Enrollment Marketing for Higher Education

Cathy Donovan [00:00:00]:

Hello, and welcome to the Innovating Enrollment Success Podcast, where we explore the latest trends and strategies in higher education marketing to help us all create stronger connections and better outcomes.  For higher ed marketers, staying connected often happens at conferences. I first met today’s guest during eduWeb in DC and reconnected with her at AMA’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Vegas, where she hosted a dinner focused on belonging on campus.

That discussion stuck with me because we both deeply understand how critical belonging is for students. Especially those from marginalized backgrounds. Fostering belonging and giving all students the space to pursue their dreams has never been more important. I’m Cathy Donovan, Agency Marketing Director at Paskill.

Today we’re joined by Katrina Noelle, President of KNow Research, to discuss a groundbreaking research project she led in collaboration with San Francisco State University. The study explores how Latinx students’ sense of belonging, engagement, and self-confidence impacts retention efforts. Welcome, Katrina.

Katrina Noelle:

Thank you so much for having me. I’m so glad we get a third conversation  about this very important topic together.

Cathy Donovan:

Well, let’s get started.  I just wanted to ask how did KNow Research get to partner with SFSU on this project? And what were some of the goals on the outset?

Katrina Noelle:

So, we have been partnering with San Francisco State on a number of different initiatives over the years. They are amazing partners, and really value the importance of qualitative research, both in their enrollment campaigns and in improving the experience on campus for all of their students. So the impetus of this particular study, was actually because they were in the process of applying for the Seal of Excellencia because they’re a Hispanic serving institution.

They really wanted to make sure that they got this credential and made sure that they were showing how they were supporting the Hispanic population on campus. So part of that was to try to understand to do a, we did a two-part study, and we wanted to do some quantitative research to understand how people were feeling on campus and then a qualitative deep dive to really get into some of the themes that we heard.

And so it wasn’t just information gathering, it was really trying to understand the aspects of the student experience that were positive or challenging to better understand what kind of university programs, experiences, elements of campus life could be improved to make students feel included and supportive on campus.

 

Cathy Donovan:

So how did you go about ensuring that you’re capturing authentic experiences of the students?

Katrina Noelle:

We actually did, we surveyed the entire campus. So we actually also sent this to faculty and staff and things like that to get, to get their experience as well. I think part of it was doing it as a third-party agency really helped, you know, it wasn’t anyone from the admissions office or from the Latinx Student Center who was asking these questions.

It was a third-party agency so that people really felt like their experience was protected, their answers were anonymous, they were speaking to someone, you know, that they didn’t know in their day-to-day student life. So that always helps. And I think this idea of this mixed methodology also helps as well so that people can answer more close-ended rating, ranking questions, giving numbers to things, but also have the chance to sit down with us and talk for a little while about their experience, you know, with other human beings who clearly care to understand how their experience is going. I think the third-party nature of the research and the dual approach really helped create that space.

Cathy Donovan:

Well, talk about any unique methodologies that you may have explored in this project. I thought I’d recall some student-to-student interaction.

Katrina Noelle:

Yeah. So one of the, um, one of the things that we are building with our partners at Lexicon and Line is the idea of a Belonging Benchmark. So it was sort of inspired by this study. So one of the unique things that we built was a series of questions to measure belonging so that we could create a belonging benchmark score. What we were looking for is where populations dipped beneath the baseline, right? What the benchmark was for the population as a whole, and where people were, you know, marking slightly lower than that.

Then we were able to explore with folks who felt a little less sense of belonging than others. What their experiences were like and what may be triggering that. One of the main elements that we brought in was we are a very small agency. We don’t necessarily have like-moderators for all the populations that we do research in, but we really believe in bringing in a moderator who is connected to the community that they are interviewing.

Um, so we had an excellent expert partner moderator come in to do these interviews with the Latinx student body. So that she had a similar background and experience and they could feel really comfortable with her because these were very quick interviews. These were 15 to 20 minute, I believe 30 minute. in some cases interviews.

And so we needed to kind of get right in and make people feel comfortable and make sure that they feel seen and heard. So that was I think, it was those two things. It was, it was trying to create the score so that we knew who to pinpoint to have those follow-up conversations with as well as. Connecting them with an interviewer who was really empathetic and understanding and they felt that sense of community with very quickly.

Cathy Donovan:

Let’s talk a little bit about maybe some unexpected challenges during the research process and how you may have addressed them.

