Address Non-Consumption by Hiring High School Counselors

It’s no secret that summer admissions recruiting comes with its share of challenges, including anxious students and parents with numerous questions, disengaged students, and the risk of burnout for admissions counselors. Four-year colleges and universities worried about summer recruitment, melt, and staffing challenges have a solution that they’ve been overlooking—one straight from the two-year recruitment playbook. Their approach? Hiring high school counselors as temporary summer recruitment and enrollment advisors to help address challenges faced by both two-year and four-year institutions alike.

These temporary advisors help alleviate pressure on admissions staff, foster stronger K-12 relationships, and deepen understanding of the students opting out of higher education. Read on to explore the details of this success and learn how you can use the same strategy on your campus.

Summer recruitment and enrollment advisors increased enrollment by hundreds

While the pandemic led to steep enrollment declines at most community colleges, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (Rowan-Cabarrus), a two-year public college in North Carolina, experienced enrollment growth in new students and high school dual enrollment. From 2020 to 2023, first-time student applicants increased by nearly 500 students at the community college with a conversion rate to enrollment of nearly 64%. By contrast, over the same period, first-time enrollment declined at more than 70% of North Carolina’s public two-year institutions.