Tag: Engagement

Solving the continuation challenge with engagement analytics
- By Rachel Maxwell, Principal Advisor at Kortext.
Since the adjustments to the Office for Students’ (OfS) Condition B3: Student outcomes, published continuation rates have dropped from 91.1% in 2022 to 89.5% in 2024 for full-time students on their first degree.

This drop is most evident for students in four key areas: (1) foundation year courses; (2) sub-contracted and franchised courses; (3) those with lower or unknown qualifications on entry; and (4) those studying particular subjects including Business and Management, and Computing.

Universities utilising student engagement analytics are bucking this downward trend. Yet, surprisingly, engagement analytics are not mentioned in either the evaluation report or the accompanying Theory of Change document.

Ignoring the impact of analytics is a mistake: universities with real-time actionable information on student engagement can effectively target those areas where risks to continuation are evident – whether at the programme or cohort level, or defined by protected characteristics or risks to equality of opportunity.

The [engagement analytics] data you see today is next year’s continuation data.

Dr Caroline Reid, former Associate Dean at the University of Bedfordshire

A more complete view of student learning

The digital footprints generated by students offer deep insights into their learning behaviours, enabling early interventions that maximise the opportunity for students to access the right support before any issues escalate. While data can never explain why a student is disengaging from their learning, it provides the starting point for a supportive outreach conversation. What happens thereafter would depend on what the conversation revealed – what kind of intervention would be most appropriate for the student? Examples include academic skills development, health and wellbeing support or financial help. The precise nature of the intervention would depend on the ecosystem of (typically) the professional services success and support expertise available within each institution.

Analysing engagement activity at the cohort level, alongside the consequent demand on student services teams, further enables universities to design cohort or institution-wide interventions to target increasingly stretched resources where and when they are needed most.

[With engagement analytics we have] a holistic view of student engagement … We have moved away from attendance at teaching as the sole measure of engagement and now take a broader view to enable us to target support and interventions.

Richard Stock, Academic Registrar, University of Essex

In 2018–19, 88% of students at the University of Essex identified as having low engagement at week six went on to withdraw by the end of the academic year. By 2021–22, this had reduced to approximately 20%. Staff reported more streamlined referral processes and effective targeted support thanks to engagement data.

Bucking the trend at Keele

The OfS continuation dashboard shows that the Integrated Foundation Year at Keele University sits 8% above the 80% threshold. Director of the Keele Foundation Year, Simon Rimmington, puts this down to how they are using student engagement data to support student success through early identification of risk.

The enhanced data analysis undertaken by Simon and colleagues demonstrates the importance of working with students to build the right kind of academically purposeful behaviours in those first few weeks at university.
- Withdrawal rates decreased from 21% to 9% for new students in 2023–24.
- The success rate of students repeating a year has improved by nearly 10%.
- Empowering staff and students with better engagement insights has fostered a more supportive and proactive learning environment.
Moreover, by identifying students at risk of non-continuation, Keele has protected over £100K in fee income in their foundation year alone, which has been reinvested in student support services.

Teesside University, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the University of the West of England (UWE) all referred explicitly to engagement analytics in their successful provider statements for TEF 2023.

The Panel Statements for all three institutions identified the ‘very high rates of continuation’ as a ‘very high quality’ feature of their submissions.
- Teesside’s learning environment was rated ‘outstanding’, based on their use of ‘a learner analytics system to make informed improvements’.
- NTU cited learning analytics as the enabler for providing targeted support to students, with reduced withdrawals due to the resulting interventions.
- UWE included ‘taking actions … to improve continuation and completion rates by proactively using learning analytics’ to evidence their approach.
The OfS continuation dashboard backs up these claims. Table 1 highlights data for areas of concern identified by the OfS. Other areas flagged as key drivers for HEIs are also included. There is no data on entry qualifications. All figures where data is available, apart from one[1], are significantly above the 80% threshold.

Table 1: Selected continuation figures (%) for OfS-identified areas of concern (taught, full-time first degree 2018–19 to 2021–22 entrants)

The Tees Valley is the second most deprived of 38 English Local Enterprise Partnership areas, with a high proportion of localities among the 10% most deprived nationally. The need to support student success within this context has strongly informed Teesside University’s Access and Participation Plan.

Engagement analytics, central to their data-led approach, ‘increases the visibility of students who need additional support with key staff members and facilitates seamless referrals and monitoring of individual student cases.’ Engagement data insights are integral to supporting students ‘on the cusp of academic failure or those with additional barriers to learning’.

The NTU student caller team reaches out to students identified by its engagement dashboard as being at risk. They acknowledge that the intervention isn’t a panacea, but the check-in calls are appreciated by most students.

Despite everything happening in the world, I wasn’t forgotten about or abandoned by the University.
NTU student

By starting with the highest risk categories, NTU has been able to focus on those most likely to benefit from additional support. And even false positives are no bad thing – better to have contact and not need it, than need it and not have it.

What can we learn from these examples?

Continuation rates are under threat across the sector resulting from a combination of missed or disrupted learning through Covid, followed by a cost-of-living crisis necessitating the prioritisation of work over study.

In this messy world, data helps universities – equally challenged by rising costs and a fall in fee income – build good practice around student success activity that supports retention and continuation. These universities can take targeted action, whether individually, at cohort level or in terms of resource allocation, because they know what their real-time engagement data is showing.

All universities cited in this blog are users of the StREAM student engagement analytics platform available from Kortext. Find out more about how your university can use StREAM to support improvements in continuation.

[1] The Teesside University Integrated Foundation Year performs above the OfS-defined institutional benchmark value of 78.9%.
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February 21, 2025
Increasing Classroom Engagement – Faculty Focus
In undergraduate classrooms, instructors encounter a variety of students with diverse backgrounds and different personalities. Since discussion-based learning, both in-person and virtual, remains important, teachers should find ways to encourage student engagement in classroom activities and discussions. Student engagement is also critical to the success of students who are more self-directed and specialized, as it allows them to dive deeper into course material within their specialized areas of interest.

When more students are engaged, class conversations become richer, enhancing student learning. For instance, introverted students may have strong opinions and much to contribute but may hesitate to share during class. Students, whether introverted or not, might feel uncomfortable or uninterested in joining group discussions for various reasons. It is the instructor’s challenge to create a comfortable class environment. Not only will students benefit, but instructors can feel more at ease in their own classrooms.

Genuine connections between students are based on trust, which can be encouraged in several ways. Trust-building connections are fostered in an environment with instructor presence and constructive feedback. Students benefit from instructor buy-in, effort, and intention.

