2022 Transfer Accept/Decline Survey
Each year we send a survey to all admitted undergraduate students who accept or decline their offer of admission. Our goal is to understand why students choose to come to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or choose to go elsewhere, and what matters most when making that decision. We also try to assess how UIUC performs when it comes to counseling, communications, customer service, and more. This report provides [...]
Litmus
Litmus is a tool for designing, building, and testing emails. Starting December 1, 2022, it is required that all emails to prospective and admitted undergraduate students be created within Litmus. This allows us to utilize shared templates and test for accessibility and other potential delivery issues. After December 1, 2022, if your email does not use a Litmus template it will be held back from being sent. Litmus training [...]
2022 First-Year Accept/Decline Survey
View accept survey data View decline survey data Each year we send a survey to all admitted undergraduate students who accept or decline their offer of admission. Our goal is to understand why students choose to come to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or choose to go elsewhere, and what matters most when making that decision. We also try to assess how UIUC performs when it comes to counseling, [...]
Content Marketing
What Is Content Marketing? We define content marketing as any material, including videos, blogs, or social media posts, that stimulates interest in a brand's products or services even if the material isn't explicitly advertising the brand itself. For example, a social media post featuring students playing frisbee on the Quad doesn't have to go into detail on all of the benefits of attending UIUC; the picture of students enjoying themselves [...]
Lead Generation
What Is Lead Generation? Lead generation is the process of capturing names and information of people interested in something. For our purposes, lead generation often means someone provides a unit with information (name, email, address, etc.) and in turn expects something from the university. For example, when a student signs up to receive more information or registers to attend an event, they submit information and expect to hear more about [...]
SEO
What Is SEO? SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of making content streamlined to achieve better results on searched topics. For example, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions should be a topic result on Google for the search term "University of Illinois Admissions." When someone types in that search term, our website should be one of the first results. The largest web traffic source category for the Admissions website [...]
Terminology
Shared terminology ensures we understand each other when we collaborate. This list is designed to cover common admissions, marketing, and communications terms. Admissions Terminology Prospect – A student who has not yet taken a trackable action to demonstrate interest in UIUC. We can have a prospect within our CRM if we've purchased that student's information from an outside source. Inquiry – A student who has taken an action to demonstrate [...]
Goals
"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." –Zig Ziglar Top-Level Goals & the Enrollment Funnel Top-level enrollment goals, defined prior to each admissions cycle, align with the various stages of the enrollment funnel seen below. Ongoing coordination between each academic unit, Enrollment Management, and campus leadership enables real-time assessment of these goals and dictates their fluidity. Enrollment Funnel Stages (from the largest student volume down to [...]
Marketing Plans
What is a marketing plan? A marketing plan is a key component to recruiting and yielding students. It provides an overview of what marketing programs you plan to utilize to achieve your objectives and articulates how success will be measured. Does OUA have a marketing plan? Yes, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has a marketing plan, and we're happy to share it (it does require you to log in to [...]
Communication Plans
What is a communication plan? A communication plan includes all of the communications you intend to deliver to your target audiences. It should articulate the who, what, and when for all of your strategic communications. Does OUA have a communication plan? Yes, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has several communication plans, each built around a different audience segment or a campaign theme, such as visiting campus. Do I need a [...]
Research
What Is Market Research? Research is an important part of understanding our audiences. Market research can provide us with key data on audience opinion, viable communications tactics, and more. Students, parents, and other stakeholders in the admissions process have a lot of opinions on what they want. We should listen to them! Listening to our audiences will improve our communications and marketing efforts. If you're planning on your own research [...]
Metrics
Why Do Metrics Matter? Metrics allow us to measure our progress toward goals and ensure our efforts are making an impact. Without metrics, it's impossible to know if our hard work or strategy is paying off. But what measurements of success matter? Of all the information and analytics available, which metrics should we look at the most? Organic Social Media Social media analytics offer many different metrics. Which ones matter [...]
Reports
Reporting allows us to evaluate our success in communication and marketing efforts as well as do research for future projects. Enrollment Management offers a variety of reporting that's helpful to units across campus. If you're a unit that sends communications via Enrollment Management/OUA processes, you can request small-scale custom reporting as well. Reporting Resources Accept/Decline Surveys. The first-year accept/decline survey and the transfer accept/decline survey allow units to look at [...]
Surveys
What Makes a Good Survey? Sampling Sample, sample, sample. The goal of any good survey is to find out what people think to inform a decision or many future decisions. For that reason, you should plan to talk to a lot of people and a diverse range of people. A healthy sample size is critical to getting usable information. If you do not get many opinions, one person (or a [...]
Calling & Texting
Top Priorities for Calling & Texting Encourage action. Calling and texting should be restricted to campaigns. In other words, you should have a specific reason for calling or texting, encouraging action. Avoid marketing messages. These are not appropriate channels for general marketing messages. Again, focus on a call to action. Target specific populations. If you have an audience segment that you wish to target, calling and texting could be ideal. [...]
Top Priorities for Email Focus on your email strategy. Email is one of the most direct methods of communicating with our audience, and in-house surveys show it's the number one way students wish to be contacted by us—so you'll want to make your emails count. Know who you can communicate with. You can choose to send emails to inquiries, admits, and accepts in your college’s interest area. Learn more about [...]
Annual Marketing Report
The Annual Marketing Report provides a summary of marketing activity related to undergraduate recruitment and yield through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. 2021 Marketing Report Slide deck Recorded presentation We recommend watching the recording to get the most information. Topics include: The enrollment funnel Marketing efforts and goals by channel OUA's advertising efforts & strategy Web content performance Social media performance Email outcomes & more
Event Planning & Training
Planning All visits, both in-person and virtual, are coordinated with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) and centralized through our CRM, Slate. Visit planning occurs three times throughout the admissions cycle. Fall Visits For prospective undergraduate students June/July is when OUA reaches out to units to finalize plans Units are required to share all visit plans in our fall planning spreadsheet Spring Visits For prospective and admitted undergraduate students October/November is [...]
Virtual Events
Planning & Training All prospective student events are coordinated with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) and centralized through our CRM, Slate. Review our event planning and training to know what steps you need to take to properly coordinate your events and enter them into Slate. Planning Considerations Virtual visits are valuable. Time and again, OUA surveys show that students want to hear directly about academics within their intended college. [...]
Off-Campus Events
Planning Process If you're interested in holding or attending an off-campus event, make sure to contact us so we're aware of your plans and can assist if necessary. