May 3, 2012 – Toronto, ON

The Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum (SEMM Forum) is focused on advancing the expertise of those involved in post-secondary marketing and enrolment management.

The objective of the SEMM Forum is to provide easy access to leading-edge expertise in a one-day intensive conference format. The agenda will be comprised of a combination of plenary sessions and concurrent workshops with sufficient breaks for networking and information sharing. The day will begin with a continental breakfast, include lunch and refreshment breaks, and wrap-up with a networking reception at the end of the day.

Agenda Now Available! Please Click Here.

All details are subject to change.

Strategic Enrolment Management: The Competitive Advantage

Ron Byrne
Vice President
International & Student Affairs
Mount Allison University

Institutions across Canada are facing demographic challenges unlike any in recent history.  In some areas of the country the demographic shift for university and college age students is positive while in other regions it is in decline.  Institutions, regardless of positive or negative demographic trends, are increasingly aware of the need to position themselves positively in an increasingly competitive marketplace.  Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) provides the basis for meeting the competitive challenge.

Join Ron Byrne, vice-president, international & student affairs at Mount Allison University, for a session focused on the essential elements required for successful enrolment strategies.  In this session, you will learn about the fundamentals of SEM including the need to be proactive; recognizing “data is king” (or queen!); determining what data is necessary and leveraging technology to gather and analyze that data; and, the importance of retention versus recruitment through ensuring a culture of student success is fostered and maintained.

Psychographic Segmentation: Uncover Your Institution’s Secret DNA

Kirk Kelly
Partner
CRi Inc.

The more you know about the interests, needs and motivations of the students you recruit, the more effective you can make your marketing and communication strategies. And by recruiting students who fit with your school’s established culture, the more likely you will be to retain those students.

CRi has used psychographic research to identify 8 distinct student segments based on their shared needs, interests, lifestyles, motivations and beliefs. By mapping your student body to this 8-segment model, you will understand the unique strengths and weaknesses of your institution’s brand, which can lead to improved recruitment, marketing, student service delivery, and retention.

This model of student segments is based on work done with first-entry undergraduates at Carleton, Concordia, Dalhousie, Laval, McGill, Queen’s and Victoria.

Environics Research: Keys to Understanding the International Student Market

Robin Brown
Senior Vice President, Consumer Insights
Environics Research Group

Chris Wilkins
President & CEO
EDge Interactive (StudyinCanada.com)

With just under 180,000 international students studying in Canada in 2010, a 50% increase since 2001, recruiting international students has never been more important.

This insightful presentation will help you understand what international students think is important when choosing a college or university in Canada. You will gain valuable insights into how international students evaluate your institution, who they listen to in their decision making process, where they find the information and their technology preferences.

You’ll learn about the importance of safety and security and how other details such as city size, published rankings and tuition levels affect decisions and perceptions. You’ll also hear about the relative effectiveness of your various marketing investments such as your website and printed materials.

This presentation is based on a survey of 1,350 international students conducted by Environics Research Group and StudyinCanada.com/EDge Interactive in 2011.

Using Call Campaigns And Micro-Email Campaigns To Recruit Students

Barry Naymark
Manager, Liaison and Student Recruitment
Seneca College

Chris Wilkins
President & CEO
EDge Interactive

Reaching prospects and applicants requires the right timing and mix of communication. This presentation will demonstrate how using outbound call campaigns have helped improve conversion rates at Seneca College.

With over five years experience in communicating with students who have been given offers, Barry has some valuable insights into what makes a successful call campaign. You will learn how call campaigns are structured, targeted, scripted and how the callers are trained and managed.

This presentation will also unlock the power of micro-email campaigns. Learn how to target students so the message is relevant and your open and click-through rates are high. You will find out when to use graphics and/or text, the optimum number of campaigns and the subtlety of shaping the message to prospects and applicants.

The Bottom Line is: Will I Get a Job?
Connecting Career Considerations to Enrolment Decision-Making

Graham Donald
President
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.

More than ever, education choices are tied to job prospects and career decisions.  Whether it’s concerns about high tuition and paying off debt, developing a solid resume full of valuable credentials or meeting parental pressure regarding career expectations, the ability of post-secondary institutions to “get me a job” has become the focus for most students.

While no institution can guarantee a great job, many are failing to adequately understand and address students’ career considerations.

This presentation will provide results from Canada’s most comprehensive research study of post-secondary students’ career interests and aspirations, the From Learning to Work Report.  Drawing on twenty years of experience working with Canada’s major employers of new graduates and consulting to campus career and co-op centres, Graham Donald, will discuss the importance of career prospects and career development support as part of both student recruitment and retention.

Graham will also share key insights into how students gather information about careers and who influences their decision, how they view various industries and employers and what they expect from co-op programs and campus career services.

Learn how to make career development support, cooperative education and internship programs and other career-related services an important factor in your student marketing and retention.