To boost classroom interaction and active participation, instructors can include proven strategies in their “teaching toolkit” to foster empathetic connections among their students. Here are some suggestions for your consideration:
- Outline course guidelines clearly. Students need to understand what is expected of them in your course. If class participation standards are set from the beginning—with appropriate explanations regarding “why”—student buy-in should increase. After students understand course expectations, instructors should make every effort to give students timely and constructive feedback. Doing so keeps students accountable and reinforces the course guidelines.
- Model reflective listening. When students participate in a class discussion, instructors should make eye contact, give full attention, and provide visual cues to show understanding. Taking a moment to paraphrase or ask clarifying questions shows engagement and listening on the instructor’s part.
- Encourage reflective listening. Help reduce distractions when students speak. Invite students to validate each other’s responses. Brief instructor participation when students are having group discussions and modeling behavior you seek to encourage can go a long way.
- Praise appropriately. Offer brief, genuine praise when students reflectively listen to each other and provide gentle reminders when appropriate.
- Creatively introduce group discussions. Mix things up. Consider having students draw questions from a hat for discussion or assign a different group member to lead the discussion for each question. You may wish to time discussions or set goals so student groups stay focused and on task.
- Use a variety of classroom activities, but don’t overdo it. Include a group discussion or short activity during every class period. Recognize that classroom activities are like seasoning on food—a little is great, but too much can be overwhelming. Classroom activities should drive home the purpose of the course material being covered. In-class activities can break up what may be perceived as monotony by students.
- Encourage students to interact with new classmates. Student groups should rotate frequently to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to interact with different individuals. You may wish to randomly assign groups to mix students up.
- Invite alternative views. Be sensitive to different perspectives and alternate points of view. Help students recognize that conflicts can be resolved without contention. Students don’t have to agree on a particular topic or point of view, but they do need to show respect to others. To help students and teachers better understand the importance of respecting different perspectives, share a mantra with your students, such as: “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood” to emphasize the value of listening and understanding others’ viewpoints before expressing one’s own views to foster a more respectful and open-minded classroom environment.
- Use peer feedback grading. Learning to give constructive feedback is a skill students can learn with practice. Prompting from the instructor can go a long way when it comes to feedback. Making suggestions such as having students include pros and cons or commenting only on things that are in the student’s control may be helpful.
- Share stories. Who doesn’t enjoy an interesting and relevant story? Stories help students remember information in a fun way. Collect stories that illustrate key principles and important points you’re trying to teach. Stories are relatable and can put listeners at ease.
- Encourage students to share their own stories. Classrooms consist of diverse individuals with a multitude of different stories and perspectives. Sharing stories is an excellent way for students to learn more about the worldviews of others.
- Use appropriate humor. Laughter creates connection. Including tasteful humor in activities and discussions can improve student buy-in and retention. An easy place to start could be to include a joke or riddle-of-the-week for your class to contemplate.
- Invite student feedback. Make course consistency and fairness a priority. Students need to feel they are valuable and their opinions matter. After receiving excellent feedback, instructors should seriously consider making appropriate changes.
Recognize that potential pitfalls can also accompany increased student engagement. Classroom challenges may include:
- Uneven participation or nonparticipation. Some students may attempt to dominate activities and discussions. In any group, some individuals will always be more talkative while others will be quieter.
- Inconsistent results. No two student groups are ever the same. What works in one class may fail spectacularly in another. Stay flexible and be ready to move on if something isn’t working.
- Time management. Activities may take longer than anticipated, so be conscious of the clock. Setting a timer can be helpful to keep everyone on task.
- Student conflicts. Disagreements can lead to conflict, so it’s important to foster a culture of classroom respect to minimize conflict and prevent personal attacks.
- Overwhelmed introverts. Some students may feel uncomfortable speaking and participating in group activities, but be patient and gently encourage their involvement.
- Increased preparation time. Successful activities often need advance planning and materials, so keeping a list of activity and discussion ideas can help avoid last-minute scrambling.
While practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, expect to have some less-than-perfect experiences as you adjust your teaching style to incorporate some of these techniques. Keep what works—jettison the rest. With forethought and practice, you can make your classrooms more open and inviting to your students.

Dr. Allie Hamstead DC is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences at Sherman College of Chiropractic. She specializes in perinatal and pediatric care. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007 and Sherman College in 2012. She is a practicing chiropractor in Simpsonville, South Carolina and mother to four daughters.

Kenneth L. Alford is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University and a Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired). He has authored/edited 13 books and over 200 articles.
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February 21, 2025
Reaching peak engagement in K-12 science education
Key points:

More than half of science teachers believe the most important value of science education is how it contributes to students’ curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity, according to a new report from LEGO Education. But are today’s students truly engaging with science education?

LEGO Education’s State of Classroom Engagement Report: Science Edition surveyed more than 6,000 global teachers, parents, students, and U.S. administrators to gather data that can offer insight to support educators as they strive to engage their students in science learning.

Science learning builds life skills students will use even if they do not pursue the science in college or as a career. It also increases student engagement and well-being, but here’s the catch: Students have to feel connected to the material in order to build these skills.

Just over half of global science teachers say their students are engaged in science, which points to a critical need to boost engagement in the subject, according to the report. Interestingly, students say they are more engaged in science than they are in school overall. Only one-third of teachers worldwide indicate that their students are engaged in the classroom. Schools could leverage students’ interest in science to build schoolwide engagement–a key factor tied to student well-being.

When students aren’t engaged in science, what’s behind that lack of engagement? Often, they’re intimidated before they even learn the material, and they assume the topics are too challenging. Students lose confidence before they even try. Of students who say science is their least-favorite topic, 45 percent say science is too hard and 37 percent say they are bad at science. What’s more, 77 percent of global teachers say they believe students struggle because of complex concepts and curricula, and they’re searching for for impactful resources that support every student’s success.

“If students think they’re not good at the subject or avoid it, we risk losing an entire generation of innovators and problem solvers,” said Victor Saeijs, president of LEGO Education, in the report.

How can educators reach students who struggle to engage with science? Hands-on science learning is the key to piquing student curiosity, prompting them to engage with learning material and build confidence as they explore science concepts. Sixty-two percent of science teachers say hands-on activities drive student engagement in science. Seventy-five percent of science teachers who do incorporate hands-on activities believe this approach leads to higher test scores and grades.

More students need access to hands-on science learning. Only 55 percent of students say they regularly get hands-on experiences–these experiences usually require extra time and resources to plan and execute. Eighty-two percent of science teachers say they need more ways to teach science with play and hands-on methods.

