The Enrollment Challenges of the
CCCU Market Research (2009)
Thomas E. McWhertor
CCCU Senior Fellow
January 7, 2011
CCCU Critical Concerns Conference
Overview of the Research
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Calendar year 2009
Surveyed/analyzed ten audiences
Always valid sample sizes
Various means of response, much on web
55 member institutions contributed data and
received the extended report
• Steering committee &Noel-Levitz can consult
• All member institutions can access executive
summary & analysis articles on CCCU website
Audiences Analyzed
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Non-inquiring Prospects
Inquirers
Parents of Inquirers
Enrolling Matriculants
Non-enrolling Matriculants
Transfer Prospects
Young Alumni
Parents of Young Alumni
High School Counselors
Church and Youth Leaders
Articles: Insights from the 2009 Market
Research
Published in the CCCU eAdvance
May 2010 , By Thomas E. McWhertor, CCCU Senior Fellow (215)
Many non-inquiring prospects are more interested in Christian higher education than we think!
June 2010, By Thomas E. McWhertor, CCCU Senior Fellow (84)
Inquirers to CCCU schools are unfamiliar with them
August 2010, By John A. Chopka, VP for Enrollment Management, Messiah College (136)
Transfer Students: A key to enrollment growth at CCCU schools.
September 2010, By Thomas E. McWhertor, CCCU Senior Fellow (116)
The difference between matriculants and admitted non-matriculants
October 2010, By Scott Shoemaker, Associate Vice President for Enrollment, Point Loma Nazarene University (59)
CCCU Parents of Young Alumni survey
November 2010, By Rich Grimm, Senior Vice President for Enrollment Services, Union University (85)
High School Counselors - Influencers, Shapers and Critical Players
December 2010, By Thomas E. McWhertor, CCCU Senior Fellow (152)
Church and Youth Leaders Do Not Know Our Institutions Well Enough
Three Big “Take-Aways” Identified by
Noel-Levitz
• Top college choice factors are tightening
to focus even more heavily on academics
• CCCU members’ documented strengths
align well with marketplace demand
• There is significant market potential for
those who consistently invest in
extended outreach
Top Findings Identified by Noel-Levitz
1. What the market wants from a college
education is:
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The quality of the academic program or major a
student is interested in
Preparation for future careers
Faculty who are excellent teachers
Faculty who are well qualified in their fields of study
Top Findings Identified by Noel-Levitz
2. We must speak to each audience in its
own language
• Address students first and address their concerns:
They want options in their choices and lives
• Parents want academic quality, faculty who are
excellent teachers, good jobs as a result, facilities
• Gatekeepers are critical: Counselors and pastors
• Transfer expectations are different
Top Findings Identified by Noel-Levitz
3. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and
administrators point to CCCU strengths
• Students: Content and instruction in major;
Knowledgeable faculty –match inquirers to our
institutions
• Faculty et al: Faculty are knowledgeable & care (with
staff); Campus is safe; Students able to experience
intellectual growth
Top Findings Identified by Noel-Levitz
4. Christian colleges and universities need
greater outreach
• Huge number of students willing to consider Christian
colleges, even though not assertively looking for them
• Only a small percentage of prospective students are
aggressively seeking Christian colleges
• A variety of measures indicate that many more than
apply to our institutions would be happy were they to
matriculate
Questions, Comments, & Dialogue
about the 2009 Market Research?
• How have you used the data on your campus?
• If you have not really considered the research, why not?
• Has your enrollment staff read and considered the implications of
the Executive Summary for your enrollment effort?
• What changes have you made in your enrollment effort as a result?
• What additional research would be helpful for your institutional
enrollment effort?
• Why have you not pursued it?
Considering several key audiences
• Top-line summary of Noel-Levitz research
…and now some implications for:
• Non-inquiring prospects
• Non-applying inquirers
…& their parents
• Influencers: High school guidance counselors and
pastors
• Addendum: We must effectively communicate
the distinctive of Christ-centered higher ed
• Discussion, Q&A
Non-Inquiring Prospects
• Two-thirds have visited the website of a Christian
college or university; There is some interest
• 70% of those surveyed do not currently plan to
attend a Christian college, yet … more than twothirds of those have a sufficient level of interest in a
Christian college or university to consider them
viable prospects for CCCU schools
• Less likely to prefer the “conservative” characteristics
in a college environment than those who enroll at
CCCU institutions
Prospect strategies to shape to your
institution
1. Reach out to prospects not seeking you, since two-thirds who are
not planning to apply are willing/interested to know more
2. Student search strategy messages must emphasize:
• Career preparation
• Quality of academic programs
• Well-qualified faculty –who are good teachers
3. Remember, many prospects have preconceptions –they think they
know your institutions, but do they really?
• Proactively reach out
• Address specific misperceptions (academic quality, range of
majors, cost and aid available, academic facilities)
Prospect strategies (2)
4. Remember that “Christian characteristics” are less
important to a good percentage of prospects
• Always lead with academic credentials
• Stress faculty expertise and contact time
• Address the issues of cost and affordability (Tim Fuller’s session)
5. Address the reality that three quarters of prospects
surveyed say they prefer a “less conservative
environment.”
• Articulate the advantages of your community lifestyle requirements
–and faith-directed academic requirements
• What is required and what is left to individual choice?
