Pioneer in college student retention solutions releases new service to save “lost” students who deposit but do not enroll or who withdraw.
July 25, 2018—One in 10 college students who pay their deposits do not enroll at their institutions, according to the 2018 Discounting Report from Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions. Government data also show that about one-third of college freshmen do not return for their second year. A new service from RNL aims to help colleges re-engage and re-enroll these students so that they persist and ultimately graduate.
For much of its 45 year history, RNL has pioneered advances in college student retention, such as student assessment instruments and predictive modeling for student persistence. Over the years its research, consulting, and solutions elevated college student retention to a strategic, data-driven enterprise.
Now the firm is adapting its equally vital work in prospective student recruitment as well as alumni philanthropy to a new way to increase student success-“re-enrolling” students who have not registered for classes or who have withdrawn. This approach uses multichannel outreach through the phone, email, and surveys to engage students who are not enrolled, then uses their data to create personalized outreach as early as the next day.
“This service combines our decades of experience in student retention with our expertise in student marketing and alumni affinity to evolve outreach for student success,” said Sumit Nijhawan, president and CEO of Ruffalo Noel Levitz. “It gives colleges and universities a way to quickly engage students and re-enroll them while there is still time to change their minds.”
The critical combination is surveying students about why they did not register or why they withdrew, and then using that data for next-day outreach. If institutions can assess why a student left or decided not to register, they have vital information to re-engage them and re-enroll them—especially if they can intervene quickly.
“We are using the same technique that convinced a student to enroll in the first place to stay on the path to completion—personal outreach, multichannel communication, and rapid response,” said Brett Frazier, chief customer officer at RNL. “It’s an entirely different way of approaching student retention and one that can have an immediate impact on student persistence.”
For more information, visit RuffaloNL.com.
About Ruffalo Noel Levitz
Ruffalo Noel Levitz is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. The firm serves more than 1,900 colleges and universities through data-driven solutions focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right program, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. With a deep knowledge of the industry, Ruffalo Noel Levitz provides institutions the ability to scale their efforts by tapping into a community of support and resources.