Category Archives: Recruitment

The Question of a College Degree

Posted in college, Recruitment, Soapbox
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Before we start: I would like to reference my Disclosure Policy. This is solely my opinion and no one else’s. :)

Diploma

Today, some may think that college is becoming more of an option than a requirement. In today’s environment when its a challenge for people with *multiple* degrees to gain employment, people are questioning if having that piece of paper is worth it.

Of course we have heard of the success stories of people forgoing college for stardom, and others have also been successful by starting their own companies (ahem, Bill Gates).

What about those stories that we don’t hear about?

Amber Naslund of Social Media Today, recently posted My Dirty Little College Secret about her journey and her decision regarding the question of college.

In the meantime, this shows that its time to look to new ways of recruitment. People  are considering at different stages in life  and its up to us to start the conversation and build relationships in order to continue having college being a part of the conversation.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments?

Ivy League College steps up the game for video in admissions

Posted in college, Marketing, Recruitment
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Unless you haven’t seen the news lately, Yale’s admissions video, That’s Why I Chose Yale had hit the mainstream.

Most of us in Higher Ed have been growing aware of the use of video and how it aids in the admissions process.

We all have been diligently adding videos to our websites, blogs, twitter and Facebook pages.

If on the oft chance we get lucky, the institution gets a article or a mention in a local media outlet.

Regardless, this is a clear message to colleges not only across the land, but worldwide that content has to be engaging in order to attract  the applicants of today and tomorrow to colleges.

12 Favorite Tweets from EduWeb 2009

Posted in Alumni, college, Conferences, Recruitment, Training
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View of Lake Michigan from the North Side

View of Lake Michigan from the North Side

This is the second year that I’ve attended the EduWeb Conference. This year, there were more sessions that I wish I could of attended but couldn’t because some of them happened at the same time. Fortunately, thanks to to the resources of Twitter, I was able to view what was going on, even though I wasn’t in the room.

Here are some of my favorites:

AndreaGenevieve 5. Offer something valuable to constituents you are e-mailing #eduweb

jallgire Homework from @karlynm – get on email marketing lists and when we click on a link, ask ourselves “why”. #eduweb

jallgire Create. Optimize. Link. SEO is a Marathon. Can implement some things quickly but then need to keep doing it.(via @kylejames)  #eduweb

celiaperkins #eduweb Colleges and univ. are businesses! A novel idea! Sure wish they would learn to operate that way.

ECwagner It takes a community to recruit and retain a student! #eduweb

auwebmanager Everyone at your institution should know the school’s elevator pitch. #eduweb

ECwagner Stories not Stats, People not Programs… So true. #eduweb

mdmcginn Lectures are synchrous while students learn asynchrously. #eduweb brian niles

apetersen 6 recommendations: Listen. Participate. Update. Adapt. Analyze. (Repeat.) #eduweb

KarlynM have a clear vision, hire great people, get out of their way and hold them accountable #eduweb

celiaperkins #eduweb It’s not the tool, it’s the CONTENT!

j_rex Just do it. Just do it #eduweb @kylejames

How many college profiles is too many?

Posted in college, Education, Marketing, Recruitment, Soapbox
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All the talk about online reputation management lately has me thinking. For a while, I have been using Google Alerts to monitor what’s being said about my clients, including the schools that I work with. Its just that with the hundreds if not thousands of college profiles sites out there, its tough for an online marketer not only to keep track of but to update constantly as well.

There are at least a dozen or so “new” sites being launched every day  or so and  for people that are not so seasoned in education, its tough to distinguished which website has the better more trusted track record.

Also, as it has been discussed over the past week, we can’t control what others say about our instituitions on their own websites.

In the end, we can only hope that prospective students and parents alike look at these profiles in a objective way and have the wisdom to go to the official website and call directly should  they have any questions.