The Strategy Behind Elmira College’s 49% Enrollment Increase
- type
- Regional Private
- location
- Northeast
Impact Highlights*
49%
increase in first-year enrollments
>40%
increase in deposits in primary and secondary markets
60%
increase in deposits in expansion markets
*EAB partnership, Fall 2022–Fall 2024
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Challenge
Elmira College faced declining enrollment and needed a strategic partner to rebuild their application pool and improve yield. While early efforts expanded the pool, Elmira struggled to convert these applications into meaningful enrollment growth. They required a more targeted and collaborative approach to optimize resources and drive sustainable results.
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Solution
The arrival of a new Vice President of Enrollment Management (VPEM) transformed the partnership into a high-functioning collaboration. The new VPEM prioritized breaking down silos within the admissions office and fostering alignment between Elmira’s internal strategies and EAB’s support. By creating a culture of collaboration and focusing the team on shared enrollment goals, Elmira maximized EAB’s resources and guidance.
EAB supported Elmira College using a senior-focused Apply campaign, data-driven insights, and enhanced yield modeling to target high-priority segments and improve engagement. Elmira College’s enrollment management leadership complemented these efforts by restructuring their admissions team, emphasizing affordability messaging, and hosting impactful yield events to drive up conversion rates.
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Results
Through this partnership, led by the VPEM’s vision and EAB’s expertise, Elmira College achieved a 49% increase in first time, full-time enrollment. Among these enrollments, there was significant growth across nearly every distance and market, including a 60% increase in deposits from EAB-identified high affinity expansion markets. This success also translated into financial gains, with a reduced discount rate and increased net tuition revenue.
Over the past two enrollment cycles, we have combined our strategic planning, communications, and timely deliverable services to achieve a common goal. As a result, Elmira College has exceeded its budgeted targets for new and overall full-time enrollment.
Dennis Kelly
Vice President of Enrollment Management
Elmira College’s Success Story: Collaboration in Action
| EAB | Elmira College |
|---|---|
| Provided robust data to help Elmira concentrate outreach on core markets while identifying and pursuing new, high-affinity markets for enrollment growth. | Realigned the admissions office to leverage team members’ strengths and passions, ensuring a more efficient and effective approach to enrollment efforts. |
| Supported Elmira in refining their outreach efforts through enhanced yield modeling, enabling more strategic and effective engagement with prospective students. | Focused outreach on key markets with clear financial aid information and strategic incentivization to emphasize affordability for prospective students and families. |
| Delivered year-round support to address emerging challenges, such as navigating FAFSA delays and adapting communications during the yield season, ensuring strategies remained agile and impactful. | Increased emphasis on yield in high-priority markets, including hosting highly productive events that strengthened engagement and conversion rates. |
| Collaborated closely with Elmira’s team, fostering a true partnership by responding to every challenge with tailored guidance and leveraging expertise to empower Elmira’s success. | Brought energy and focus under the leadership of the new VPEM, who unified the team, inspired collaboration, and built a culture of partnership with EAB to drive results. |
Maximizing Yield with Strategic, Data-Driven Insights
EAB’s yield modeling helped Elmira College strategically focus their outreach by identifying key factors that influence a student’s likelihood
to enroll.
Using data-driven insights, the model categorized admits by their enrollment probability based on key variables such as:
- Deposit indicators to gauge intent
- Distance from campus to understand geographic trends
- Engagement patterns to measure student interest
This approach enabled Elmira to prioritize high-yield segments of their admit pool, refine messaging for students in the “neutral” or “more likely” categories, and allocate resources effectively to maximize enrollment outcomes.
Enrollment Growth via Strategic Outreach and Creative
Student-Centered Application Marketing
EAB’s creative strategies have enhanced Elmira’s outreach campaigns by delivering compelling, data-driven messaging that resonates with prospective students and drives engagement in key markets.
In partnership with EAB, Elmira College refocused efforts on their primary and secondary markets, in addition to identifying high-affinity seniors in expansion markets to support enrollment growth goals.
As a result, deposits increased at nearly every distance and in nearly every market from 2022 to 2024.
