RECRUITMENT & ADMISSIONS PLAN - University Of Illinois .
RECRUITMENT &ADMISSIONS PLAN2020 ADMISSIONS CYCLEOffice of Undergraduate Admissions
Executive Summary .2Marketing & Communication Plan .8Illinois Resident Recruitment & Admissions .13Non-Resident Recruitment & Admissions .20International Recruitment & Admissions .29Diversity Recruitment & Admissions .37Transfer Recruitment & Admissions .50Campus Visits .58
Executive Summary
Dear Colleagues,The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is excited to begin a new recruitment and admissionscycle. We will continue to focus on enrolling bright and diverse freshman and transferpopulations. Our primary goal is to maintain the excellence and size of the incoming class ofnew freshmen and transfers while continuing to diversify the undergraduate population.The following pages share our objectives, strategies, and tactics to accomplish these tasks,including specific discussion of the following topics: Marketing & Communication PlanIllinois Resident Recruitment & AdmissionsNon-Resident Recruitment & AdmissionsInternational Recruitment & AdmissionsDiversity Recruitment & AdmissionsTransfer Recruitment & AdmissionsCampus VisitsThe market for recruiting and enrolling talented students is changing. We face greatercompetition for a declining population in our primary market: the students in the state ofIllinois. We have opportunities to diversify enrollment in secondary markets within the U.S.and among international markets without taking away opportunities or resources from ourprimary market. Sustained growth in campus diversity will be a function of the amount offinancial aid and scholarship opportunities available to students. With the changing economicrealities within the state of Illinois, we will need to create new pathways for students in order toensure equitable access for all students. Our ability to compete for new students will bedependent on our depth of understanding of our institutional identity and the breadth ofcooperation to communicate a consistent message.What makes Illinois distinct among our peer universities is that we boast one of the mostdiverse public schools in the Big Ten (place), we have the best return on investment in the BigTen (price), and we offer globally top-ranked academic programs that specialize inincorporating opportunities for undergraduate research and innovation (program). Thesecompelling factors of place, price, and program align with how students make their collegechoice. We intend to collaborate with campus partners in order to highlight these marketadvantages to prospective students and families.I look forward to working in partnership with you during the 2019-2020 recruitment cycle!Sincerely,Andy Borst, Ph.D.Director of Undergraduate Admissions3
Enrollment ContextThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a long and proud history of serving thestate, nation, and world by providing a world-class education to a sizable student body.Urbana’s enrollment already situates us among the largest campuses in the country. Data fromthe Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) shows that Urbana’s 2014enrollment placed it as the 14th largest university in the country. Urbana also had the 6thlargest freshman class and awarded the 13th most degrees in the country that year. Thesemetrics reveal we are already among the nation’s leaders in providing a world-class educationat considerable scale.While we have long been among the nation’s largest universities, our commitment to access hasgrown significantly in recent years. Between 2000 and 2015, campus undergraduate enrollmentsgrew by 18% (from 27,782 to 32,878), and graduate and professional enrollments grew by 24%(from 9,054 to 11,209). While much of this growth was organic, planned growth occurred in2006-2007, when the campus freshman class target was increased from 6,100 to 7,100, and in2009-2010, when the College of Engineering freshman class target was increased from 1,300 to1,500.One consequence of this history is that our ability to increase undergraduate enrollments acrossthe board is quite limited. The Urbana campus is already 14th in the nation in number ofundergraduate applications (behind six University of California schools with a sharedapplication process that inflates their numbers), so we have little room to grow by building ouroverall number of applications. We already admit 62% of undergraduate applicants, so we havelittle room for growth in this metric without substantially changing the profile of the class.Increasing yield is another way to enroll more students, but most students who turn down ouroffers of admission cite our high cost of attendance and/or less financial aid than they hadhoped for. The university has held resident tuition steady for the last five years and alsorecently created the new Illinois Commitment program, which covers full tuition and fees forfamilies with resources less than the state median income. Additionally, the State of Illinois hasinvested more into the need-based MAP grant and created