Having access to hands-on science learning experiences increases students’ confidence, giving them the boost they often need to tackle increasingly tough-to-learn concepts:
- 73 percent of students with access to hands-on learning opportunities report feeling confident in science
- Just 52 percent of students who do not have access to hands-on learning report feeling confident in science
Hands-on experiences in science drive:
- Learning outcomes: 71 percent of science teachers who incorporate hands-on, playful learning believe the methodology supports higher test scores and grades
- Engagement for all learners: 84 percent of U.S. teachers and 87 percent of administrators think that hands-on experiences help all types of learners engage with science concepts
- Love of science: 63 percent of students who love science credit their passion to regular hands-on experiences
- Confidence: 79 percent of students who have hands-on science experiences are confident in the subject
Administrators and science teachers are short on time and need hands-on tools and resources to quickly engage students in learning:
- 59 percent of U.S. administrators and 54 percent of science teachers say they need more tools to engage students in science
- Nearly one-third of U.S. students do not get hands-on science experiences.
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

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February 14, 2025
Running a Workshop: Guidelines for Engagement and Impact – Faculty Focus
Most of us have the experience of registering for a workshop only to discover that it is a lecture or (worse) an advertisement for the presenter. A genuine workshop aims to empower the participants such that they leave with new ideas and skills.

What follows are some suggested principles we have prepared for workshop facilitators that move beyond a “talkfest” to genuine learning.

Principle 1: Come early and “own” the learning space.

You need to give plenty of time to ensuring the room is arranged to facilitate quality discussion and learning. Make sure that all the technology is working. Greet people as they enter to let them know they are valued and welcome.

Principle 2: A workshop is not a lecture.

The word “workshop” implies that work will be done by the participants. This means the center of attention should be on the students doing work, not on the expert talking about their expertise. Many experts are bad at teaching workshops because they are used to lecturing. A lecture has the spotlight on the speaker, but a workshop has the spotlight on the students. Instead of crafting a message for people to listen to, a good workshop is designed to maximize participant engagement and give the participants the opportunity for guided instruction in doing things. Many workshops are born from lectures, which explains why those workshops are so ineffective and boring.

Principle 3: Small group work is ideal.

Good workshops involve discussion, and discussion is most fruitful in groups of 3-4 members. In smaller groups, every person has the opportunity to express an opinion, and it is far more difficult to remain silent and uninvolved. In groups of five or more, certain individuals will tend to monopolize the discussion, and it is possible for one or more members to remain uninvolved observers. Remember that the two keys to effective learning are involvement and application. Participants are more likely to become involved in a smaller group than in a larger group.

Principle 4: Think in units of three:
1. Explain: Walk the participants through a relatively small piece of information or skill, perhaps (as relevant) providing a model or example that participants can build from.
1. Exercise: Have everyone try to do that thing (while you wander around and help people one on one).
1. Debrief: Discuss the results of the experience: where people got stuck, and what things people learned, or realized they want to learn.
Principle 5: Less is More.

Don’t try to “cover the content”. Address one or two key issues and give time for participants to wrestle with a smaller amount of content but at a deeper level. The result is likely to be more profound and deep in learning.

Principle 6: Keep in mind that discussion takes time.

If you break the class into smaller groups, set a time limit and remind them about halfway through, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate. This gives the group permission to ask anyone who is monopolizing the conversation to finish so that others may have a turn. As teacher/facilitator you should move around the groups, ensuring that they have understood the questions and are progressing through them at an appropriate pace. Your presence will communicate interest and concern, and greatly motivate the students to stay on task and engage with the material.

Principle 7: Carefully design discussion questions in advance.

The best questions need crafting and design. Ensure that every question is divergent and open. Seek to connect not only with the mind but with attitudes and actions.

Principle 8: Stay out of the center.

Participants are coming to learn, and they generally learn from others as much as they do from you. As a general rule you should not talk for more than 5-10 minutes before having the participants reflect and engage. In total the participants should be doing at least half the talking – and more. Facilitation is the name of the game.

Principle 9: Closure is important.

A time of reporting is valuable, but it needs five to ten minutes following the small-group work, and the class structure needs to be planned accordingly. It is generally best not to take extensive responses from each group, as this can become boring and counterproductive. A very effective procedure is to ask each group to contribute its single most important insight. Each insight should be a new contribution to the class reflections rather than the same repetitive information. Only when every group has had an opportunity to share one or two ideas do you solicit additional responses. Sharp and short reporting can give an almost electric dynamism to the feedback process.

Principle 10: Plan to be available after the workshop.

Oftentimes the most significant learning is one-on-one between you and a participant.

Perry Shaw EdD is honorary research associate at Morling College, Australia, and author of Transforming Theological Education.

Orbelina Eguizabal E. PhD is Professor of Christian Higher Education, PhD and EdD Programs in Educational Studies, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.
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February 10, 2025
Running a Workshop: Guidelines for Engagement and Impact – Faculty Focus
Most of us have the experience of registering for a workshop only to discover that it is a lecture or (worse) an advertisement for the presenter. A genuine workshop aims to empower the participants such that they leave with new ideas and skills.

What follows are some suggested principles we have prepared for workshop facilitators that move beyond a “talkfest” to genuine learning.

Principle 1: Come early and “own” the learning space.

You need to give plenty of time to ensuring the room is arranged to facilitate quality discussion and learning. Make sure that all the technology is working. Greet people as they enter to let them know they are valued and welcome.

Principle 2: A workshop is not a lecture.

The word “workshop” implies that work will be done by the participants. This means the center of attention should be on the students doing work, not on the expert talking about their expertise. Many experts are bad at teaching workshops because they are used to lecturing. A lecture has the spotlight on the speaker, but a workshop has the spotlight on the students. Instead of crafting a message for people to listen to, a good workshop is designed to maximize participant engagement and give the participants the opportunity for guided instruction in doing things. Many workshops are born from lectures, which explains why those workshops are so ineffective and boring.

Principle 3: Small group work is ideal.

Good workshops involve discussion, and discussion is most fruitful in groups of 3-4 members. In smaller groups, every person has the opportunity to express an opinion, and it is far more difficult to remain silent and uninvolved. In groups of five or more, certain individuals will tend to monopolize the discussion, and it is possible for one or more members to remain uninvolved observers. Remember that the two keys to effective learning are involvement and application. Participants are more likely to become involved in a smaller group than in a larger group.

Principle 4: Think in units of three:
1. Explain: Walk the participants through a relatively small piece of information or skill, perhaps (as relevant) providing a model or example that participants can build from.
1. Exercise: Have everyone try to do that thing (while you wander around and help people one on one).
1. Debrief: Discuss the results of the experience: where people got stuck, and what things people learned, or realized they want to learn.
Principle 5: Less is More.

Don’t try to “cover the content”. Address one or two key issues and give time for participants to wrestle with a smaller amount of content but at a deeper level. The result is likely to be more profound and deep in learning.

Principle 6: Keep in mind that discussion takes time.

If you break the class into smaller groups, set a time limit and remind them about halfway through, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate. This gives the group permission to ask anyone who is monopolizing the conversation to finish so that others may have a turn. As teacher/facilitator you should move around the groups, ensuring that they have understood the questions and are progressing through them at an appropriate pace. Your presence will communicate interest and concern, and greatly motivate the students to stay on task and engage with the material.

Principle 7: Carefully design discussion questions in advance.

