Eliminating Enrollment Pain Points Toolkit
Streamline your enrollment process
On the surface, the student intake process seems like a straight line from one step to the next. But that’s not what students experience. Students struggle to navigate from application to the first day of classes, encountering obstacles that prevent them from ever setting foot in the class room.
Our research found a critical need to reduce the amount of effort and steps required to complete intake, and to help students identify the best choice in a growing sea of options. This toolkit—a supplement to our related study—will help streamline your enrollment process.
Student acceptance letter template
Progressive colleges ensure that students receive an acceptance letter including a student ID number and guidance on next steps immediately following the submission of an application. The letter should be integrated with the student information system to input student-specific information and the student ID. Students should receive both an instant electronic copy and a hard copy in the mail.
The Student Acceptance Letter Template can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Sample enrollment checklist
This sample enrollment checklist is derived from many enrollment checklists collected during our research. Failing to give students an enrollment checklist can leave them unsure of how to make it from application to enrollment.
Checklists must include necessary hyperlinks, details, and follow-up steps to guide students through the enrollment process. Students should receive an institution-specific enrollment checklist at their first point of contact with the institution, be it during a visit to campus or application for admission.
This sample enrollment checklist can be used as a baseline for creation of college-specific enrollment checklists but must be adjusted for college and/or state policies and institution-specific details.
The Sample Enrollment Checklist can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Student-intake focus group guide
Community college leaders often express frustrations with assessing the student intake experience because administrators are most familiar with the ins-and-outs of the entire process. Colleges can gain more valuable information regarding student pain points by conducting focus groups with newly enrolled students.
The focus group interview questions are intended as a sample for administrators to develop a robust interview guide. We encourage staff to adhere to the order and nature of these questions loosely, as well as adapt or add any additional questions that pertain to your specific institution.
The Student-Intake Focus Group Guide can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Higher ed terminology translation exercise
This worksheet identifies language commonly used by administrators and in new-student onboarding materials (e.g., handouts, webpages, etc.). This worksheet is designed as a group or individual activity to create student-friendly translations of technical jargon.
The Higher Ed Terminology Translation Exercise can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Higher ed jargon reduction exercise
The following exercise may be used with staff members to conduct a jargon reduction audit, so that students and other audiences may more effectively navigate the college website, newsletters, handouts, and other written materials.
The Higher Ed Jargon Reduction Exercise can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Problem-to-resolution method mapping exercise
This tool is derived from The Effortless Experience, a publication from the Corporate Executive Board, and is intended to guide community college staff in mapping student issues to the best-fit channel for resolution, taking into account both student effort and cost to the organization. The purpose of this tool is to reduce the volume of in-person demand at student services offices, after integrating agreed upon method recommendations for each problem into the website.
The Problem-to-Resolution Method Mapping Exercise can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Registration case manager job postings
This tool is a sample of a recent job posting for the Rogue Central Specialist at Rogue Community College. The job description provides great detail on the expected duties of the registration case managers, as well as essential hiring criteria to ensure that staff who are adequately suited for the job are selected.
The Registration Case Manager Job Postings can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Registration peer ambassador job postings
This tool is a sample of a recent job posting for the Peer Ambassador Position (Student Services Assistant) at Rogue Community College. The job description provides great detail on the expected duties of the position, as well as essential hiring criteria to ensure that students who are adequately suited for the job are selected.
The Registration Peer Ambassador Job Postings can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
Student services expert cheat sheet
Sometimes registration case managers are unable to answer students’ questions without deferring to the expertise of back-office staff. In order to improve the efficiency and speed of issue resolution, staff should be able to refer to a single document outlining the most appropriate point of contact for each area (e.g., financial aid disbursement questions, unsubsidized loan questions, add-drop questions).
The Student Services Expert Cheat Sheet can be used when considering language and content to include in automated acceptance letters to students.
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Learn how you can get access to this resource as well as hands-on support from our experts through Strategic Advisory Services for Community Colleges.
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