Prospect strategies (3)
6. Focus on career preparation and formation of a life direction
in communications with prospects
• Demonstrate the effectiveness of your career services office –and
success of graduates to find jobs
• Profile graduates in various careers –and highlight their college
paths to those careers
7. Emphasize the path to graduate school—this is a strong
message for those intending grad school (a high percentage),
but also sends a strong academic message to all
• Highlight your shining stars, even if there are few of them
Inquirers and Their Parents
• Only 43% say they are totally or very familiar with
Christian colleges (39% of parents)
– 40% home-schooled
– 44% Christian-schooled
• 35% are moderately familiar
• 22% are only slightly familiar –or not at all
• If parent attended Christian college, 80% intend to
apply to a Christian college or university
Strategies for Inquirers & Parents
1. Remember public institutions are the most
significant competitors –and it is not just their cost;
Less than 10% of inquirers or parents are singularly
committed to Christian colleges.
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Highlight distinctives of your academic program
Improve websites to address prospective students, from
prospect to matriculant, but focus on the concerns of
inquirers as much as possible
Strategies for Inquirers & Parents (2)
2. Emphasize academics (quality of majors and faculty—and
more), these are unquestionably more important to
inquirers and their parents than Christian and faith
matters.
• Inquirers have higher academic achievement and expectations than
those who apply
• They have stronger focus on career preparation and professional
programs
[Save the case for Christian higher education for later in the enrollment
funnel –and make it integral to the campus visit]
Strategies for Inquirers & Parents (3)
3. Be sure to acknowledge and address parents, they play
an important role –and want to be included.
• Counselors are talking to families in ninth grade –why not
Christian colleges?
• Provide assistance to parents in the college search process –
seek to set the terms of their decision-making process as
much as possible
• Communicate financial information to parents early and
often, both actual cost and affordability messages
• Provide financial aid estimators –even if they do not use
them, it assures them of your concern
Influencers Must Know Our
Institutions & the CCCU Better
1. High school guidance counselors:
• Only 29% say they are somewhat or very familiar with
Christian colleges
2. Church leaders:
• 47% say they are moderately or very involved in the
college consideration process of member families
• Only 42% say they are very familiar with Christian
colleges and universities
• Only 9% say they are very familiar with CCCU schools
Influencers Must Know Our
Institutions & the CCCU Better
Counselors
• Are working with first-year high-schoolers –are we?
• Top criteria: Academic quality, outcomes, cost –we
must address these for them
• Say only 11% of students are looking for Christian
colleges (60% for public institutions)
• 71% say they are not familiar with CCCU schools
• Cost is a major perception/misperception that must be
addressed, especially given the current economic
context
Influencers Must Know Our
Institutions & the CCCU Better
Pastors and youth pastors:
• Publications are not sufficient in themselves, to really
be influencers, they need to have personal contact
• Have little understanding of financial aid and
financing private Christian college
• Know that decisions will be made on more criteria
than Christian life and community…talk about more
• Often are more likely to recommend “their alma
mater” than our institutions –they know it personally
Strategies to enlist influencers
Counselors:
• Counselor visit strategies must be elevated –get them to your
campus
• Develop a website specifically for counselors, with information or
links to questions they have or info they need to know
• Address costs and affordability head-on or presumptions will
persist…also address perception of inferior facilities
• Build on positive perceptions of Christian colleges and universities
(faculty contact, faith development, return on students’ investment)
• A collaborative effort by the CCCU must address the “mind share”
issue that cannot be overcome one campus at a time, our
institutions are generally not on their radar –they ought to be
Strategies to enlist influencers (2)
Pastors:
• Add personal visits with these influencers, along with materials that
address a range of topics, but especially academics and finances
• Proactively engage congregations to address their youth groups –
and parents
• Take selected faculty on the road to participate in these programs
• Conduct financial aid programs in churches
• Highlight academics, well-qualified faculty, and affordability with
pastors –and families
• Elevate the faith discussion to view of life/perspective
• A collaborative effort by the CCCU must address the “mind share”
issue that cannot be overcome one campus at a time
Strategies to enlist influencers (3)
CCCU Role: Influencers can benefit (and multiply)
from collaborative marketing efforts
• There is a strong case in the research for CCCU efforts to
promote Christ-centered higher education
• It must highlight the category of CCCU as Christ-centered
higher education –and build stronger brand recognition
• Replace misperceptions with higher academic
perceptions and better financial understanding
• If the CCCU does not take up this mantel, like-minded
institutions must other consider collaborative efforts
Trumpeting the Distinctive of ChristCentered Higher Education
• Not just a “hot-house” or evangelism training
• Emphasize the unique view of life at the heart of
our institutions, especially strongly to applicants
• Faith perspective is not just “icing on the cake,”
but integral to the curriculum: View of life and
the world changes things
• Same textbooks perhaps, but a wholly different
perspective – “Thinking Christianly”
• No longer conformed to this world but
transformed by the renewing of your minds
CCCU Market Research Website:
http://www.cccu.org/professional_development/2009_market_research_project
Includes pdf of Executive Summary, Summary article and
collection of articles on various audiences.
Presenter:
Thomas E. McWhertor, CCCU Senior Fellow
Director of Constituency Relations, CRWRC
–Christian Reformed World Relief Committee - www.crwrc.org
tmcwhertor@crwrc.org
temcwhertor@gmail.com