From Recruitment to Retention: Strategic Approaches to the Student Experience

Bonnie Neuman
Vice President, Student Services
Dalhousie University

Dr Neuman will use the example of Dalhousie’s enrolment management success over the last 6 years to discuss the neglected side of enrolment management:  retention strategy and implementation.    In a world of increasing student mobility, the key question is no longer just our applicants’ query of “why should I come to your school?”    Enduring enrolment success happens when our students never ask themselves “why should I stay at this school?” Students engaged by their studies, making social connections, and feeling supported in their specific challenges, know they want to stay and persist.    With discussion ranging from academic support programs to partnerships, student life and brand differentiation, Dr Neuman argues that improving student persistence requires deep-rooted change to several campus cultures.

Keys to Enrolment Success

Gary Fretwell
Senior Vice President and Principal
Noel-Levitz, Inc.

Economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, price sensitivity, revenue driven goals, increased competition, “secret shoppers,” performance based funding… These are some of the many challenges facing those responsible for building and shaping student recruitment.  This session will review ways that colleges and universities, are responding successfully to meet institutional enrolment and revenue objectives.  It is based on the latest Noel-Levitz “best practice” research as well as personal observations from over 100 recent campus consultations to help institutions identify ways to be more strategic, efficient, and effective in attracting and retaining students.

Strategic Enrolment Planning:  A Dynamic Collaboration

Gary Fretwell
Senior Vice President and Principal
Noel-Levitz, Inc.

To create a truly integrated and action-oriented strategic enrolment plan, Noel-Levitz has designed a model to guide your planning efforts that works for all campus types.  This session provides insights into creating a data-infused strategic enrolment plan which maintains the campuses mission, vision, and values while expanding markets by sub-segments and connecting academic trend/demand/capacity with enrolment projections and enrolment planning.

Achieving Brand Alignment: Multiple Messages and a Singular Vision

Darren Evans
Director, Brand and Creative Strategy
Calabash Creative Engagement Inc.

The drive to create tangible relationships with students, candidates and consumers has never been more acute. And Social Media is offering us an increasing array of tools and concepts that drive deeper integration between multiple parties. But as in any relevant and valuable relationship, the desire to connect and remain connected is determined through experiences. And at the heart of these experiences is your brand, identity and core culture. How your college or university defines its culture and core offering will benefit or hinder relationships and ultimately impact on your brand’s value.

In this presentation, Darren Evans will highlight the importance of defining clear brand-aligned offerings within all marketing communications, internal and external. The need to envisage your communications as long-term investments as opposed to cyclical activities will also be discussed. And ultimately the question of “Why brand in education?” will also be covered.

Ten Trends we are Watching in Postsecondary Education

Fiona Deller
Research Director
Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario

Some call it disruptive while others call it welcome, but change is afoot in higher education. From rising enrolments to economic constraints, from the promise of technology to the pressures of international competition, the game is changing and the challenge for post secondary education is to keep apace; or better yet, set the pace. Many suggest that our post-secondary system is in crisis: unsustainable financially while quality is diminishing. In particular, there is lots of talk of differentiation; teaching-only universities; online learning; accessibility for at risk youth; quality and the measuring of student outcomes; teaching and research; three-year degrees and year round use of campuses; faculty work-loads; credit transfer and the importance of mobility between institutions; institutional accountability; and, institutional autonomy.

Drawing on a wealth of HEQCO research from the last few years into access, student success and quality – and taking into account the political, cultural and social times we live in – Fiona Deller will lay out ten trends to watch right now – regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Trends will include the 21st century student and the massification of post-secondary education; the labour market as an increasingly important driver of student choice; the attempt to quantify the learning experience; the experimentation with online learning and free educational experiences; the use of disruptive technologies; the experiments with admissions standards and what it means for access and success; the question of affordability; and several others.

Keys to Successful Aboriginal Student Recruitment & Retention

Adam Hopkins
Aboriginal Enrolment Advisor
Trent University

Yolanda Wanakamik
Aboriginal Outreach/Recruitment Officer
Lakehead University

Canada has a large and growing Aboriginal youth population that represents a significant future market for post-secondary institutions. But successful Aboriginal student recruitment and engagement evades many and requires a long-term view that embraces Aboriginal ownership over education. This presentation will focus on both the recruitment process as well as the supports that need to be in place on campus to support Aboriginal student success. Adam and Yolanda will also discuss the efforts of the Aboriginal Post Secondary Information Program of which they are the current co-chairs. They will share their Aboriginal Community-based approach to post-secondary recruitment, and how these concepts differ from non-Aboriginal recruitment strategies. Understanding these concepts, learning from past experience, and implementing an appropriate Aboriginal recruitment strategy will enable participants to increase recruitment success and support the retention of Aboriginal learners on their campuses

The Path from High School to Higher Education: Insights into Students’ and Parents’ Decision-Making

Suzanne Tyson
President
Studentawards Inc.

Suzanne Tyson, President of Studentawards Inc will present exclusive research from the 2012 version of The Path from High School to Higher Education – plus Parents, with up-to-date information on the process students go through from Grade 10 to Grade 12 in making decisions on their Higher Education path. New to the 2012 study is information on students’ research on their schools of interest – what online resources are most useful from university and college websites to social media. Also, the 2012 study includes responses from parents who are in the process of helping their children choose the right school and program.

Networking Reception

Whatever you do, don’t leave early: this networking opportunity will be one of the highlights of the Forum. Talk with colleagues from other institutions, enjoy some complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and continue to explore the topics of the day.