for strategic
marketing and segment/territory management
containing aggregate data on all ACT-tested
students

58. Enrollment Funnel Through EIS
1.6 Million ACT-Tested Students
Campus Scores Received
(Visibility)
Breakout by:
Market Overlap
Ability Campus Enrolled Competitor Analysis
Geography (Yield)
Race/Ethnicity
Family Income
Intended major
Enrollment Preferences, etc.

59. Do you have the complete picture?
Sample Student Pool for Alpha University
Purchased Names 75,000
Inquiries 40,000 Alpha has info on these students
Applicants 6,000
ACT Tested Population 1,479,000
(Total 1.6 million)
Purchased Names
Inquiries
Applicants
EIS provides the rest of the pie
ACT Tested
Population

60. Create Customized Queries on Demand
 Geographic variables  Key characteristics
– States – Gender
– ACT EIS segments – Educ. major
– High school districts
– Race/Ethnicity
– High schools
– Family income
– Distance from campus
– Religious pref.
 Academic performance
– GPA
– College selection
variables
– Class rank
– ACT scores

61. Data Provided by EIS
 Market Potential
 Market Penetration (Visibility) and Yield
 Market Position and Collegiate
Competition
 Strategic Enrollment Planning

62. Best Uses for EIS
 Manage primary markets
– Identify underperforming high schools
 Identify new markets
 Train new admissions counselors
 Help senior administrators set realistic goals
 Develop marketing messages tied to student
interests and characteristics
 Identify competing institutions for specific markets