AACRAO Transfer Conference
Recruiting the Returning
Customer
Sabrina Andrews
Director of Institutional Research
Bill Kraus
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management
Returning Customer/Student Issues
• Understanding our returning student enrollment
• Recruitment of returning students
• U
Understanding
de sta d g why
y stude
students
ts leave
ea e
– Implications of transfer student enrollment
behaviors
• Continuity of effort
The University of Akron
Located in a mid-size urban city
Open Access Admissions
Honors College
Carnegie Classification - RU/H: Research Universities (high
research activity)
F ll 2009 h
headcount
d
t enrollment
ll
t – 27,911
27 911 (23% growth
th over
• Fall
the last 5 years)
– Undergraduate 83%
– Graduate 17%
• Fall 2009 New Freshmen – 4,542 (34% growth over the last 5
years
•
•
•
•
The University of Akron
Overall Enrollment
30,000
25,000
27,911
24,129
24,704
25,942
24,101
24,304
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
23,240
22,636
23,539
20,000
15,000
10,000
The University of Akron - Transfers
• Yearly Transfers of approximately 1,600
• Fall 2009 New Transfers – 1,037
– Average number of credits transferred = 45
– Average age = 24; Median age = 37
– Approx. ¾ of transfers are between 20 and 24
• Overall percent of UG enrollment = 23%
– New and returning transfer students
Zippy
2007 Capital One Mascot Challenge Winner
Cross-Departmental Solution
•
•
•
•
Institutional Research
Enrollment Management
Admissions
d ss o s
Student Services Center
What motivated our efforts?
Common sales marketing adage:
"it
it costs five times more to gain a
new customer than keep an old one"
Key Aspect of solution
• Systemize
– Becomes a routine activity
–S
Shared
a ed activity
act ty
Ground Rule: This will not be an activity that
would be assigned to just one department
Definitions
• Potential Returning Customer = Stop-Out
– A Stop-Out is a student who was enrolled in the
previous semester but is not currently enrolled
• Excludes summer
• Did not graduate
• Left in good standing
• No financial holds
– Proactive terms
• Stop-Out as opposed to Drop-Out
• Implies our desire to recruit student back to the
University
• Returning Student
– A Stop-Out student who returns to the University
Four Components of Effort
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identification of Our Stop-Out Students
• Creation of a stop-out student database
• Enrollment
o e t be
behavior
a o o
of stop
stop-out
out students
stude ts
Stop-Out Student Survey
Recruitment of Stop-Out Students
Tracking Returning Students
Component #1:
Identification of Our Stop-Out Enrollment
Summary Table of Stop-Out Cohorts
-Transfers Out
-Transfers In-and-Out
Spring
2007
Fall
2007
Spring
2008
Fall
2008
1613
1058
1721
1256
Attending another
college the following
semester
497
234
565
239
Entered UA as a transfer
student
378
261
413
272
Total Number of StopOuts
Component #1:
Identification of Our Stop-Out Enrollment
Our Example—Fall 2007 students that
Stopped-Out in Spring 2008
Total Sent to NSLC:
Attending Another University/College:
1,058
234
Only 22% were attending another
institution Spring 2008
Top Five Institutions Our Stop-Outs Attended
Spring 2008
1.
2.
3.
3
4.
5.
Kent State
Cuyahoga Community College
Stark State College
Sta
Co ege
Lorain County Community College
Lakeland Community College
37
25
24
16
14
Is the mix of transfer institutions different for a Spring
Cohort?
Spring 2008 students who stopped-out for Fall 2008
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Kent State
Cuyahoga Community College
Ohio University
The Ohio State
Stark State
106
47
43
42
39
The Stop-Out Student Database
Fall 2007 Stop-Out Cohort
What happened to the 234 students who were
attending another institution Spring 2008?
Fall 2008
Returned to UA:
Transferred to a different college:
Was not enrolled anywhere:
Still enrolled at Spring 2008 institution:
15
19
32
160 (68%)
The Stop-Out Student Database
Fall 2007 Stop-Out Cohort
What happened to the 729 students who were not in
attendance at any college in Spring 2008?