The best questions need crafting and design. Ensure that every question is divergent and open. Seek to connect not only with the mind but with attitudes and actions.

Principle 8: Stay out of the center.

Participants are coming to learn, and they generally learn from others as much as they do from you. As a general rule you should not talk for more than 5-10 minutes before having the participants reflect and engage. In total the participants should be doing at least half the talking – and more. Facilitation is the name of the game.

Principle 9: Closure is important.

A time of reporting is valuable, but it needs five to ten minutes following the small-group work, and the class structure needs to be planned accordingly. It is generally best not to take extensive responses from each group, as this can become boring and counterproductive. A very effective procedure is to ask each group to contribute its single most important insight. Each insight should be a new contribution to the class reflections rather than the same repetitive information. Only when every group has had an opportunity to share one or two ideas do you solicit additional responses. Sharp and short reporting can give an almost electric dynamism to the feedback process.

Principle 10: Plan to be available after the workshop.

Oftentimes the most significant learning is one-on-one between you and a participant.

Perry Shaw EdD is honorary research associate at Morling College, Australia, and author of Transforming Theological Education.

Orbelina Eguizabal E. PhD is Professor of Christian Higher Education, PhD and EdD Programs in Educational Studies, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.
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February 10, 2025
The higher education sector needs to come together to renew its commitment to enhancing student engagement

“Engagement, to me, is probably…getting the most out of university…taking and making the most of available opportunities.”

This quote, from Queen’s University Belfast students’ union president Kieron Minto sums up a lot of the essential elements of what we talk about when we talk about student engagement.

It captures the sense that the higher education experience has multiple dimensions, incorporating personal and professional development as well as academic study. Students will be – and feel – successful to the extent that they invest time and energy in those activities that are the most purposeful. Critically, it captures the element of student agency in their own engagement – higher education institutions might make opportunities available but students need to decide to engage to get the most from them.

In recent years “student engagement” has suffered from the curse of ubiquity. Its meanings and applications are endlessly debated. Is it about satisfaction, academic success, personal growth, or a combination of factors? There is a wealth of examples of discrete projects and frameworks for thinking about student engagement, but often little read-across from one context to another. We can celebrate the enormous amount of learning and insight that has been created while at the same time accepting that as the environment for higher education changes some of the practices that have evolved may no longer be fit for purpose.

Higher education institutions and the students that are enrolled in them face a brace of challenges, from the learning and development losses of the Covid pandemic, to rising costs and income constraints, to technological change. Institutions are less able to support provision of the breadth of enriching opportunities to students at the same time as students have less money, time, and emotional bandwidth to devote to making the most of university.

The answer, as ever, is not to bemoan the circumstances, or worse, blame students for being less able to engage, but to tool up, get strategic, and adapt.

Students still want to make the most of the opportunities that higher education has to offer. The question is how to design and configure those opportunities so that current and future students continue to experience them as purposeful and meaningful.

Fresh student engagement thinking

Our report, Future-proofing student engagement in higher education, brings together the perspectives of academic and professional services staff, higher education leaders, and students, all from a range of institutions, to establish a firm foundation of principles and practices that can support coherent, intentional student engagement strategies.

A foundational principle for student engagement is that students’ motivations and engagement behaviours are shaped by their backgrounds, prior experiences, current environments, and hopes and expectations for their futures – as explained by Ella Kahu in her socio-cultural framework for student engagement (2013).

It follows that it is impossible to think about or have any kind of meaningful organisational strategy about student engagement without working closely in partnership with students, drawing on a wide range of data and insight about the breadth of students’ opinions, behaviours, and experiences. Similarly, it follows that a data-informed approach to student engagement must mean that the strategy evolves as students do – taking student engagement seriously means adopting an institutional mindset of preparedness to adapt in light of feedback.

Where our research indicates that there needs to be a strategic shift is in the embrace of what might be termed a more holistic approach to student engagement, in two important senses.

The first is understanding at a conceptual level how student engagement is realised in practice throughout every aspect of the student journey, and not just manifested in traditional metrics around attendance and academic performance.

The second is in how institutions, in partnership with students, map out a shared strategic intent for student engagement for every stage of that journey. That includes designing inclusive and purposeful interventions and opportunities to engage, and using data and insight from students to deepen understanding of what factors enable engagement and what makes an experience feel purposeful and engaging – and ideally creating a flow of data and insight that can inform continuous enhancement of engagement.

Theory into practice

Our research also points to how some of that shift might be realised in practice. For example, student wellbeing is intimately linked to engagement, because tired, anxious, excluded or overwhelmed students are much less able to engage. When we spoke to university staff about wellbeing support they were generally likely to focus on student services provision. But students highlighted a need for a more proactive culture of wellbeing throughout the institution, including embedding wellbeing considerations into the curriculum and nurturing a supportive campus culture. Similarly, on the themes of community and belonging, while university staff were likely to point to institutional strategic initiatives to cultivate belonging, students talked more about their need for genuine individual connections, especially with peers.

There was also a strong theme emerging about how institutions think about actively empowering students to have the confidence and skills to “navigate the maze” of higher education opportunities and future career possibilities. Pedagogies of active learning, for example, build confidence and a sense of ownership over learning, contributing to behavioural and psychological engagement. Developing students’ digital literacy means that students can more readily deploy technology to support connection with academics and course peers, make active critical choices about how they invest time in different platforms, and prepare for their future workplace. Before getting exercised about how today’s students do not arrive in higher education “prepared to engage,” it’s worth remembering just how much larger and more complicated the contemporary university is, and with these, the increased demands on students.

While there is a lot that institutions can do to move forward their student engagement agenda independently, there is also a need for a renewed focus on student engagement from the higher education sector as a whole. The megathemes contributing to shifting student engagement patterns are shared; they are not distinctive to any institution type, geography, or student demographic.

The promise of higher education – that you can transform your life, your identity and your future through a higher education experience – only holds true if students are willing and able to engage with it. This demands a unified effort from all involved.

Institutions must prioritise student engagement, placing it at the heart of their strategies and decisions. Furthermore, the higher education sector as a whole must renew its focus on student engagement, recognising its fundamental role in achieving the goals of higher education. Finally, as regulatory bodies evolve their approach to the assessment and enhancement of academic quality, student engagement must once again be put front and centre of the higher education endeavour.

This article is published in association with evasys. You can download a copy of Future-proofing student engagement here.

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February 3, 2025
Personalized Communication Strategies That Drive Student Engagement in Higher Education
Key Takeaways:
- Personalized, timely, and relevant communication is key to engaging prospective students and meeting enrollment goals in higher education.
- Effective strategies rely on immediacy, relevance, automation, and trackability, ensuring impactful and consistent interactions.
- Omnichannel outreach, using a mix of email, SMS, print, and digital platforms, enhances visibility and builds trust by meeting students where they are.
- Data-driven tools enable tailored, personalized communication, real-time adjustments, and sustainable strategies.
Connecting with prospective undergraduate students in meaningful ways requires a thoughtful blend of strategy, immediacy, and personalization. Gone are the days when generic messaging could effectively spark interest or drive engagement. Today’s prospective students expect communications that reflect an understanding of their individual needs, aspirations, and priorities and their value to your institution.

