How a Small, Private University Increased Their Freshman Class Size by 48%, Recruiting Their Largest Class to Date.
Before BTYcreative
Schreiner University is a small private university located in Kerrville, Texas. Before COVID, their total student population was approximately 1,000 with a long-term strategic objective to increase this number. Like other universities, they began facing enrollment challenges that negatively affected their ability to successfully reach their long-term growth plans.
- Their small campus was facing declining enrollment.
- Their small internal team did not have the expertise to launch a complex marketing campaign.
- The advertising that was running was NOT getting the results they expected.
- While their marketing team was successful with Development and Fundraising activities, they still needed help filling the seats in their classrooms.
- Existing admission strategies were no longer working.
33% Increase in Completed Applications!
Schreiner University needed a new plan of action and team that would quickly help them deliver the enrollment results needed to put them on the path to growth. They needed to drive inquiries and applications to increase their freshman class census numbers. BTYcreative was hired to be their growth partner and implement a strategy unlike their existing plan.
- Within 60 days, Schreiner's new marketing strategy was deployed, and it began to deliver the results they needed.
- Schreiner's team was able to delegate content writing, creative design and budget tracking to BTY – giving them more capacity to work on overall brand marketing and development responsibilities internally.
- The entire admissions team and President regained confidence in Schreiner's ability to recruit a larger freshman class.
- Simplified messaging that was "mass customized" for paid media nearly doubled the amount of inquiries.
- Based on application insights, the admissions team had confidence that the new messaging strategy was attracting the ideal student for the university.
- Students that previously would have rejected Schreiner as an option were applying. Completed applications increased by 33%.
The return on investment was paying off. The results generated excitement among professors, staff, and administration. They had peace of mind, hope for future classes and the enrollment growth encouraged school-wide excitement for the upcoming school year.
Mark Kamstra, the Vice President of Student Enrollment, could release his worry about recruitment – he had the right team in place to collaborate with his admission staff. This allowed him to return his focus to development and fulfilling their endowment goals.