Post-Pandemic and the Admissions Office

At some point in the near future (hopefully), enrollment leaders across the country will begin to grapple with one of the most consequential questions many will face in their career: what are we willing to let change in our admissions work as a result of the pandemic?

This question is perhaps more challenging than one might think at first glance.

Quite frankly, we have a unique opportunity to fundamentally change the way we engage with prospective students and other influencers. This is not because of CDC guidelines (and clearly those guidelines were critical over the last year), but rather in response to how limited resources can be best leveraged to ensure students consider and enroll at best-fit colleges and universities.

Or put another way—due to the worldwide emergency that surfaced in late winter 2020, we all adjusted how we “did things.” Many admissions offices discovered they were both resilient and creative operationally—capable of achieving enrollment and revenue goals in different ways. The word pivot become the new operating directive.

But now, as the light at the end of tunnel begins to shine just a bit brighter, we must ask the question—are we ready to change . . . permanently? Here are just four possibilities.

College Fairs

It is long overdue for this vestige of student recruitment to come to an end, at least in the traditional and obligatory ways we know it. I recall a long-standing joke among admissions colleagues many years ago: when the number of admissions representatives outnumbers students in the room, this fair is over.

On a more serious note, how often have the original source codes of enrolling freshmen tied back to a college fair? Consider the time and expense dedicated to sending admissions counselors crisscrossing multiple states for the sole purpose of avoiding a negative phone call from an alumnus wondering, “ . . . why wasn’t my college at that college fair” (a college fair, by the way, that has never produced a single student for the institution)?

College fairs will not likely cease to exist. But I suspect many admissions offices will apply data more intentionally in deciding which fairs to attend. And that is a good thing. Limited student recruitment budgets necessitate redirecting funds toward their best use.

As an outcome, look for more admissions staffs to host targeted gatherings in various locations— meeting in person with students and parents already interested in their institutions. What was once a three-to-four-day trip to a region to attend multiple college fairs may be trimmed to a one-or-two-day focused excursion.

Virtual Interaction

Empty admissions office parking lots in 2020 illustrated a harsh reality as campus visits ground to a halt. In just a few days, our colleagues in private and public, two- and four-year, regional and national institutions provided virtual admissions counselor meetings, campus tours, and other sessions designed to replicate as much as possible the in-person campus visit experience.

Our industry, in a stroke of marvelous resiliency, re-imagined prospective student interaction. Perhaps initially this was from necessity, but ultimately, the new connections provided greater access and exposure, to the benefit of prospective students.

This is a no-brainer: preserve the virtual campus visit and use it to leverage an increase in on-campus visits from students who have a better sense for the college or university before they pull into that admissions office parking space.

Rotating Office Staff

Many admissions offices as of spring 2021 are still utilizing some version of rotating staff presence to reduce the number of colleagues in the same workspace at any given time. Sure, this was initially in direct response to health and safety guidelines by local and state authorities. But it also provided enrollment leadership with a year-long experiment.

While rotating staff members for safety reasons will likely come to an end, the notion of how institutions might extend the traditional 8:00 am–5:00 pm day is an interesting concept. Imagine an admissions office that is open weekdays from 8:00 am till 8:00 pm. More flexibility with campus visits. Better results with outbound calls to applicants.

Many possibilities exist if we just for one moment re-envision how the 40+ hour week work can be strategically crafted for staff.

Large Group Events

COVID-19 essentially eliminated all large open house gatherings. As we ease back into hosting events, many admissions offices are offering smaller, more personal get-togethers. Admitted student days may have been offered twice in the spring, replaced now by several more options with capped attendance.

How might five or six smaller gatherings benefit the prospective student and family? Will smaller events allow leadership to rotate staff and spread the workload? Will faculty now be able to meet one-on-one with students who are making final enrollment decisions?

The Bottom Line

The oft-used phrase, the new normal, has already arrived. Enrollment leaders have the opportunity to pause and consider how to change—strategically and for the benefit of both prospective students and the staff they lead.

Don’t let the challenges and resulting solutions of the last year become a distant memory.

David Mee, Ed.D. is Vice President for Enrollment Management at Campbell University (NC). His 34-year career has included multiple enrollment leadership positions, as well as consulting projects at more than 60 colleges and universities. Dr. Mee welcomes feedback at dmee@campbell.edu.