Institutions aiming to enhance their enrollment strategies must adopt a more data-informed and strategic approach to communication. This means reaching out with the right message, at the right time, and through the right channels.

Laying the Foundation for Communication Success

Effective communication with students is built on four key principles: immediacy, relevance, automation, and trackability. Each element plays a critical role in ensuring that interactions resonate with students and influence their decision-making process.
- Immediacy: Quick and timely responses that change as students’ behaviors change demonstrate attentiveness and can make a significant impression on prospective students. Delays in following up on inquiries or campus visits risk the loss of momentum and interest. Statistics show that the school that responds to inquiries first is more likely to convince that student to enroll.
- Relevance: Tailored, personalized communication should go beyond basic name inclusion. Students expect messages that address their specific interests. Misaligned content, such as sending information unrelated to a student’s expressed major, can quickly undermine trust.
- Automation: Streamlined, automated workflows keep communication consistent and dependable, even during staff transitions or times of high demand. Manual processes, such as college fair follow-ups that sit unprocessed for long periods, can derail engagement. Automation prevents these bottlenecks, enabling timely responses even when staff are unavailable.
- Trackability: Monitoring communication effectiveness helps institutions refine their strategies and optimize ROI.
By integrating these principles, higher education institutions can deliver a cohesive and impactful communication strategy that strengthens student engagement and builds trust.

The Importance of Omnichannel Outreach

While email has long been—and remains—a cornerstone of communication, relying on it exclusively is no longer sufficient. The sheer volume of emails students receive daily makes it easy for even the most well-crafted messages to be overlooked. To stand out, institutions must adopt an omnichannel approach with campaigns that combine email with print materials, SMS messaging, voice blasts, digital ads, social media engagement, and microsites, all tailored to student interests.

Each channel serves a unique purpose for student engagement in higher education. Print materials, for example, are particularly effective at involving families in the decision-making process. A well-designed brochure placed on a kitchen table can spark conversations among family members, especially parents, who are often key influencers in the college selection process.

Similarly, integrating consistent, tailored messaging across multiple channels ensures that students receive a seamless experience. Whether they encounter an institution on social media, via a targeted ad, by SMS message, or through an email campaign, the message should feel cohesive and tailored to their interests. Omnichannel strategies, timed appropriately through the enrollment timeline, not only improve visibility but also demonstrate an institution’s commitment to meeting students where they are, thus building trust and rapport.

Leveraging Data for Personalization

Modern communication strategies must be rooted in data. By analyzing student preferences and behaviors, institutions can craft messages that resonate on an individual level. With data-informed insights, institutions can identify what matters most to prospective students—whether that’s career outcomes, financial aid, or specific academic opportunities—and address those priorities directly.

For example, students interested in STEM programs may be more receptive to communications highlighting research opportunities and faculty expertise, while first-generation students may appreciate messages emphasizing affordability and support services.

To further maximize impact, institutions can use surveys and initial engagement data to tailor their outreach strategies, which allows them to deploy resources efficiently while maintaining relevance. For example, expensive print materials can be reserved for students who show strong interest in particular programs, while a social media campaign may be more appropriate for inquiries earlier in the enrollment cycle.

Real-time data tracking lets institutions segment their strategies dynamically. If a particular campaign underperforms across the board or for certain cohorts of students, modifications can be made immediately to better align with student preferences. This agility is essential for maintaining relevance and impact throughout the recruitment cycle.

Building a Sustainable Communication Infrastructure

Sustainable communication strategies rely on the integration of advanced tools and technologies. While a customer relationship management (CRM) system lays a strong foundation, institutions often need more specialized solutions to elevate their outreach efforts. Liaison offers a suite of products designed to enhance and streamline communication and enrollment strategies, including:
- Enrollment Marketing (EM): Liaison’s EM software and marketing services help institutions manage and analyze personalized, automated omnichannel campaigns, ensuring consistent and effective messaging across multiple channels.
- Othot: This AI-driven tool leverages predictive and prescriptive analytics to optimize communication strategies and enrollment decisions, tailoring outreach to align with student behavior and institutional goals.
- Centralized Application Service (CAS): By simplifying the admissions process for students and providing institutions with tools for marketing, data management, and application processing, CAS supports efficient communication with applicants.
By incorporating these technologies, along with Liaison’s CRMs, institutions can maintain a seamless and unified communication flow so that prospective students receive timely, relevant, and personalized messages. These solutions also allow institutions to monitor campaign performance and adjust strategies in real-time, maximizing the effectiveness of resources and making messaging more impactful for target audiences. This integration reduces reliance on fragmented workflows, preventing gaps or delays caused by disconnected platforms.

Aligning tools and strategies across departments using Liaison’s technologies keeps messaging consistent and impactful, even as prospective students engage with multiple touchpoints throughout their journey.

Achieving Long-Term Engagement

Effective communication with students is about building relationships that extend beyond the initial stages of recruitment. Institutions that invest in understanding and addressing the unique needs of their prospective students position themselves as partners in their academic journey.

By delivering personalized, timely, and relevant messages through multiple channels, institutions can foster deeper connections and enhance student engagement in higher education. As the competitive landscape of enrollment continues to shift, adopting a strategic and data-informed approach to communication will remain essential for success.

Ready to elevate your communication strategies? Discover how Liaison’s advanced tools and technologies can transform how you connect with prospective students. From personalized, omnichannel campaigns to data-driven insights, our solutions help you engage students meaningfully and meet your enrollment goals. Contact us today to learn more.

About the Author

Craig Cornell is the Vice President for Enrollment Strategy at Liaison. In that capacity, he oversees a team of enrollment strategists and brings best practices, consultation, and data trends to campuses across the country in all things enrollment management. Craig also serves as the dedicated resource to NASH (National Association of Higher Education Systems) and works closely with the higher education system that Liaison supports. Before joining Liaison in 2023, Craig served for over 30 years in multiple higher education executive enrollment management positions. During his tenure, the campuses he served often received national recognition for enrollment growth, effective financial aid leveraging, marketing enhancements, and innovative enrollment strategies.
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January 23, 2025
Engagement and wellbeing analytics: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
By Rachel Maxwell, Principal Advisor at Kortext.

Data at the heart of student support

A successful and integrated framework for academic support that is built around students comprises three core elements: data, theory and people. The university ‘ethos’ around student support frames the collection and use of data that in turn are both interpreted and used by staff to collaboratively design meaningful interventions with students to support engagement, wellbeing and academic development. The data proxies used to support academic engagement are proven and well-established (see Foster and Siddle, 2019; Rimmington, 2024; University of Essex, 2023). Data proxies for wellbeing are more embryonic in nature and it is less clear how to effectively use both data sets effectively to maximise the overall impact on student success.

