Impact of Call Centers on Student Recruitment and Retention.pdf

Rio Salado College
<strong>Impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Call</strong> <strong>Centers</strong> on Student
Recruitment and Retention
Melanie Abts, Counseling Faculty Chair
Maribeth All, Outreach Manager

The Outreach Center
• Marketing, Recruitment and
Retention
• Inbound/Outbound <strong>Call</strong>
Center
• Process Improvement
• Peak Time Coverage

Outbound
The first year results:
Conducted over 55 Outbound Campaigns
Over 35,000 phone calls were made
1658 student were converted
12% conversion rate

3 Month Intensive Training
Registration
Financial
Aid
Ongoing
phone
etiquette,
customer
service, and
sales training
Program
Advising

Customer Relation
Management System (CRM)
• CRM organizes leads
• Helps track campaign efficiency by
generating reports
• Create leads
• Tracks e-mail campaigns

Inbound
Rio’s main line and all advertising publications are directed
to the OC. <strong>Call</strong>s have jumped from 50 inbound calls a week
to several hundred calls weekly.
Bilingual OC rep handles the ESL line
Spanish option on main line

Example Campaign
Save the Student
• A collaboration with the OC and
Counseling Faculty
• Targeting extremely at risk students

Save the Student Campaign
Campaign Criteria
1) Has earned a W, Y, D, F, or Z grade in the course
more than once previously.
2) Has dropped, or has been dropped from, the course
more than 3 times previously. Drop defined as Enroll
Status = D.
3) Has earned more than 4 F or Y grades previously.

Student Success Course
• CPD 115 “Creating College Success” (1 credit)
(Counseling & Personal Development) Strategies to create
success in college. Methods for selecting and developing
effective academic strategies, increasing self-awareness and
developing self-management strategies.
CPD 150 “Strategies for College Success” (3 credits)
(Counseling & Personal Development) Focus on increasing
student success through college orientation and personal
growth, study skills development, and educational and career
exploration and planning.

Save the Student Outcome
• <strong>Call</strong>ed 900 Student starting 12/2009
• 332 enrollments – Students still in
courses
• 116 completed
• 12.9% conversion rate

Process Improvement
Information Request Process

Mailing Information Request Packets
20-25 packets a day. Each packet cost
an average <strong>of</strong> $3.25 mailing/time and
labor (not including material cost)
Weekly $350-$400
Monthly $1200 -$1600,
Yearly $18,000-$20,000

Information Request Website

Current Campaigns
Life Happens - Recruitment
Self Serve Student- Retention
Info Request-Recruitment
Save a Student- Persistence
Program Specific Campaigns

Brainstorm Activity
• Recruitment Retention Campaigns