Fall 2008
Returned to UA:
Enrolled at another institution:
Were not enrolled:
177 (24%)
60
492 (67%)
The Stop-Out Student Database
Fall 2007 Stop-Out Cohort
What happened to the 492 students who were not
in attendance at any college in Fall 2008?
Spring 2009
Returned to UA:
Enrolled at another institution:
Were not enrolled:
30
16
446 (91%)
Focus on Transfer Students
Within the Fall 2007
Stop-Out
p
Cohort
Comparing Re-enrollment Transfers and NonTransfer Stop-Outs
Fall 2007 Cohort
“Swirling”
As of Spring 2008
Stop-Outs who initially enrolled as a freshmen
attending another college
23% (185/797)
Stop-Outs who initially enrolled as a transfer
attending another college:
19% (49/261)
Comparing Re-enrollment Transfers and NonTransfer Stop-Outs
Fall 2007 Cohort
“Swirling”
As of Spring 2009
Stop-Outs who initially enrolled as a freshmen
returning to college
58% (462/797)
Stop-Outs who initially enrolled as a transfer
returning to college:
57% (150/261)
Enrollment Behaviors of Stop-Outs Who
Initially Enrolled as a Transfer Student
Fall 2007 Cohort
As of Spring 2009
Number Returning to College: 150
p g 2008
49
Spring
Fall 2008
88
Spring 2009
13
Returned to UA:
Non-UA Institution:
77
73
Enrollment Behaviors of Stop-Outs Who Initially
Enrolled as a Transfer Student
First Enrollment After Stop-Out
Fall 2007 Cohort
“Reverse Transfer”—a different perspective
As of Spring 2009
Number Attending a Community College: 28
Spring 2008:
Fall 2008:
Spring 2009:
20
7
1
Represents 38% of the transfer stop-outs who enrolled at another institution.
Enrollment Behaviors of Stop-Outs Who Initially
Enrolled as a Transfer Student
Fall 2007 Cohort
“Reverse Transfer”—a different perspective
As of Spring 2009
Number that returned to the college they last
attended prior to initial UA enrollment (4-year or
2
2-year):
)
25
Attended another college and then returned to UA:
6
Once you lose a student to another college it appears
you won’t get them back…
Profile of Stop-Outs Who Initially Enrolled as a
Transfer Student
Fall 2007 Stop-Out Cohort
Those that re-enrolled at any institution by Spring 2009:
Average Hours Earned:
M
Mean
GPA
GPA:
74
2 89
2.89
Those that did not re-enroll at any institution by Spring 2009:
Average Hours Earned:
Mean GPA:
72
2.88
What did we learn?
• The overwhelming majority of stop-out students
do not leave the University to enroll at another
institution
• Only 57% of the stop-out students return to
college within three semesters of the last
semester that they were enrolled
– The number of returning students decline with
each passing semester
• Once a stop-out enrolls at another institution it is
unlikely that they will re-enroll at UA
• Academics appear not to be the reason behind
the stop-out decision
26
Component #2:
Stop-Out Student Survey
• Web survey
• Primary purposes
– Feedback (directional)
– Recruitment
• Used up to three email addresses
– UA email address
– FAFSA email address
– Email address provided on admissions
application
Profile of Students Receiving the Stop-Out
Student Survey
Survey was sent to 928 students, all in good academic standing,
who were enrolled Fall 2008 but not Spring 2009
Students who were enrolled at another college Spring 2009 were
excluded
• GPA
– Average (mean) cumulative GPA = 2.88
– Median cumulative GPA = 2.83
•
Academic Level
– Freshman (<32 hours) = 325
– Sophomore (32-63 hours) = 253
– Junior (64-95 hours) = 174
– Senior (>95 hours) = 176
•
Received Financial Aid = 530
Component #2:
Stop-Out Student Survey
• Survey categories - Questions related to:
– Academic reasons for “withdrawing”
– Financial….