Mental health matters

That the sector, if not the country, is facing an unprecedented crisis in the mental health of young people is well established. Underreporting or non-disclosure of issues masks the true scale of the picture, and the increasing severity of those issues imposes an additional layer of complexity and resource for higher education providers to address.

Ways to address the crisis, using student data, are therefore logical and essential, but also unclear. The Jisc Core Specification for Student Engagement Analytics identifies five wellbeing data points that indicate risks to retention and continuation alongside six more traditional student engagement data points. The inclusion of wellbeing analytics is an essential part of a whole provider approach to supporting student success alongside access and participation activity or the embedding of the University Mental Health Charter from Student Minds. Successful initiatives can now be shared via TASO’s Student Mental Health Evidence Hub.

The evaluation of an Office for Students mental health and analytics project at Northumbria University concluded that student wellbeing can be accurately predicted and can provide operational value to intervention models within student support in addition to students requiring academic support identified through engagement or learning/learner analytics. And while poor mental health is likely to evidence itself in non-engagement, not all non-engagement is indicative of a wellbeing risk.

… but it’s complex

Universities grappling with the thorny issue of accurately identifying students who are struggling and need support with their mental health will naturally be considering whether the Northumbria approach can be successfully transferred and scaled up within their own settings. Answering this question is particularly important in the case of initial non-disclosure or subsequent development of mental health issues, particularly given the fairly significant caveats associated with the project:
- Data cleanliness, accuracy and availability is essential – but it was only possible following a decade-long data and digital transformation project at the university
- Over 800 data variables were reviewed alongside dynamic data from relevant systems and associated student support facilities
- Human decision-making by mental health and wellbeing experts remains central, to ‘see’ the person behind the risk rating, avoid potential ‘blind spots’, false positives and ‘misses’, and, crucially, to understand how an individual’s mental health is actually impacting their university experience
- Although deemed successful, the Northumbria project has not (yet) resulted in a deliverable service.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts

The Kortext student engagement analytics product, StREAM, provides an effective comparison point with early work to turn wellbeing indicators into effective data proxies suitable for risk determination.

One critical difference is that StREAM can effectively identify risk with an average of 90% accuracy based on data drawn from just 2 core systems – the VLE and the student record. However, identification of the causes of disengagement comes only through meaningful conversations with students, based both on their data and on contextual information about personal and demographic circumstances. It is important that the significance of those circumstances is explored collaboratively with the student at a relevant time to determine subjective impact, rather than presuming risk in advance.

In light of the mental health crisis, effective, holistic student support requires the use of analytics based on both engagement and wellbeing to provide frontline staff with a richer picture of their students. This approach will also enable universities to demonstrate that they have discharged their legal responsibilities to their students as fully as possible. Waiting until a possible mental health situation is starting to manifest in a student’s engagement data may be seen as too late and potentially too risky, being reliant upon all staff members to identify and act upon risk at the precise moment the student starts to disengage with their learning. While the need to provide ongoing information, advice and guidance to all students has long been identified as good practice, tailoring that messaging based on predictive and unsubstantiated subjective risk requires handling with care.

What next for health and wellbeing analytics?

Deploying engagement and wellbeing analytics together across an institution is complex. One size will not fit all in terms of using one approach to achieve dual objectives (retention/continuation and wellbeing), nor will the approach be the same across all institutions. More research is required to explore a range of questions, including:
1. How many of the students identified as being ‘at risk’ by an engagement analytics system require mental health support?
2. How many of those who don’t (at least initially) disclose a mental health condition, were subsequently identified as having low or no engagement by an engagement analytics system?
3. Would the use of the wellbeing analytics proxies identify the same group of students as having mental health concerns as those picked up by an engagement analytics system and, following a conversation, be appropriately categorised as having a mental health concern?
4. What level of confidence can be placed in each data set in terms of identifying the right students and, critically, doing so at the right time?
5. Can the wellbeing data points inform the development of a mental health algorithm, when such data points are not easily reduced to a 1 or 0?
6. What are the policy implications of a combined approach – both across the sector and within institutions – to demonstrate that a university has actively and meaningfully met their legal responsibilities for all students?
7. How can ‘prior knowledge of a possible risk’ be combined with near real-time data in a student analytics platform to pinpoint an acute mental health situation and support early intervention?
Here at Kortext, we are interested in undertaking in-depth research with universities and others to explore these questions and find ways to use both data sets to support successful academic outcomes and a healthy student population. If you’re interested, please let us know here: www.kortext.com/stream/contact
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January 4, 2025
Email Marketing for Parent and Community Engagement
Reading Time: 9 minutes

Staying connected with parents and the wider school community has become more important than ever. For K-12 school administrators and marketers, email marketing offers an efficient, cost-effective, and personalized approach to keeping parents informed, engaged, and connected with the school.

In this blog, we’ll explore various effective school email marketing strategies designed to help you increase parent and community engagement. When you follow the essential tips, you’ll be better equipped to build trust, maintain transparency, and foster an active school community. Let’s explore!

Our targeted email marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students.

Discover how we can enhance your recruitment strategy today!

Understanding the Importance of Email Marketing for Schools

Email marketing for schools is powerful as it allows for direct communication with the people who matter most—parents, guardians, and the wider community. In an environment where parents expect real time information, personalized content, and streamlined communication, email is the go-to method that allows you to achieve all three effectively. Parents are eager to be involved in their child’s education.

By ensuring that parents are well-informed about upcoming events, school policies, and student progress, administrators can build stronger connections between the school and the families they serve.

The benefits of email marketing don’t stop there as pictured below, an effective school email marketing strategy can offer increased brand awareness, an avenue for promoting programs and content, a great way to generate new leads, a platform for guiding new prospects down the enrollment funnel, and build relationships. The key lies in using email marketing correctly, focusing on strategies that boost engagement and build lasting relationships.

Source: Higher Education Marketing

Defining Engagement-Based Email Marketing

For schools, engagement is arguably the most crucial metric of email marketing. The success of your campaign depends on your emails being opened, read, and prompting the desired action outlined in your message.

With this in mind, What is engagement-based email marketing? Engagement-based email marketing focuses on creating emails that grab attention and encourage people to interact with them, standing out from the many emails they receive daily.

Consistency is key in engagement-based email marketing. The more frequently you send relevant messages to the right people that encourage action, the more likely you are to turn them into loyal subscribers and active members of your school community over time.

Join us as we outline ten essential tactics for cultivating the engagement that your school needs to build a stronger relationship with parents, prospects, and your community.

1. Segment Your Email List for Personalized Communication

The first step in effective email marketing is creating segmented email lists. Not all parents and community members need the same information, and delivering relevant content to each group is critical for engagement.

