1. E-Expectations of College-
Bound Students
AND Their Parents
Stephanie Geyer, Noel-Levitz
Lance Merker, OmniUpdate
#eexpect
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2. Find All of the E-Expectations
Studies Online
• noellevitz.com (Papers & Research)
• omniupdate.com/assets (White Papers)
3. 2011 E-Expectations of High School Seniors
FAST FACTS THEMES FOR THE STUDY
Survey administered by How are parents and students
telephone in February similar and different in their
2011 use of e-recruitment assets?
1,089 high school What are they doing with
seniors higher education mobile sites?
517 of their parents How do they benefit from
social media resources?
List source: NRCCUA/
MyCollegeOptions What other online tools are
most useful?
95% confidence interval
Will e-mail still work as a
Margin of error: +/- 3% communications tool?
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4. Demographics: Students (1,089)
524 males; 521 females
Ethnicity
• American Indian: 1% (12) Public v. Private (multiple responses)
• Asian: 6% (61) • Interest in private schools: 38%
• African-American: 10% (104) • Interest in public/state schools: 89%
• Hispanic: 13% (133) • Interest in community colleges: 16%
• Caucasian: 48% (507) • Interest in technical colleges: 12%
• Other: 13% (135) • Interest in vocational colleges 8%
• Declined: 9% (95)
GPA
Income • A average: 44%
• Lower income: 29%
• B average: 45%
• Middle income: 52%
• C average: 10%
• Upper income: 19%
• Less than C: 1%
Region Program
• Midwest: 23% • Advanced HS courses: 22%
• Northeast: 23% • General college prep: 65%
• South: 28% • Vo-tech courses: 13%
• West: 27%
Stage Environment Sought
• Prospect: 12%
• Conservative: 9%
• Inquiry: 13%
• Moderate: 73%
• Applied: 20%
• Liberal: 18%
• At least one decision: 56%
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5. Demographics: Parents (517)
Ethnicity
• American Indian: 1% (7) 68% of students come
• Asian: 4% (20) from families where at least
• African-American: 10% (52)
one parent attended college
• Hispanic: 8% (41) Ethnicity detail:
• 78% Caucasian
• Caucasian: 52% (270) • 62% African-American
• Other: 13% (66) • 55% Asian
• 35% Hispanic
• Declined: 8% (42)
Interest in school type based
on parent education level:
• If the student’s parent(s) attended
College Experience college, they were 10% more likely to
• Have attended: 54% be interested in attending a private
school
• Parents did not attend: 21% • If the student’s parent(s) did not attend
• No record: 25% college, they were 10% more likely to
be interested in attending a community
college
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7. Similarities
More than 75% of both parents and
students say they never or only
rarely read blogs on college sites
Most (86% of and 80% of ) are using e-mail:
93% of students provide 24% of parents
an address that they pose as their
check at least once/week student
Students and parents place academic program
information at the top of their list for Web content
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8. Students Parents
66%
say they’re researching say they’re researching
59% with their parents with their student
49%
say they’re deciding with
their parents 61% say they’re deciding with
their student
80% have a Facebook account 48% have a Facebook account
27%
have looked at a college/
university Facebook page 12% have looked at a college/
university Facebook page
of students with cell of parents with cell phones
14% phones have browsed a
college/university site
5% have browsed a college/
university site
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10. Choose the Option that Best Reflects Your
Attitude about College and University Web Sites
If I don’t find what I need on A bad experience on a school’s
the school’s Web site, I’ll site may have some negative effect
probably drop it from my list. on my perception of the school.
64%
73%
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11. What is the first link you’ll look
for on a school’s Web site?
Cost Financial Aid Scholarship
8% 13% 5% 10% 7% 2%
Academic Programs Student Life
38% 42% 7% 6%
Housing
1%
Enrollment/
Admissions Info Campus Visit
All material found in this presentation, including 24% 21% 3% 2%
text and images is the property of Noel-
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information.
12. 82% of students and 86% of
parents own mobile phones
Mobile Details:
14% of students and 5% of parents
have viewed a college or university
Web site on their mobile phone
Content priorities for students:
Enrollment/admissions details (31%)
Academic information (28%)
Cost details (13%)
Student life (7%)
Scholarship information (6%)
Campus visit details (2%)
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Housing details (1%)
information.
13. For details, see...
Pew Internet & American Life
(pewinternet.org)
• African-Americans and English-
speaking Latinos are more likely to
own mobile phones than whites and
more likely to do more with their
phones, including access the Internet
• Teens who pay for their own cell
phone are more likely to do more with
those phones
Search “Teens, Cell Phones and Social Media”
• Teens from lowest income categories
are most likely to use their phone to
go online
Search “Technology Trends among People of Color”
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14. What would students most like to DO on
a mobile site for a college or university?
77% 65% 53%
Schedule a visit
Calculate IM with
college costs
64% admissions reps
Watch videos
75% 44%
Calculate 62% Complete an
scholarships Access social online application
media assets
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15. QR Code Exposure
Have you seen
QR codes before? 15% yes 14%
6% 4%
If yes, have you
used them for a yes
college?
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17. Use of Campus Maps
40% of students
have used an 54% to explore 17% to make way
interactive map campus through campus 8% to get
sense of
campus
2% to explore 7% to find specific 7% as alternative layout
dormitories location on campus to visit
22% of parents 34% to explore 17% to make way
have used an
campus through campus 10% to
interactive map
find a
specific
location on
8% as alternative 9% to get sense of 10% to explore campus
to visit campus layout dormitories
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18. Influence of Campus Maps
Students Parents
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19. Second-
highest
rated
feature for a
mobile site
More about…
CALCULATOR USE
AND INFLUENCE
20. Influence of Calculators on Perception
36% of have used 26% of have used
a COST calculator a COST calculator
28% of have used a 20% of have used a
SCHOLARSHIP calculator SCHOLARSHIP calculator
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21. Why haven’t you used a calculator on
a college or university Web site?