– Campus Environment….
– Personal……
P
l
• Respondents could select multiple items within a
single category
Surprised at being a “stop out”
Open ended comments
I didn't know taking one semester off meant I was no longer a student.
Why was I disenrolled for taking one semester off?
I have not withdrawn or dropped out. I simply couldn't come up with a
class at MCUC for this past semester.
I wasn't informed I was no longer enrolled until right now
now. I had planned to
schedule classes for next fall. Work permitting.
I did not think of myself as having left my program. I am quite surprised.
30
Stop-Out Student Survey
64 responses; 42 unique
Academic Reasons
Other
I had difficulty getting into the
classes I needed
Faculty/courses were not
engaging
I plan to change my
major/academic program
1
I plan to transfer to another
college
I accomplished my educational
goal
0
5
10
15
20
25
I was not doing as well as I
expected
Academic related
Open ended comments
The University is wonderful I am just disappointed that I have been going to school
now since 2006 and have nothing to show for it because the XXXX program is so
difficult to get into. If I would have known this when I first signed up I would’ve
picked another degree or another school
I also did not like the fact that I was not able to get into a class I needed and the fact
that the class was totally backed up and there were supposedly waiting lists for it.
The University should have let us know that it would be difficult to get into the class.
g up
p for enough
g classes,, to g
get any
y student loans,, because
I have been unable to sign
of class schedules that conflict with each other or with my work schedule or the
classes are only offered during specific semesters. My only choice is to seek out
another school to finish what I started since the University of Akron cannot
accommodate adult students as well as they say they can.
I probably would not have withdrawn my enrollment at Akron if the Advisors could
have answered the questions i had about what i needed to do to get into the XXXX
College - When i couldnt get answers to my questions is when i began to look for a
different college.
33
University and faculty related
Open ended comments
I am really upset with the University of Akron. I didnt like grad students
teaching me when i payed for a professor.
tuition is too expensive to be haveing TA's teach all the time. I understand
they have too, but Students should not have to pay them the same amount
a professor recieves.
I feel the system is corrupt. I felt neglected by my proffesors, i felt that help
was not there when i needed it,
it and i do not feel it is fair to pay instructors
for me to teach myself. Faculty was not encouraging.
Have more professor's teaching not just TA's. Smaller classes, more office
hours even if they were online somehow would be great. TA's could take
on some of the load of answering questions.
Akron has a nice facility but treated me like a number. Professors weren't
available to meet with me or classes were taught by assistance who really
didn't know the subject matter.
34
28 responses; 26 unique
Personal Reasons
Social activities interfered with
my academic responsibilities
Pursuing career in the military
Want to live closer to home
1
Illness in the family
My own health problems
0
5
10
15
20
Family responsibilties were too
great
26 responses; 18 unique
Other
Campus Environment
I did not feel safe on campus
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
I did not feel connected to the
university
There was too little opportunity
for social contact
The student support s ystems at
UA were inadequate
I was not happy with the
res idence hall environment
The University of Akron did not
meet my expectations
85 responses; 62 unique
Financial Reasons
I need to work full time
My family's financial
circumstances changed
My debt was too high
1
My job interfered with my
studies
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
I did not receive adequate
financial aid
Open-ended comments (136)
Academic programmatic,
classes, faculty,
policies, advising
Financial –
tuition, FA,
had to work
48
39
38
Other (concern
Positive (plan
about being a
to continue at
stop-out, negative
UA, nice campus,
toward UA, some
good experience)
personal reasons)
35
14
Stop-Out Student Survey
Other survey questions
• Please use this space to express your feelings or
concerns about any of the reasons or factors that
contributed to not enrolling this term. (open-ended
text box)
re-enroll
enroll, what can The University of
• If you plan to re
Akron do to help you re-enroll? (open-ended text
box)
• If you would like someone to contact you about reenrolling, please provide your name, phone number
and/or e-mail address in the space below.
