This session will reveal ways institutions can minimize multiples student trips to the campus, improve college response time, improve accepted and enrolled yields, eliminate barriers to enrollment, reduce amount of times students change major and improve student satisfaction.

Students who are interested in attending your campus often wander from department to department, or are referred from department to department, when seeking guidance about college programs, related careers, the application process, admission requirements, placement testing, etc. Ultimately, applicants wind up receiving splintered guidance that result in multiple trips (or multiple phone calls) to campus to obtain information from multiple departments with different messages.

A primary goal is to develop simplified Onboarding processes to guide applicants through the completion of the enrollment process after submitting an application to the institution. This session will share how students are notified from start to end of submitting an application to the institution. The students are contacted consistently through particular methods and various ways of communication with the same message. Communications include letters, emails, telephone calls, social media, robo-calls, information cards and postcards.

This session will share how one institution developed an official Onboarding location on campus where all new students begin the process and remain with the department until student departs from the institution. All communication share the Onboarding location college-wide so that all faculty and staff consistently refer new applicants to that ‘starting point’ for guidance in understanding all admission requirements to make an informed decision about attending the institution.

Applicants are first contacted by a personal Navigator within the Onboarding department to let the students know the next steps in the process to getting enrolled at the institution. The Navigator will provide organizational information and services to students in a single areas or across a number of areas that may include admissions, registration, orientation, financial aid, academic advising, counseling and career services. The Navigator discuss with students the importance of submitting missing documents, highlight completion of FAFSA, counsel on financial assistance, communicate placement test resources, encourage placement test preparation, conduct administrative functions to support both academic and student services functions, use technology to monitor program and performance progress as appropriate, refer students to appropriate support services, review and accept documents, receive and address early alert notifications, emphasize completion of Navigate software to include completing career assessments, provide registration assistance and disseminate organizational information. The Navigator conduct one-on-one, group, and/or virtual sessions with their student caseload.

Submission ID:

6537

Presenter(s):

Kathy Simmons Trident Technical College