Segmenting your email list allows you to target the right group of parents with messages specifically designed for them. This personalization ensures that the content you send out resonates more with the audience, resulting in better engagement rates.

Segmentation is central to the email marketing function of our open-source marketing automation platform, Mautic CRM. You can segment your contacts based on a multitude of criteria including admissions stage, program, and location, ensuring that each prospect receives the right message at the right time, inciting them to take the next desired action and move down the admissions funnel.

Example: Here, you can see how Mautic’s contact segmentation function allows you to track leads based on the language they speak, whether they’ve completed a registration form for any event you’re promoting, the nature of their relationship with your school, which of your school programs interests them, and more.

Source: Higher Education Marketing | Mautic

2. Craft Clear and Engaging Subject Lines

The subject line is the first thing parents see when they receive your email, and it plays a significant role in determining whether or not they open it. When crafting subject lines, keep them concise, informative, and engaging.

Highlight the key point of the email so parents immediately know what to expect. Personalization also works wonders in subject lines—try including the recipient’s name or their child’s class to make the email feel more personal and targeted.

Example: Here, Randolph-Macon Academy writes a clear, direct subject line in one of their emails. Long, meandering subject lines with no clear indication of what your email is about are more likely to be ignored so, always aim for short and snappy. Using a humorous tone when possible is also quite effective for catching readers’ attention through subject lines.

Source: Randolph-Macon Academy

3. Use a Mobile-Friendly Email Design

In today’s busy world where many parents lead an ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle, many parents will likely read your emails on their smartphones. Therefore, optimizing your email for mobile devices is crucial.

This means using a responsive email template that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes and keeping the content concise so parents don’t have to scroll endlessly. By making your email accessible on mobile, you’re ensuring busy parents can stay informed wherever they are.

Example: Pictured below are Mautic email templates. They are compatible with desktop and mobile devices allowing you to reach parents and community members wherever they are.

Source: Higher Education Marketing | Mautic

4. Include a Call to Action (CTA) That Encourages Engagement

Every email you send should have a clear purpose, and that’s where a strong CTA comes into play. Whether it’s asking parents to RSVP for an event, complete a survey, or check out the school’s latest blog post, the CTA should be easily identifiable and action-oriented.

Effective CTAs include:
- “Sign Up for the PTA Meeting Here”
- “Take Our School Climate Survey”
- “Download Your Child’s Homework Schedule”
The CTA should also stand out visually—consider using a button with a contrasting color or a bold link to draw attention as pictured in the example below.

Source: Randolph-Macon Academy

5. Focus on Storytelling to Build Community

Emails that tell a story are much more likely to resonate with parents than those that only provide logistical information. Consider using email marketing as an opportunity to share stories about what’s happening at your school. Highlight student achievements, community events, and teacher spotlights. You can even share testimonials from parents or alumni to build trust and show the impact your school is making.

Storytelling humanizes your school, makes the content more engaging, and fosters a deeper connection between parents and the school community.

6. Set up an Automated Welcome Series for New Parents

New parents often feel overwhelmed when joining the school community and email can be a great way to make them feel welcome and informed. Create an automated welcome email series that introduces them to the school, provides helpful resources, and invites them to important upcoming events.

The welcome series can include:
- A welcome message from the principal
- Information about school policies and resources
- Links to important documents (e.g., school calendar)
- Invitations to join parent groups or sign up for the school newsletter
This helps new parents feel engaged and informed from the start, setting the tone for a positive relationship with the school. Automation isn’t only beneficial for sending welcome messages. Mautic enables you to save time and reach the right contact by automating any type of email interaction depending on various criteria.

Example: Mautic enables you to create emails that cater to specific segments within your contact list, send messages automatically, and time them perfectly depending on the nature of the interaction. See how simple the process is in the image below.

Source: Higher Education Marketing | Mautic

7. Share Important Updates and Reminders Consistently

Consistency is key when it comes to email marketing. Sending regular updates and reminders helps keep parents informed about important dates and events, such as school holidays, parent-teacher conferences, and extracurricular activities.

You don’t need to send emails every day—weekly or bi-weekly updates can suffice. Just make sure the frequency is enough to keep parents in the loop without overwhelming them. You can also create a predictable schedule so parents know when to expect updates (e.g., a weekly newsletter every Monday morning).

8. Use Analytics to Measure Engagement and Improve Content

One of the biggest advantages of email marketing is the ability to measure engagement through analytics. Most email marketing platforms provide metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Use these insights to understand what types of content resonate most with parents.

For example:
- If your open rates are low, consider experimenting with different subject lines.
- If parents aren’t clicking on your CTA, try adjusting its placement or wording.
Analyzing these metrics allows you to refine your email strategy over time, ensuring that you’re always improving engagement with parents.

Example: Use Mautic Campaign Statistics to track the engagement of each email and predict the behavior of your contacts.

Source: Higher Education Marketing| Mautic

9. Incorporate Visuals and Multimedia for a More Engaging Experience

Visual content— photos, videos, and infographics—tends to capture attention more effectively than text alone. Including multimedia in your emails can make them more engaging and visually appealing. Share pictures from recent school events, videos of students’ performances, or a short introduction from a teacher.

Multimedia doesn’t just make your emails more attractive; it also provides a way to showcase what’s happening at the school, allowing parents to feel more involved even if they can’t physically be there.

10. Foster Two-Way Communication Through Surveys and Feedback Forms

Email marketing shouldn’t just be about sending information to parents—it should also be a way to collect feedback and facilitate two-way communication. The result is a more actively engaged school community that offers a host of benefits to your school brand and the education of your students.

You may be wonderfing specifically how to increase engagement through email marketing. Try using your email campaigns to invite parents to share their thoughts and opinions on various aspects of school life. For example, include a link to a survey asking for feedback on recent events or ask parents what topics they’d like covered in future newsletters. This approach makes parents feel that their voice matters and fosters a sense of partnership between the school and the community.

Let’s Review: The Role of Email Marketing in Parent and Community Engagement

Email marketing is a powerful tool that, when used effectively, can drive meaningful engagement between schools, parents, and the wider community. At its core, email marketing is about building trust and fostering relationships.

Schools that use email to maintain transparency with parents—sharing successes and challenges—are more likely to create an environment where parents feel comfortable getting involved. When parents trust the school, they are more likely to attend events, support fundraising efforts, and engage in their child’s education.

Use your email campaigns to provide insight into what’s happening within the school, such as new initiatives, changes in policy, or upcoming projects. By sharing this information openly, you’re helping to build a sense of trust and shared responsibility with the entire community.

The key lies in crafting relevant, personalized, and engaging content that meets parents where they are—whether that’s on their phones, at their computers, or scrolling through their inbox on a busy day.

By following the ten tips we’ve discussed so far, school administrators and marketers can create email campaigns that foster a deeper connection with parents, build trust, and ultimately enhance the overall school experience for students and families alike.