the merit-based AIM HighScholarship. It will take time to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and their impact onenrollment.In view of all of this, any growth in undergraduate enrollments must be strategically targeted atspecific programs.Enrollment GoalThe overall goal is to maintain the excellence and size of the undergraduate population. As aland-grant university and part of Illinois’ flagship system, our first priority is to enroll residentstudents and then supplement enrollment with high-achieving non-residents and internationalstudents.Excellence is pursued by enrolling students with high potential for achievement, enrolling adiverse group of students, and providing a high-quality educational experience. This points tothe importance of students’ academic qualifications, talent, and motivation; the mix ofrace/ethnicity, gender, family income, and residency among students; the educational resourcesavailable to students; and the match between each program’s enrollment and its capacity.4
Size affects tuition revenue and costs in ways that are readily quantified. While revenue fromtuition is important (increasingly so in recent years), revenue per se should not be the goal ofenrollment growth. Indeed, at a comprehensive university, not every educational program musthave revenues that cover its costs. However, we must manage our enrollments and ourportfolio of educational programs so the campus as a whole has sufficient revenue to sustain itsoperations, with some flexibility to explore new opportunities for teaching, research, andservice. Moreover, in the current fiscal climate, any enrollment growth or new educationalprogram should at least be revenue neutral and preferably generate revenues that exceed itscosts.Size also affects excellence in ways both real and perceived. Conventional wisdom holds thatstudents learn better in smaller class sections than in larger ones, and that larger institutionscannot be as discriminating as smaller institutions when admitting students. Broadly speaking,excellence is negatively correlated with size. For instance, all of the universities ranked higherthan Urbana in U.S. News & World Report have smaller enrollments than Urbana, and all but oneof our IBHE peer group (the University of Texas at Austin) have smaller enrollments. Thus,increasing enrollment without taking steps to maintain students’ academic qualifications andstudent diversity or a quality educational experience can reduce an institution’s impact.An institution’s excellence also has long-term impacts on its reputation. Reputation is enhancedby the factors that drive excellence (i.e., program quality, entering student quality, anddiversity), and a solid reputation makes it easier and less expensive to attract a strong anddiverse group of students and a strong faculty, which further improves reputation in a virtuouscycle. The opposite cycle—a decreasing reputation that makes it harder to recruit good studentsand faculty, thus decreasing reputation still further—is one to be avoided at all costs. One wayto preserve our excellent institutional reputation is to ensure that any growth in enrollment isconsistent with the strategic goals of our campus, and that growth is planned and coordinatedso as to enhance our overall institutional impact.Admissions PhilosophyAs a land-grant university and part of Illinois’ flagship system, the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign has a responsibility to serve the citizens of the state of Illinois, from thepower corridors of the Chicago Loop to the cornfields of Southern Illinois. The goal of theadmissions review is to execute the will of the faculty and university administration byimplementing a fair and equitable process to select from a large pool of applicants thoseindividuals who have challenged themselves academically and show commitment to activitiesand service expected of University of Illinois alumni.The University of Illinois seeks to enroll a diverse student body in order to create an inclusiveand pluralistic learning environment that respects the varied perspectives and lived experiencesof a diverse community. The concept of a diverse student body should be understood to includediversity in many dimensions, including socioeconomic status, veteran status,city/county/state/country of origin, family background, gender, race and ethnicity, and theintersection of these factors. Students learn and achieve more in diverse environments. As westrive to provide the best possible educational environment, our students have a compellingeducational need to participate in a diverse learning environment.5