Katrina Noelle:

Yes, I think we, we had more emotion than we were planning for. When we scoped these 30 minute interviews, we thought we were thinking very researchy about it. Like, okay, we’re going to come up with some pain points. We need to dive into the reasons behind the pain points. We probably only need 30 minutes for that. And we got into this moment of, no, people were telling us stories and they were having very emotional reactions to belonging, low points, shall we say?

We needed the time to have them be able to express those stories and those anecdotes and backgrounds and context with us. So I think it was a challenge, honestly, with the research design right where we didn’t expect it. And I think if we do this kind of work again, which we’re hoping to do with more universities, we are going to give the space and the time for those conversations in a bigger way.

Cathy Donovan:

So how about if you’re comfortable talking about some key insights that you did uncover about the Latinx students’ sense of belonging and their connection to retention?

Katrina Noelle:

Yes. Well, we actually have, and I’m going to plug it here. We have a one sheet that we’ve been able to produce about the top 10 ways to increase belonging on campus that kind of came out of this study and other work that we’ve done in the higher education space.

So I’m happy to provide that link to include in the show notes. Um, but I think beyond that, some sort of nuances of this particular project that were very interesting and could sound obvious, but maybe weren’t at the beginning of this project, was, we sort of had three large themes that were on the more unexpected side for the campus to absorb.

We heard a lot about financial pressures. And while that’s something that we all knew existed in this space, we weren’t quite aware of the connection between the financial pressures and the sense of the belonging. Like, how those are connected. And how that can affect students taking a pause, consider stopping school, consider taking a break from school, and just that mental math and that tension did impact how much belonging they felt on campus, right? Just because that was going on for them at the time. The second thing was really the university systems and bureaucracy. This is not a San Francisco State thing, right? This is just a higher education thing. Um, for, there was some language barriers.

 

There was some parental language barriers that just made the process of applying not only for school, but for financial aid, housing. classes just a little bit more difficult. And so, they want to make sure that they can see, they can seek help and that that’s, you know, that’s equally okay for them to be able to do right. That they’re not sort of being dinged for that.

And so that’s, again, it’s not necessarily something that the school isn’t doing well, but it’s an internal tension that affects their experience. And also, you know, this research was sponsored in part by the Latinx Student Center. And so we talked a little bit about, um, faculty and allies as part of the project.

And while everyone felt, you know, that was a very essential part of them feeling a sense of belonging, that they were supported by the faculty, staff, and allies on campus, they really also wanted specific programming and centers that were for them. That very were explicitly were servicing their needs.

So I thought that was interesting that it’s not an either or it’s definitely need both of those components to bring them in.

Cathy Donovan:

So, self-confidence just may seem a little bit difficult to measure, but obviously very important for students’ experience as well as our professional life. Can we talk a little bit about how that might factor into the broader picture of engagement and student success?

Katrina Noelle:

Yes, and that was actually one of the very big wins from this study. So, um, San Francisco State got very high marks on the question when we asked, how much you agree with the statement, I’m confident I’ll be able to complete my degree successfully. That was the kind of confidence score that we, that we used in this particular project.

And very high marks there. Um, very exciting win for the school because it is so, all of these things ladder up to confidence, right? If you feel a sense of belonging, that’s great in itself for your day-to-day, but what it actually does is it leads to higher graduation rates, it leads to higher job placement and speed of job placement after graduation.

Um, it just leads to so many things and all of those are around confidence. So I think belonging is important because it leads to confidence and because that confidence leads to success. So it’s, it’s a ladder, right? And we want, um, we want students, no matter what organization they’re a part of, to go up that ladder, um, and confidently launch out of that school into a really successful career. And so that’s, that’s what we really learned at the end of this, that, um, they were being catapulted into these careers really successfully because of the hard work that the school was doing to make sure that they were supported on all of those levels.

Cathy Donovan:

Now, were there any findings that may have surprised you or changed your perspective on student belonging?

Katrina Noelle:

Yes, I think what this project made me think of as a whole is that this is not a Latinx or Latine student inquiry specifically. This is really making sure that every school takes a look at how their student body as a whole feels belonging and where are those gaps, what groups are feeling less of that? And what can you do for them?

And I think, you know, we work so much with our higher education clients on enrollment campaigns, outreach attempts, marketing, communication strategies to reach kind of as many students as possible in a very open, inclusive way. But what really came out of the, um, project was increased visibility, participation, and marketing efforts around centric programs.

So kind of doing a more targeted approach to make sure that, not that your general marketing efforts should not be inclusive, right? Like, definitely keep doing that. But also some very specific there’s opportunities for very, very specific marketing messages with if there are partnerships, if there are student centers, if there are faculty programs, if there are certain services that could be very specifically targeted and marketed to those populations, that’s going to make them know that they have specific resources for them on the campus once they get there.

