New Tech Trends Support College Recruitment, from Outreach to Enrollment

New technology and web-based solutions that give students unprecedented access to colleges and universities are driving recruitment and enrollment and elevating acceptance standards.

The Internet is enabling students to navigate college websites to quickly learn about campus life, school activities and academic courses, and facilitating communications between college applicants and admissions officers. More students are applying to colleges and universities thanks to the increased ease and convenience provided by the new technologies. Websites such as The Common Application, which make it possible for students to apply to hundreds of schools with a single keystroke, are resulting in students applying to multiple schools. This is creating increased competition among students and leading to lower admissions rates as well as higher acceptance standards.

Indeed, paper applications are becoming obsolete as most prospective students are completing the entire application process without ever leaving their computers. In addition to conducting online research of colleges and universities, prospective students are writing and editing their admissions essays online, and also going on virtual campus visits of the colleges they are considering in order to get more familiar with their offerings.

Here are a few tips to e Check blogs regularly for feedback and try to respond in a timely fashion to users' questions and commentsnsure that your institution is maximizing the Internet and technology for recruitment and enrollment:

• Update social media pages regularly to consistently appear in news feeds
• Make the online application and enrollment process as streamlined and easy as possible; benchmark your process regularly against your peers
• Encourage an exchange of ideas and conversation with prospective students online, and via social media sites
• Outline standards for acceptance - neither admissions officers nor applicants want to waste their time

To remain competitive in this new virtual world, it is critical for colleges and universities to adopt the latest technology solutions and tools. Admissions officers must stay current with social media and online trends to ensure they obtain maximum exposure and benefit.