Factors we consider for admission include consistent achievement at the highest curriculumlevel available to the student; competitive scores and subscores on standardized tests in relationto the context available to the student; interest in the major/program and reason for selectingthe academic interest area; achievements outside of the classroom that suggest strengths andskills that will enhance the campus community; and unique circumstances that maydemonstrate qualities or skills that help a student to man/review).The citizens and legislators of Illinois have consistently reaffirmed that a student’s access toquality education, and therefore opportunities in life, should not be determined by thesocioeconomic status of one’s parents or the school district in which one lives. Ourundergraduate admissions review process uses a whole-context holistic review (http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/ bastedo/papers/BastedoEtAl2018.pdf), which takes into account theopportunities in the high school, family background, ongoing hardships, extenuatingcircumstances, and other contextual factors. It is important to understand the achievements of astudent within the setting of various external influences, such as school resources, habitus, andfamily context that contribute to or hinder a student’s accomplishments.Academic performance, test scores, and other traditional measures of academic merit can varygreatly depending on the socioeconomic status of a student’s parents and differences in K-12contexts. Not everyone has access to a robust college-preparation curriculum, includingstudents in rural high schools, historically underrepresented students, and students from lowersocioeconomic backgrounds with less access to Advanced Placement courses. Assessing highschool performance through measures like class rank helps assess student performance withinthe context of the high school; however, fewer than 40% of Illinois high schools track and reportclass rank on transcripts. Well-documented variance exists in standardized test scores acrossrace/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic groups that account for most of the gaps inintergenerational economic mobility. Students who attend high schools with relatively higherexpenditures per student have better access to college counselors, private tutors, and testpreparation services. Such differences in wealth, access to college counseling, access toadvanced courses, standardized test preparation, and other factors can reinforce classstratification and limit future economic mobility. Our admissions review process focuses onhow an individual student maximizes the educational offerings available to him or her and howthat student has demonstrated academic achievement within his or her unique context.Given that we admit by college, we also consider applicants in relation to the other studentswho have applied to that college, not all applicants to the university. Each college identifies andplaces unique emphasis on subjective factors that fit within the university’s strategic enrollmentgoals as well as the goals of the college. The college-specific review criteria may change eachadmissions review cycle. In an effort to demonstrate transparency, these factors can be found onthe following website: gram-criteria.Although it is difficult to define all of the factors that are excluded from the admissions reviewprocess, in order to promote fairness, we do not consider legacy/donor status, financial need,demonstrated interest, social media presence, counselor/teacher recommendations, or thirdparty advocate statements.6
Office of Undergraduate AdmissionsGoals 2019-2020 Reach Provost-approved new enrollment targets for freshmen and transfers. Successful implementation of the new and improved Transfer Articulation Guides. Implement and define the scope of the new Recruitment & Yield Network. Continue to manage the application volume and the timeframe in which we are beingasked to deliver admission decisions. Expand international recruitment to diversify to secondary and tertiary markets. Assess staff classifications to accurately reflect job duties and create clearly definedpromotional lines. Identify barriers to campus visit capacity for prospective students. Identify opportunities to expand recruitment of African American students. Ensure successful implementation of the new regional recruitment model. Work with the colleges to capture prospective student information from summer camps,recruitment events, and websites.7
Marketing & Communication Plan
OverviewIn 2018, the University of Illinois commissioned a marketing research firm to assess perceptions,market position, and messaging. The research firm recommended that the university capitalizeon its current unique market position among similar universities by embracing the identity as aworld-class university with global values, which offers a diverse, collaborative environmentfocused on impacting lives with work that matters. By espousing these brand characteristics,students were more likely to view the university favorably, feel valued by the university, andrecommend the university to others. Most stakeholders agreed that the time had come to stopbeing quiet about our accomplishments.The university recently hired a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). We will collaborate withthe CMO to identify opportunities to better communicate our recruitment strategies and newmarket opportunities that