Study: Institutions Spending Less on Traditional Media, More on Social Media
Article Institutions are increasing funding for social media recruitment initiatives and decreasing spending on traditional media, such as print and radio ads, according to a new study.

Websites Playing Increasing Role in Students’ Choice of College, University
Article A new study of college-bound juniors and seniors finds that 50 percent of surveyed students say the web plays an extremely important or significant role in their evaluation of a campus.

The Move to Mobile
CURRENTS Article It’s clear that students, not to mention higher education’s other audiences, are in the mobile space. So now what? This article explores how colleges and universities are forging ahead with mobile strategies and learning from one another.

Upending a Negative
CURRENTS Article Brock University in Canada got creative with a student recruitment video that confronts head-on a longstanding saying about the institution and realized benefits in terms of goodwill and increased applications.

Study: For Prospective Students, the More Social Networks, the Better
Article More than a fifth of prospective students say an institution’s social media presence made them more interested in applying, according to a new survey.

Growing Brand and Enrollment through Social Media: Tips for Community Colleges
Product This seminar will provide tips and ideas for using social media to grow enrollment and build brand. Examples and case studies will be presented that show how to integrate various types of social media, along with ways to blend social media with traditional marketing tactics. The webinar focuses on providing practical, actionable approaches that community college communicators, marketers and recruiters can begin to apply immediately to their campaigns. This mulitmedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Nov. 8, 2011. It is part 2 of a three-part Community College Webinar series.

Students Rank Fees, Courses as Top Content on University, College Websites
Article When it comes to the content on college and university websites, 54 percent of college-bound high school students rank academic-related information as the most valuable with 30 percent saying cost-related content is the most valuable.

More Institutions Go Online to Reach Students
Article More colleges and universities are using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools to recruit and connect with prospective students.

Effective Use of Social Media can Positively Impact Student Recruitment
Article Navigating social networking can be tricky, but presenters at a recent CASE Online Speaker Series say institutions that follow certain ground rules and aren’t afraid to make mistakes can positively impact student recruitment and retention rates.

Virtually Yours
CURRENTS Article A new survey reveals what works and what doesn't when creating a virtual tour. Find out the do's and don'ts in this new way of marketing to potential students.

Social Media Continues to Grow in College Admissions
Article In a related article, two new studies report that admissions offices in colleges and universities are increasingly using blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to communicate with students.

Advance Work: Stealthy Students
CURRENTS Article A recent survey shows that high school students are checking out colleges at ever-younger ages.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: Edge Hill University - Gold Award
Best Practice Edge Hill University developed Hi, a portal comprising innovative online tools to encourage applicants to accept places for its Faculty of Arts & Sciences. This contributed to a 32% improvement in conversion, had a positive impact on student community building and, surprisingly, crisis management.

Web-Based or Electronic HTML External Audience Tabloids and Newsletters: Southern Methodist University - Gold Medal
Best Practice Southern Methodist University's e-newsletter What’s New at SMU was created to keep prospective students informed of new developments in academics, campus life, and the admissions process.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: Trinity University - Silver Medal
Best Practice Trinity University's virtual tour was developed to communicate with prospective students during the traditionally inactive period of time between a request for information and freshman matriculation. The microsite was part of a larger marketing campaign to increase out-of-state enrollment at Trinity.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: University of Colorado at Boulder - Gold Medal
Best Practice ChooseCU from the University of Colorado at Boulder is a secure tool for admitted undergraduates that provides one place to find what they need to know between admission and arrival on campus. Information is personalized to the individual student and allows them to explore academic opportunities, read targeted announcements, apply for housing, accept financial aid, make a visit reservation, keep track of what needs to be done before the semester begins, and much more.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: Xavier University - Gold Medal
Best Practice The Road to Xavier is a dynamic, data-driven, password-protected Web site that focuses on user needs while providing actionable information to move families to enroll at Xavier University.

Advance Work: Virtual Security Blanket
CURRENTS Article Eckerd College launched an online community to help incoming students get to know each other--and the college--before they arrive on campus. Eckerd was looking for an inexpensive way to reach out to admitted students and reduce the number who send in a deposit but don’t end up attending the institution.

Advance Work: The Future's in the Palm of Their Hands
CURRENTS Article To show that it understands how today's students like to get their news and information, Fitchburg State College is using podcast technology to send its acceptance letters. But mom and dad can still expect to receive the old-fashioned paper version in the mail.

The Real World
CURRENTS Article Blogs began as something quite different than what they are now, and although they’ve lost some of their grassroots quality as more mainstream outlets embrace them, they are becoming a vital communications tool. They enable organizations of all kinds--including education institutions--to reach out to constituents in a simple and direct way. And as institutions continue to fine tune their marketing efforts, blogs can become an important and effective communications tool, particularly for student recruitment. This article explores important issues for campus communications professionals to consider, including the pros and cons of blogging, authenticity, and control.

AdvanceWork: Baltimore Ravings
CURRENTS Article BaltimoreCollegetown.org, a CASE 2004 Circle of Excellence award winner, helps Baltimore-area college students acclimate to their new surroundings. The site features an events calendar and dining, shopping, and entertainment recommendations. Some of the 15 participating campuses also use it as a recruiting tool.

AdvanceWork: Seeing Is Believing
CURRENTS Article Today’s college-bound students are more inclined to read unsolicited e-mails from colleges and universities if those messages are personalized, according to Stamats’ recent “2004 TeensTalk Study.” Among the findings: One-third of college-bound students read all unsolicited e-mails from colleges and universities; another third read the “from” and “subject” lines to see if they are interested in reading further. Less than 3 percent delete the e-mails outright.

AdvanceWork: The One They'll Want
CURRENTS Article Tech-savvy prospective students appreciate cutting-edge tools that allow them to experience a campus in new ways, but they quickly become bored by tools that are obsolete. James Madison University sidestepped these problems by combining the strengths of a CD-ROM and the Internet into a single tool: the JMUOneDisc.