Students:
4%
50% 46%
parents
handling
haven’t aren’t
seen one interested
Parents:
30% 67%
aren’t haven’t
interested
seen one
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23. Facebook Use
80% of STUDENTS use Facebook 48% of PARENTS use Facebook
Frequency: Frequency:
• 30% many times/day • 17% many times/day
• 33% once/day • 37% once/day
• 22% a few times to once/week • 30% a few times to once/week
27% viewed a school-specific site 12% viewed a school-specific site
• 15% of these students posted a • 26% of these parents posted a
comment or asked a question comment or asked a question
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24. Most Appealing Facebook Content
Alumni 3%
Conversations
(by or about) 3%
Faculty Comments 3%
(programs, classes, rese
arch) 8%
Athletic Info 16%
(games, scores) 10%
General Info 32%
(news, events, programs)
20%
Current Student 26%
Comments
(campus life)
53%
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25. Facebook Influence
Students Parents
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26. Twitter Accounts
19% of students follow
tweets from a specific
college or university
= 9%*
= 5%
*up from 8% in 2010
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27. YouTube and Video Preferences
MOST INTERESTING TOPICS?
27% of and 17% of
have gone to YouTube or
another video site to see
resources from schools on
their lists 48% Student life 31%
Academic
31% programs, 43%
classes, faculty
55% of 43% of 17%
15%
and
Around campus
will look at videos on college
and university Web sites
6% Dorms 7%
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28. To Blog or Not to Blog?
68% 65%
{ Never }
9% 11%
{ Rarely }
21% 19%
{ Sometimes }
2% 4%
{ Often }
1% 1%
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{ Always}
30. E-Mail Use and Timing
86% of use e-mail 80% of use e-mail
will give a school a legitimate
93% e-mail address that they check 81%
at least once a week
When?
upon learning
26% of a school 31%
when prompted/
26% requested 21%
after completing
44% an application 46%
3% after acceptance 5% All material found in this
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31. From 2010 E-Recruitment Practices Report
Does your admissions office collect If yes, when in the recruitment process
e-mail addresses for parents? do you collect the e-mail addresses for
(yes responses) parents? (check all that apply)
4-Yr 4-Yr
Public Private
When students inquire 16.7% 20.4%
When students apply 80.6% 85.5%
When students confirm their
intent to enroll or send in a 8.3% 18.4%
deposit
When students enroll 13.9% 21.7%
On the Web year-round, 24/7 5.6% 15.8%
Question not applicable to 2-Year Publics.
2-Yr Public 4-Yr Public 4-yr Private
Many more admissions offices are now collecting
parents’ e-mail addresses. All material found in this presentation, including text and images is the property of Noel-
Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
32. Your E-Mail Flow
After General Info about Your Campus,
Focus on Deadlines and Student Status
General Information Student’s Status
36% 32% 22% 24%
Deadline Reminders Campus Life
32% 36% 9% 10%
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34. Are you engaging parents as thoroughly
as possible in your e-venues?
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Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
35. Put Your Assets to the Test!
Facilitate user tests with prospective students
and decision influencers on your sites
(including mobile)
Explore how they interact with navigation
options, content, images, interactive resources
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Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
36. Tackle Your Academic
Program Content
Can mere mortals
understand the key
strengths and benefits of
each of your programs?
Can they see what career
options emerge with this
degree?
Do faculty and alumni stars
shine through?
Is content optimized for
search engines?
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Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
37. Introduce Your
Social Streams
Drive prospects and their
parents directly to your social
media assets from e-
mail, Web site and direct mail
communications
Look for opportunities to
broaden the conversations
(and speakers) in your
channels
Redirect some bloggers to
focus on smaller interactions
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Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
39. E-mail is STILL an
essential layer in your
communication flow
Are you getting
through to parents?
Use e-mail to
interconnect
Web, social media
assets
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40. Calculated Success
Net cost calculators are required by this fall
Does your calculator:
Give a clear, complete and realistic
picture?
Inspire users (students and parents)
to reach out for further engagement?
Encourage users to complete the
FAFSA?
Show up on pages within your Web
site that make sense?
Play a starring role in e-mail
messages and social media posts at
crucial times in the enrollment cycle?
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Levitz, Inc. Permission is required to reproduce information.
Drop from list:Students: 17%Parents: 16%Negative effect:Students: 47%Parents: 57%
Pew Internet & American Life:--Teen cell phone users in the lowest income category are the most likely to use their phone to go online.http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2010/Jun/How-do-they-even-do-that-A-Pew-Internet-guide-to-teens-cell-phones-and-social-media.aspx--Technology Trends: People of Color: http://www.pewinternet.org/Commentary/2010/September/Technology-Trends-Among-People-of-Color.aspx--Both blacks and English-speaking Latinos are more likely to own a mobile phone than whites. Foreign-born Latinos trail their Native-born counterparts in cell phone ownership, but this gap is significantly smaller than the gap in internet use between these groups.Moreover, minority adults use a much wider range of their cell phones’ capabilities. Compared with white cell phone owners, blacks and Latinos are significantly more likely to use their mobile devices to:Text message (70% of all African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos use text messaging, vs. just over half of whites)Use social networking sitesUse the internetRecord and watch videosMake a charitable donation via text message (this finding is particularly interesting since white internet users are more likely to have made a charitable donation online—25% of online whites have done so, compared with 17% of African-Americans and 14% of Latinos.)Use emailPlay gamesListen to musicUse instant messagingPost multimedia content online