align with a unified brand strategy for the university. We will shift our communication strategies with prospective students from thetraditional search process of buying names from testing agencies to align more withways in which Generation Z students receive information and make decisions.By embracing our brand identities, we will focus on developing authentic content fromcurrent students to help tell the story of going to college. We will used paidadvertisements to push this content to our target audiences. From our market testingover the last year, this strategy should lead to more relevant inquiry information, fewer“secret shoppers,” and a better match between assessing student interest andresponding with relevant content. In this admissions cycle, we will increase print mail communications, digital ads,photography, videography, and text messaging. The greatest emphasis will be placed onpersonalized print mailings aimed at building stronger connections with students earlierin their high school careers. We will increase the number of targeted messages to underrepresented minoritystudents, downstate Illinois residents, middle-income students, out-of-state students,high-achieving students in markets where we have regional admissions staff, andtransfer students. Generation Z students view their parents as partners in the decision-making process, somore visible and sharable print mailings will help encourage conversation aroundIllinois. Digital ads within the Illinois Commitment marketing plan proved to successfully reachand engage audiences throughout Illinois; therefore, we suggest broadening the brandbuilding effort through more digital ads to out-of-state markets and build on themomentum already established.9
Branding Communications Increase relevancy of contentFocus on authentic contentImprove parent focus across communicationsBuild brand awareness and reputationMore than other age groups, Generation Z is used to content being highly personal and relevantto them. Our strategy is to use dynamic content to direct appropriate messages to targetedstudent populations (i.e., “a great microurban community” to Chicago students, “a welcomingenvironment” to international students, etc.).When it comes to authenticity, being in touch with our audience is the top priority. Creatingauthentic content that provides a window into student life at Illinois is critical to our marketingstrategy.Our communications will reinforce positive perceptions found in the Bauman brand studyperformed for the university last year. The study shows that prospective students associateIllinois with “team player,” “good guy,” and “visionary” organization personality types.Specific brand messaging will maintain a light touch until further direction on a campus-widebrand platform is established by the Chief Marketing Officer.Parents make up a large and growing part of our audience. Data shows that parentsincreasingly sign up for college communications (90%) and even apply to colleges on behalf oftheir child (62%). While our communications always put students first, parents are considered astrong secondary audience and will be treated as such in our strategy.As students move through the admissions funnel from prospects to inquiries to applicants,messaging will change. Each stage of the funnel corresponds to a decision stage, so messagingwill focus on those associated decision points (Figure 1.1).Messaging Through the Admissions Decision ProcessFigure 1.1 The admissions decision process10
While students are in the awareness stage (sophomores and juniors), they will receive contentaimed at helping them explore universities and academic interest areas. Awareness-stagecontent is built around the idea that Illinois can be a resource as students explore schools andprograms they might be interested in.In the consideration stage (juniors and seniors), students are assumed to be actively exploring anarrowed list of universities or interest areas. In this stage, exploration content should transitionthroughout the year to marketing content about Illinois.At the decision stage (seniors), content should focus on Illinois and the application andenrollment process, much like it does now. At this point, we should assume that students havedecided where they will apply or have completed applications and are actively making theircollege choice from a list of schools that includes Illinois.In the 2020 cycle, we will expand efforts to personalize and differentiate communications asstudents move from prospect to inquiry to applicant.Key AudiencesIn order to achieve enrollment goals, these segments will receive increased marketing andcommunications attention in the 2020 cycle: Underrepresented minority students Illinois high school students (focus on downstate) Middle-income students Out-of-state domestic students High-achieving students Transfer students ParentsLead AcquisitionProspective student names will be acquired through a mix of traditional name buys, organicinquiries, and advertising. Improving our lead-generation strategies has become