And so it just it made me pause about that and try to think about how we can serve both needs, right? How as marketers can we promote the school for everyone and cast that wide net, while also making sure that key populations understand that there are specific services and programs for them once they get there.

Cathy Donovan:

And sometimes those groups are, could be self-identified or changing. It depends on the institution and the programs, and I think as marketers, we’re looking to try to, um, understand the demographic of every school and what speaks to them, which could be changing pretty rapidly.

Katrina Noelle:

Yes. And there could be, you know, some crossover there, right? So like this group of students we were speaking to in this study had different scheduling needs, right? And were commuting in a different way and had certain job responsibilities, but that could go across demographic lines, right? That there could be more students. than a demographic group that are experiencing those types of needs, right? So it’s like finding those VENN diagrams in the population or making sure that, um, you really understand your student body pool, both as an, in aggregate and specifically.

Cathy Donovan:

How do you think other institutions can learn from this research and start to ask the right questions on their campuses?

Katrina Noelle:

I think there is great appetite for students giving feedback to their colleges and universities. So we do a lot of this type of work with different schools in this space. The student completion rates that we get when we ask them for their feedback are very high. They very much want to impact the organization that they’re a part of.

And so there are so many opportunities for schools to reach out and ask these type of questions. There are so many surveys that get sent out that are about meal plans, housing preferences, um, all of which, and you can sneak some of these questions in there, right? You can, um, you can ask these more important questions about belonging and confidence and confidence.

Programs that serve their needs. Um, there are so many options and outlets to be able to connect with students and ask them these questions, and we really recommend that schools have a have a set of questions that they ask fairly regularly to make sure they’re looking for differences and changes. And if anything dips, changes has reaction dive in, dive in and talk to those students that are feeling that way to make sure you understand where that’s coming from. And if that’s something if it’s an external force, or if it’s something that you know, you have a school has some have some agency on to be able to change.

Um, so one of the things that we always suggest schools do is that with any of those feedback loops, be sure to, it’s very simple to add a question to say, are you open to giving more feedback on these topics and collect that, collect the opt in, collect the email address. Um, you can do it yourself. You can call someone like us, um, and to dive in because sometimes you see the, you see the patterns, and when those patterns change, you want to jump in right then and understand the reason for that pattern change.

Cathy Donovan:

So just, um, speaking a little bit larger in terms of higher education retention strategies, you know, any predictions for the future of, you know, what kind of trends are going to come and how schools might continue to shift? I know the value proposition is going to continue to be really important to students. I’m just looking for your insight here on how industry at large can move forward.

Katrina Noelle:

I did hear something positive that the enrollment cliff might be ebbing. This is February of 2025. If anyone is like, you have to like, you know, determine when you’re having these conversations. Um, so we see that as very positive of, you know, the value of higher education gaining strength, hopefully. Um, one thing to keep in mind is that. Something that never decreases in value is student stories and storytelling from alumni, from community, about their student experience that I know this is, this is a tough space to differentiate within.

And a lot of the marketing comes out from a lot of universities and colleges all at the same time saying very similar things. And so what you can rely on being differentiating and unique is your student stories. And we find that time and time again that that is the powerful thing that loops people in, that makes them see themselves in the school, um, sees people like them having experiences that they want to experience.

I think no matter what trends happen in the next few years, make sure that you’re really staying close to those student experiences, testimonials, stories, etc. I also think the other thing that never, um, that never ebbs from being something to be aware of and make sure you’re talking about is informal or formal mentorship, programs, whether that’s job placement or counseling or any kind of services that make students feel like they as an individual are being seen.

This is often the first time where you know, a young adult is in a very vast space, and it’s the first time you sort of feel like a number in your life, and so anything that can give resources to make sure that you feel connected with as a person go over so well and are so important, and most campuses that we work with have programs like that. It’s about focusing the spotlight on those types of services.

Cathy Donovan:

Definitely, and empowering all students to ask for help when they need it.

Katrina Noelle:

Exactly. Just making that a no-brainer default option.

Cathy Donovan:

Thank you so much. I appreciate hearing these incredible insights. And for more about Katrina and KNow Research, please see our show notes.

If you’d like to talk through how to build belonging on your campus, starting with your enrollment marketing. Please reach out to us at Paskill. We’re dedicated to helping our higher education partners create meaningful connections and terrific college experiences. Thank you so much.

Katrina Noelle:

Thank you.