41
Other survey questions
• Do you think that your high school adequately
prepared you for college? (Y/N)
– If no, please explain what areas you think the
high school could have done a better job of
preparing you for college? (open-ended text box)
• If your rank
k was a ffreshmen
h
when
h you were last
l t
enrolled, please tell us what was the most
challenging part of being a freshmen.
– (open-ended text box)
42
I'm a jackass student. If my brain worked better or if were able to pop my
head out of my ass with less difficulty I'd move forward.
43
Stop-Out Survey
What did we learn?
●Our students have opinions
●Many still consider themselves UA students
●Most are planning to return to college
●Changes were needed to survey format
Survey now being sent to transferred-out students
Introductory Language
• Previous Introduction
– We noticed that you currently are no longer enrolled at
The University of Akron. We know that there are many
reasons why students leave and we hope that you will
take some time to help us understand your situation
by completing the following brief survey.
• New
N
IIntroduction
t d ti
– We noticed that you were not enrolled this semester.
We’d like to better understand the reasons why you
did not enroll this term. We hope that you will take
some time to help us understand your situation by
completing the following brief survey.
Previous Format
•
For each area – Academic, Financial, Campus Environment, and
Personal choices were given in the following format.
As an example—Academic Reasons:
I withdrew from The University of Akron due to the following
ACADEMIC reasons:
(Ch k all
(Check
ll that
th t apply)
l )
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
I was not doing as well as I expected
I accomplished my educational goal
I plan to transfer to another college
I plan to change my major academic program
Faculty /courses were not engaging
I had difficulty getting into the classes I needed
Other, please explain (open-ended text box provided)
Revised Format
•
Regarding these four factors, please rate each factor on a scale
of 1 to 5 -- with 1 not contributing at all to your decision not to
enroll and 5 contributing significantly to your decision not to
enroll:
Factors contributing to
not enrolling this term
Academic factors
Financial factors
Campus Environment
factors
Personal factors
(1)
Did not contribute at
allll tto my d
decision
i i nott
to enroll this term
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Contributed significantly
t my decision
to
d i i nott tto
enroll this term
Revised Format
•
Regarding ACADEMIC factors, please rate your level of agreement
with the following ACADEMIC factors that contributed to not enrolling.
ACADEMIC factors contributing to not
enrolling this term
I was not doing as well as I
expected
I accomplished my educational
goal
I plan to transfer to another
college
I plan to change my major
academic program
Faculty /courses were not
engaging
I had difficulty getting into the
classes I needed
(1)
Strongly
Disagree
(2)
Disagree
(3)
Neither
agree nor
disagree
(4)
Agree
(5)
Strongly
Agree
(6)
Not
Applicable
Revised Format
• Please explain any other ACADEMIC factors that
impacted your decision not to enroll this term.
(open-ended text box)
Benefits to the re
revised
ised format
– Can compute a mean score for each factor and
sub-factor; easier to quantify
– Students may not write in a factor that appears in a
subsequent section
– Additional demographic data will allow us to better
assist with the reenrollment process
Component #3
The Recruitment of Stop-Out Students
• Direct mail effort to Stop-Out students from the
Spring 2008 and Fall 2008 semesters
• Approximately 1,400 students identified from
our database
• Used the infrastructure that admissions already
has in-place to coordinate the development and
mailing of post card
• Student Services Center was responsible for
handling response role
Recruitment of Stop-Outs
Recruitment of Stop-Outs
The Out-Takes
Component #4
Tracking the Returning Student Data
Fall 2007 – Fall 2009
Fall 2007
Fall 2008
Fall 2009
Enrolled Undergrads*
14,377
15,446
16,730
Returning Students—not
registered the prior Spring
term
1,734
1,755
1,944
*Does not include new freshmen or transfers
Next Steps
•
•
•
•
•
Role of scholarships with Stop-Out students
Proactive “response role” (versus reactive)
Administration changes to the Stop-Out Survey
Analyze
y the cost/benefit of our recruitment efforts
Establish clear connections between that StopOut student database and our returning student
data
– Project enrollment of returning students
Questions and/or Comments
55