increasinglynecessary with increased competition, an evolving audience, desire for a stronger out-of-statepresence, and a focus on increasing diversity on campus. Continued effort will be made topartner with colleges to include their lead acquisitions into our overall pool.We will shift our focus away from a traditional name-buy strategy. In following with our brandcharacteristics, we will develop and feature content about general college choice decisions. Wewill push this content to our target audiences through digital advertising. When students visitour site, they will be asked to share their contact information and identify their academicinterest areas. From our testing over the last year, this strategy should lead to more relevantinquiry information, fewer “secret shoppers,” and a better match between assessing studentinterest and responding with relevant content.11
New Communications & Marketing MethodsAdmissions and the Office of Communications already host many on- and off-campus eventsand send several communications specific to targeted groups each year. However, more work isneeded to meet new class goals, including the recruitment of underrepresented students.1. Increased and targeted communications. This includes digital advertising, increaseddirect mail flow, texting, content marketing, and more. Each of these efforts will bespecifically tailored to the target group, making it more effective. We will add dynamiccontent unique to these groups in messages about campus life, Champaign-Urbana, andrelevant student experiences.2. Advertising. We will target underrepresented minority students, downstate students,and middle-income students through online and social media advertising. This is a keycomponent of our broader advertising and search strategy.3. Compelling content. This means increasing the quality of print pieces to make sure theyare memorable as well as ensuring emails are relevant, important, and personal to thetarget audience. Adding new photo and video projects will create compelling onlinecontent.4. Content marketing. New content marketing efforts will create general college searchresources to help our current audience and attract a new audience to engage withIllinois Admissions. This strategy will reinforce positive brand attributes while buildinga new audience to cultivate.5. Storytelling. A new effort to gather and showcase the Illinois experience through thevehicle of storytelling will give our messaging more impact, making it easy for studentsto imagine themselves on campus. Capturing these stories in photo and video will makethem even more compelling and sharable, especially with the addition of a new studentstory microsite and an improved blog site to showcase student-generated content.6. Key messages for Admissions. Admissions communications will remain focused oncampus-wide messaging. We will hone in on the application process, academics andrankings, location and community, campus life, and success.7. Key messages for campus units. We will encourage colleges and other campus units tofocus on key messages that separate themselves from the whole of Illinois. For mostcolleges, this is a focus on unique academics, post-graduate success and rankings, anddifferentiating experiences.12
Illinois Resident Recruitment& Admissions13
Enrollment GoalsThe primary focus of the university is to educate the residents of the state of Illinois. From 2006to 2019, the percent of Illinois residents in the freshman class decreased from 89% to 74.4%(6,385 to 5,706; -10.6%). During the same time, the total number of Illinois high school graduatesremained relatively unchanged in size (145,325 to 145,526). The decline in Illinois residents hasnot been because of a lack of recruitment effort or offers of admission. In fact, the number ofadmissions offers to Illinois residents increased from 11,007 in 2006 to 14,074 in 2019 (Figure2.1).The most significant factor in the decline in Illinois residents has been increased cost. Directcosts (i.e., tuition, fees, and room and board) have increased from 17,598 in 2006 to 27,690 in2019 ( 10,092; 57.3%). Undergraduate institutional aid has also increased from 10 million in2006 to 95 million in 2019. This shift from a low-cost, low-aid model to a high-cost, high-aidmodel will continue to have a direct impact on the recruitment of Illinois residents. The abilityto continue to recruit and enroll talented Illinois residents will be a function of the amount ofinstitutional aid and donor-directed scholarships available to Illinois residents.ApplicantsAdmit 9,66171.0%13,96141.9%5,8442019 est.21,80864.5%14,07440.5%5,706Figure 2.1 Illinois Resident Admissions Numbers, 2014-2019Overview Our primary focus of recruitment is Illinois residents. We receive more applications andadmit more Illinois residents than ever before. Our biggest factor in enrolling moreIllinois residents is the impact of cost.The number of Illinois high school graduates are projected to decline 7% (-10,100) overthe next 10 years. High school demographics continue to become more