Seven ways to communicate post-graduate success when your outcomes information is limited

With average student debt continuing to rise and the value of a college education being scrutinized more than ever, prospective students and their parents are carefully analyzing colleges and universities to see if they are worth the investment. In fact, academic reputation was a top factor in their decision to enroll (along with cost and financial aid) based on recent data from the Noel-Levitz enrollment factors report. Outcomes are an understandable demand from prospective students and their families, yet many campuses struggle to provide solid post-graduate and outcomes information to reinforce the strengths and benefits of their academic offerings.

According to the latest 2012 E-Recruiting Practices and Trends at Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions poll conducted by Noel-Levitz, only 38.8 percent of four-year private institutions, 24.2 percent of four-year public institutions, and 17.2 percent of two-year public institutions said they provided information about outcomes and the value of earning a degree on their primary Web page or pages linked from that page. Take a moment to scan your institution’s Web site, admissions brochures, and any other marketing materials used in your recruitment efforts. Is the outcomes-related content relevant to a prospective student? Is it useful, easily found, and current?

Perhaps you have had a prospective student or parent approach you at a college fair or open house and ask you to peer into your crystal ball to predict their job prospects after graduation. Although many campuses can quickly share an overall job placement rate, offering specifics can be a challenge.  When precise career data and updated job placement statistics are limited or nonexistent, consider these suggestions:

1. Create brief profiles of your alumni. Ideas for information to list include name, graduation year, current city, major/degree, current occupation, and a testimonial about why they chose your school. Here’s a tip—check your institution’s magazine or newsletter class notes section for notable career accomplishments from alumni, or reach out to your student workers who have recently graduated.
2. Highlight your campus’s support services and departments. Gather quotes from the director of your career center or employers who were matched with your students through job fairs or on-campus interviews. Share opportunities such as resume-writing workshops, mock interviews, or professional and industry speakers who have come to campus.
3. Showcase examples of internships, co-ops, research, and real-world learning opportunities available on- and off-campus. If possible, give specific examples by academic program and explain the process of taking advantage of such opportunities.
4. Share job market trends as they relate to the majors offered at your school. Check out the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on the fastest growing, highest paying, and newest jobs between 2010-2020.
5. Include the influencers in your messages. Make sure the content you’ve created speaks to mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, or even the high school athletic coach who may be playing a large role in the prospective student’s college decision.
6. Share experiences of current students and alumni at campus events. Ideally, you should have current students or alumni speak about their experiences with prospective students. But even if that is not possible, consider showing profiles of these students and graduates to your visitors via enlarged photos on easels or through a photo montage projected on a screen at the opening welcome.
7. Collect outcomes at graduation. Finally, perhaps the best opportunity to collect such critical outcomes and job placement information is at your school’s cap and gown pick-up. I recall many years ago being a proud college senior attending a congratulatory reception where every graduating student was asked to fill out a brief survey with a handful of simple questions—first name, last name, if we had a job lined up, if yes, where? This basic step in receiving my graduation gear was more important than I probably realized at the time.

These are just a few strategies I have seen work at campuses. Do you have your own? Share them in the comments. Or if you are looking for ideas, send me an e-mail and we can do some brainstorming.