The Covid - 19 pandemic and follow on economic and societal lock down has had a dramatic impact on many industries in Ireland, including third level education.
Higher education institutions across Ireland have had to introduce enhanced public health measures and typical strategies for the recruitment of both domestic and international students are not viable. Where possible Universities and colleges have had to minimise on-campus activities and turn instead to remote learning and digital communication.
In a recent study of 332 prospective Higher Learning students, Global Reviews found that 48% believed Covid – 19 would have a negative impact on their university experience. 55% agreed that they are more likely to choose a University based on their online teaching program.
For higher education institutions there is a greater need for agility, creativity and diversification more than ever. With the campus open day being the largest event on every university’s recruitment calendar, many higher education institutions have had to pivot their recruitment strategies to a virtual campus open day solution. It is expected that the need for virtual campus open days will continue and the learnings from 2020 will be used to inform future strategies.
Optimising the Virtual Open Day experience.
All Universities have needed to pivot to create a Virtual Open Day experience but, much of the strategic choices being made about the type of experience they will offer, are done without knowing what their competitors will offer.
In an upcoming webinar our Global Lead Client Advisor, Geri McGann, will present findings on how Universities can engage and win prospective students leveraging their virtual open day experiences. She will reveal what digital experiences achieve the greatest impact in driving engagement and ultimately student acquisition for both domestic and international segments. Using Q3 2020 data, she will highlight case studies of those Australian Universities that are winning with their approaches. Why, for example, are Deakin University significantly outperforming the competition with both domestic and international prospects? Why are RMIT providing the most successful Live Session experience? And how Victoria University provided personalisation?
Focusing on student priorities.
Universities can gain advantage by prioritising more intelligently; promoting features that matter to prospective students. The ability to select multiple interest areas, see content tailored to these areas and suggested sessions were deemed the most essential by prospective students. Our research reveals student priorities and what leading Universities are doing around this and other strategically important approaches that make them stand out from their competitors.
