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University of Wisconsin-Stout Case Study

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Educational Application
AdmissionsGenie

Client Overview
The University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-Stout) - http://www.admissions.uwstout.edu/

UW-Stout embraces new technology. It created a wireless campus. Each student receives a laptop to use during his or her entire course of study. Even with more than 8,400 undergraduate and graduate students, UW-Stout still maintains a student to faculty ratio of 19 to one.

Involvement and innovation typify a way of life for students attending UW-Stout. Since its founding in 1891, students from around the world have been drawn to the campus by an outstanding curriculum, a faculty with a record of service to students, and excellent facilities. The university's unofficial motto is "Hands on, minds on," demonstrating its commitment to its students.

Target Audience
Prospective full-time undergraduate college students, with primary focus on rising seniors and a secondary focus on building relationships with juniors and sophomores, as they initiate their college search process.  Students interested in Stout tend to be more career-oriented.

Challenge

Missed Opportunities for Enrollment
In past years, the targets for enrollment were based on specific numbers requested by individual colleges and the school of education. Deans planned enrollment based on current resources - faculty, equipment, and money. In 2004, due to this restraint, hundreds of qualified applicants were inadvertently turned away. Because the enrollment target was missed, the university reached a significant shortfall in revenue. Dr. Cynthia Gilberts, Executive Director of Enrollment Management, knew that there needed to be a change in how to better manage enrollment goals

Excellent Opportunities for Improved Web Presence
Originally, UW-Stout needed advice on marketing and communications outreach strategy.  To this end, they engaged James Tower and our strategic partner Neuger Communications Group Inc. in the conversation and development of a strategy for driving future outreach strategies and success in the market. Like many colleges, UW-Stout used its web site as a way to present information, but in a generalized manner. There was little to no incentive for prospective students to dig deeply into the existing .edu web site and understand the advantages of a UW-Stout education.

Uncertain About How to Increase Student Enrollment
Increasing student enrollment was the number one priority for UW-Stout's enrollment team. To do this, UW-Stout needed to engage prospective students more proactively, rather than using the passive approach of the past. With no positioning in the web site to drive these prospects to the recruiting department, Stout was missing valuable opportunities to capture interest and inform students.

Solution

180 Degree Change in Approach to Enrollment
Change needed to begin at the base level. Dr. Gilberts met with the chancellor and senior officials about changing UW-Stout's approach to enrollment. Chancellor Dr. Charles W. Sorensen immediately eliminated the enrollment limits and asked Dr. Gilberts to enroll all qualified students. "I feel very supported by the chancellor and senior management," said Dr. Gilberts. "They know they have to make tough decisions, and one of them is dealing with growth."

Web Site Renovation to Improve Branding
Based on the findings by Neuger Communications and James Tower, UW-Stout agreed to renovate its web site in tandem with initiating the AdmissionsGenie plan.

With clean lines and visually appealing graphics, the web site caught the attention of both current and prospective students, while still providing information. The fresh look also made it easier to drive more students through the admissions process online.

More Technology to Meet Students' Expectations
UW-Stout decided that AdmissionsGenie, a recruitment tool, would drive more students to its site, get more students to apply, and, ultimately, enroll more students. "It just made sense that we would want to meet the way that students wanted to be communicated with, which is electronically," said Dr. Gilberts.

Upon registering, AdmissionsGenie delivers a unique experience for each prospect, depending on his or her interests and admissions status. There are opportunities for prospective students to plan a visit, request information on programs and apply to Stout as well as contact the appropriate individual within the admissions office. A wide assortment of communications tools are employed, including a series of  message boards where students receive feedback on their questions quickly from either current students or admissions representatives.

Results
Since the inception of the partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Stout and James Tower, the college's goals are being realized. Also, prospective students appreciate the new ways to communicate.

"It's all about establishing relationships, people meeting people," said Dr. Gilberts. "No matter how automated and electronic we get, it is still a high-touch service."

This is delivering real results for UW-Stout and their admissions team.  Enrollment for fall 2006 exceeded expectations by 3%.

"Had we not done this [AdmissionsGenie], we would not even be close to where we are in meeting our goals," said Dr. Gilberts. James Tower continues to work with UW-Stout to anticipate its needs for student recruitment and grow utilization and effectiveness of AdmissionsGenie on their behalf.

Facts and Figures

URL: http://admissions.uwstout.edu/

Total number of visits to admissions web site: 115,030 in a six month period - almost double that of a school of similar size.

Total logins at admissions web site: 2,069

Project duration: Ongoing

Greatest challenge: According to Dr. Gilberts, "Convincing the chancellor and senior administration that this was worth the money, but the product is so polished and wonderful it was easy to see what it could do for us."