diverse, withincreases in Hispanic and Asian American students and decreases in White and AfricanAmerican students.Competition for Illinois students continues to increase. The number of regionally basedrecruitment staff representing various colleges and universities increased from 42 in2007 to 121 in 2018 in Chicago and from 12 in 2007 to 34 in 2018 in St. Louis.Out-of-state flagships and other large research universities offering large merit-basedscholarships have become our biggest competitors. The largest market penetration ofcompetitors has been among White students with SATs of 1350 to 1450 in the Chicagosuburbs. Resident students cite limited scholarship opportunities as the primary reasonfor not enrolling at Illinois.Despite a declining state population and increased competition, Illinois has improvedboth its application rate and market share in the university’s primary market of Chicagoand the surrounding suburbs. With the Chicago Satellite Office and additional regionalcounselors, Illinois has a larger recruitment staff committed to our primary market thanany other institution or city in the country.14
Situational AnalysisAs the landscape of high school graduates in Illinois begins to change, we continue toimplement effective techniques to build the Illinois brand. Projections from sources such as theWestern Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) show a significant decrease inhigh school graduates in the coming years (Figure 2.2).Figure 2.2 Projections of Illinois High School Graduates, 2000-2032Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, http://knocking.wiche.edu/report, December 2016In addition to a declining state population of high school graduates, the number of regionallybased recruitment staff representing various colleges and universities has increased from 42 in2007 to 121 in 2018 in Chicago and 12 in 2007 to 34 in 2018 in St. Louis. The National StudentClearinghouse provides data of where students who were admitted to Illinois choose to enroll.Comparing Fall 2010 to Fall 2018 allows us to understand competitors who have increasedmarket share of residents who were admitted to Illinois (Figure 2.3).UniversityPurdue University – West LafayetteIndiana University – BloomingtonOhio State UniversityMarquette UniversityUniversity of MichiganUniversity of Minnesota – Twin CitiesIowa State UniversityDePaul UniversityFall 2010153173451391865961166Fall 2018304297141204246117117220Increase (#)151124966560585654Figure 2.3 Competitors and Increased Resident Market Share, Fall 2010 vs. Fall 2018Source: National Student Clearinghouse15
The annual survey of students who declined their offers of admission to Illinois illustrates that alack of scholarship continues to be the biggest reason they do so (Figure 2.4). It is notable thatstate budget uncertainty was a more significant factor in the decision-making process forresidents than for non-residents or international students, though it was not the most importantreason identified.ScholarshipCostLocationCampus ExperienceAdvice from family member, friend, mentor, etc.ReputationUncertainty of the state of Illinois budgetCommunication with staff from my program of studyAdvice from high school counselor, teacher, coach, etc.Communication with admissions staffTiming of when I found out I was admittedCommunication ure 2.4 Reasons for Declining Illinois Offers of Admission, 2018EOS/ACT data provid
Marketing & Communication Plan Illinois Resident Recruitment & Admissions Non-Resident Recruitment & Admissions International Recruitment & Admissions Diversity Recruitment & Admissions Transfer Recruitment & Admissions Campus Visits The market for recruiting and
E-Recruitment is the University's staff recruitment system. It provides an on-line solution covering the end-to-end recruitment process, from the requirement to recruit to the appointment of the successful candidate. E-recruitment, also known as online recruitment, is the
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Recruitment Counselor Guide Recruitment Counselor Implementation Timeline, 8 Recruitment Counselor Implementation Timeline The most successful recruitments are planned far in advance, and the recruitment counselor program is a big aspect of the overall recruitment preparation. Every campus is unique, but the following timeline should help give the
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Banner 9: Admissions Status SAAADMS - The Admissions Application Form which is used to enter and maintain admissions application and checklist items. It will provide details on a student's application to the University and shows if a student has multiple applications SAASUMI - The Admissions Application form. It is used to view a summary .
P, produced by A02. Next, A01 asks A03 for every such component to get offers from companies that are able to supply the component. So, a number of exploring transactions T03 may be carried out within one T01, namely as many as there are components of P which are not produced by the tier n company. In order to execute
