Author: Dwyer Education Strategies

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Over the past year, much has been published in the media about the student loan industry. Specifically, there have been many headlines over the course of the year that discuss how private student loans, funds provided by educational lenders, have grown into a $17 billion a year industry and how lenders are directly communicating with consumers to secure educational funds to pay for college because of the decline in subsidies for Federal loans. Further, the costs for higher education continue to rise and federal and state support in the form of financial […]

Dr. Scott Miller President Wesley College Dr. Marylouise Fennell Senior Counsel Council of Independent Colleges Although your admissions staff is likely complete at this point in the cycle, it?s never too early to start the search for new talent. How to spot the next superstar to bring in well-qualified students who will be retained and won?t require heavy discounting to enroll? One who will stay more than a year or two, won?t experience premature burnout and has the potential to be promoted? While your own student ambassadors and tour guides are an obvious starting point, beware of filling your permanent […]

Beth Gierach Associate Vice President Saint Xavier University John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The 1993-94 academic year marked the real turning point. Saint Xavier University faced a significant financial crisis. While the institution had faced tight budgets in the past, this was the first real budget shortfall and no one saw it coming. That year started the first serious discussions about the fate of the small, Catholic, university located in the suburbs of Chicago. The Background By the time a new enrollment plan was designed in 1997, the University was in a precarious situation. It simply did […]

Dr. Doug Spedaro President Premier Collegiate Communications One of the first rules of a successful marketing campaign is ?understand your market.? This is true regardless of what you are selling, including the recruiting of college students. Today?s high school students have a set of personal characteristics and expectations that make them unique among any generation that colleges have tried to recruit before. Recognizing these characteristics and tailoring your admissions process to answer the unique questions, goals, lifestyle, and habits that they might have is the key to a successful year for admissions.

April Clark CAS As many of you know, the US Postal Service made some drastic changes to their basic philosophy in May of this year. It directly affected the nonprofit prospecting world in two ways. First, the nonprofit permit postage increased approximately 8.9 percent depending on allowed discounts. Second, the rules governing allowed discounts were tightened considerably.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Viewbooks have been a staple of higher education recruitment for decades. Nearly every college and university in the United States publishes one. These glossy, elongated brochures are mailed to prospective students, distributed at college fairs, displayed by high school guidance counselors and handed out at admission offices all over the country. These publications have been used to provide detailed information on academic majors, athletic opportunities, financial aid, educational outcomes and more. They offer pictures of campuses and of campus life and serve as marketing tools to encourage students to enroll. They attempt […]

Dr. Scott Miller President Wesley College Dr. Marylouise Fennell Senior Counsel Council of Independent Colleges Can you remember a time before ?transparency? and ?accountability? became household words? In fact, it?s already been five years since Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the wake of the Enron and related corporate financial scandals, and although that legislation does not apply directly to colleges, universities and other nonprofits, it has profoundly influenced?some would say ?transformed?? he way we now conduct business. Presidents and CFOs of more than 30 institutions nationwide have been a part of several focus/pilot groups working to adapt […]

April Clark CAS Industry experts suggest that 25% or more of articles mailed may be undeliverable. Usually these “undeliverables” are the result of incorrect or missing addresses, incomplete information or recipients who have moved. Optimizing address hygiene and cleansing mailing lists to increase the odds of successful delivery will serve to meet institutional recruitment objectives and save money. Available technology can help you minimize deliverability problems as a result of misdirected, discarded and inaccurate mailings. Using the United States Postal Service and other data sources, CAS? list hygiene methodology, for example, can help you improve address accuracy and mail deliverability.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Douglas E. Clark Vice President of Enrollment Manangement Ferrum College In most Principles of Management courses, students study the four basic management functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. At many institutions, the control function is the one where enrollment managers need to make the most improvement. The use of the term control in a management context refers to how managers measure performance, track progress towards objectives, and determine if corrective action is necessary. A well known management mantra is ?What gets measured, gets done? or put another way, ?What gets monitored, […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The academic year is coming to a close and the time is right to think about retention. One of the important pieces in the complex retention puzzle is recognizing things that may be indicators of attrition. Now is the perfect time to take a look at some trends and consider corrective action. Check with the Registrar?s Office and obtain the names of currently enrolled students who have requested that academic transcripts be sent to other institutions. This is a clear sign that a student is thinking about attending another school.Contact these students […]