Remember that email marketing is not just about disseminating information. Rather, it’s about telling the story of your school, involving parents in their child’s education, and building a community where everyone feels valued and heard.

As you refine your email marketing strategy, keep these tips in mind and focus on delivering content that adds value, fosters engagement, and builds a lasting connection between your school and the community it serves.

Our targeted email marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students.

Discover how we can enhance your recruitment strategy today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is engagement-based email marketing?

Answer: Engagement-based email marketing focuses on creating emails that grab attention and encourage people to interact with them, standing out from the many emails they receive daily.

Question: How to increase engagement through email marketing?

Answer: Try using your email campaigns to invite parents to share their thoughts and opinions on various aspects of school life.
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November 6, 2024
Student Engagement in Higher Education
How to Deliver a Personalized Experience Throughout the Student Journey

Imagine this: a prospective student fills out a request for information on your website, sharing personal details like their program of interest, transfer status, and intended start date. What happens next? Too often, the response is a generic email or text urging them to apply. Then, perhaps unsurprisingly, many institutions see declining contact rates and applications.

Delivering an engaging, personalized experience — at scale, across programs, and from the very first interaction — is no small feat. But it’s also essential in today’s competitive higher education landscape. While complex communication plans and sophisticated automation tools play a role, sometimes the simplest approach can make the biggest difference: Asking the right questions.

Focusing on the right questions can strengthen student relationships, increase lead-to-application rates, and even drive application-to-enrollment success, helping institutions connect personally with students and boost engagement at every stage of their journey.

What Is Student Engagement in Higher Ed?

Before we can start asking students questions, we must first ask ourselves an obvious question: What is student engagement?

Engagement rates are metrics that show how actively involved your audience is with your content. By tracking specific metrics, your institution can analyze the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. You should track the number of people who interact with your follow-up communications: whether they open, click, respond to, or visit a website.

Every interaction a prospective student has with your institution’s website, social media posts, texts or emails, and other digital content generates data that you can use to capture information about leads (prospective students) and better understand and optimize future marketing efforts.

Tracking and analyzing “clicks” can tell you:
- If prospects are opening, clicking, responding to emails or texts, answering calls, and otherwise interacting with your institution — leading indicators of intent to apply and even enroll
- Which prospects are the most engaged — so you can prioritize communications with them while your brand is top of mind
At Archer, we’ve seen clients have 44% higher application-to-start rates and 33% higher application rates when prospective students engage with an institution’s post-inquiry communication. This makes for an efficient use of resources, as you’ve already generated the inquiry. A bump in conversion rates can go a long way in stretching a limited budget.

One Simple Thing You Can Do to Increase Student Engagement

Imagine you have the opportunity to meet with every prospective student in person for coffee. What would you do? How would you engage with them? You’d probably begin to build rapport by asking them lots of questions.

A digital meetup should be treated no differently than an in-person engagement. “Digital” is simply another method of communication. Granted, you’re not able to sit at your computer and chat online with every prospect, but in terms of how to interact and build student engagement, you should think of it the same way: as a two-way conversation.

Simply put, stop talking at prospective students and start communicating with them.

As much as you’re tempted to begin by telling them how great your school and program are, it’s best to first understand where a student is coming from and what they’re looking for.

At Archer, our team and our proprietary end-to-end student support solution — called Onward — are available to students 24/7. Built exclusively for the student journey, Onward collects and analyzes data on digital student engagement and optimizes digital student communication with a goal of increasing post-inquiry engagement. It has taught us a lot.

We’ve found that one of the most impactful things we can do in our follow-up communication with students to boost engagement rates — at any stage of the student lifecycle — is to ask questions. Indeed, in follow-up exchanges where we ask students specific questions (and provide an option to answer directly in that communication), we see click-through rates 42% higher than average.

It’s Not Too Late to Start Asking Questions

Even if you’ve already missed a key opportunity to ask questions of new prospects, circling back to get to know them better at any point in their student journey can have an impact.

Working with our partner Peru State College, we started sending a “What’s holding you back?” email to prospective students who weren’t taking the next step forward. The email not only asked “What’s holding you back from enrolling with us?” but also let the recipient click on an answer. For that email, we saw an average open rate of 16% — which doesn’t look too impressive until you consider these prospects had stopped engaging — and, more importantly, an average 33% click-through rate (with a majority of clicks leading to “apply now” pages). Not only did the email help the college reconnect with “lost” students, but we learned how to better connect with unconverted prospects going forward.

The email allowed us to determine who was stopping out and why.
- The top reason for not moving forward was related to finances (35%).
- More than 20% of prospective students had enrolled elsewhere.
- 5% said they weren’t ready to enroll yet but wanted to attend in the future.
These insights informed our follow-up digital communication, as well as our one-on-one admissions team follow-up. As a result, we reengaged with a meaningful percentage of stopped-out prospects by understanding some of their challenges and following up with relevant information. Moreover, 20% of this audience took action by clicking to start or finish their application and/or call an admissions rep.

Student Engagement Strategies for Every Higher Ed Stage

We used this same engagement strategy for first-time students enrolled in Peru State College’s online programs. Before we could view information in our partner’s learning management system to see if students were showing up for class or turning in assignments — leading indicators of student success — we wanted to check in with these new students directly to ask how their first week was going. The email asked, “How are you feeling about your first week?”

This email had an average open rate of 71% and an average click-through rate (CTR) of 31%.

Using a similar email, Archer helped another partner intervene to help 14 students who had indicated they weren’t having the best first-week experience. By asking follow-up questions to learn what wasn’t working for them, and forwarding that information to our admissions team, we were able to connect those students with a success coach at the university.

Optimize Student Engagement at Your Higher Education Institution

Higher-ed marketers and enrollment professionals know from experience that the success of every student is important to an institution’s long-term success. Providing a more personalized and engaging student experience can have a positive impact on enrollment growth and student retention.

It’s time for you to start having meaningful digital conversations that make an impact.

While Archer Education uses Onward, our easily scalable end-to-end student support solution, to deliver personalized communication and tailored post-inquiry follow-up 24/7, you don’t need a sophisticated lead nurturing tool to improve your student engagement strategies. Simply start asking questions in your communication with students and provide them with an easy way to respond.

Want to learn more about how to modernize your student experience and increase enrollment and retention rates with Archer’s Onward student support solution? Reach out to us and learn more today.
Angie Mohr

Director of Marketing & Communications

Angie Mohr is the senior vice president of student engagement at Archer Education. With a background in marketing, communications, and CRM and marketing automation, she has over 15 years of strategic communications and higher education experience. In her current role at Archer Education, a full-service marketing and enrollment solutions provider for higher education institutions, Angie focuses on supporting student acquisition and life cycle delivery services, utilizing scalable communications strategies and technologies to help prospective students engage, enroll, and persist in their student journey.

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November 1, 2024