The Chronicle of Higher Education just published the statistics from a survey they did of 461 admissions offices from every state. They gathered lots of information; I was very interested to see how resources went to Web stuff, particularly blogs:
What percentage of your 2007 admissions-office budget was spent on the following student-recruitment methods?
24.1% – Printed materials (e.g., viewbooks, brochures, letters)
22.9% – In person (e.g., school visits, college fairs)
10.6% – Web site and other electronic formats (e.g., e-mail, text messaging)
The first thing that jumped out at me is the discrepancy between how heavily admissions offices employ their sites (98%), and how little they spend accordingly (10%). I know there are lots of factors, but it seems to confirm what I suspect: We’re learning to utilize electronic resources faster than we’re budgeting for them. One explanation is the “free” nature of a lot of in-house Web work, which, I think, helps keep it undervalued.
Which of the following electronic or Web-based tools does your office actively employ in recruitment and communications?
98.0% – Admissions-office Web site
56.2% – Virtual campus tour
43.6% – Blogs by current students
36.7% – Online chats
35.8% – Instant messaging
23.0% – Personalization of the college’s Web site according to prospect’s preferences
18.7% – Text messaging
17.1% – Live Webcam from one or more campus sites
15.4% – Podcasts
6.5% – Blogs by faculty members
5.0% – E-mail
3.9% – Social networking
3.5% – Interactive features on Web site
6.9% – Other
1.5% – Not reported
The second thing I noticed is the rate at which student blogs are being used: 43%. I knew some progressive sites had caught on, but not to that extent. This underscores the growing importance and ubiquity of student bloggers on an admissions site.
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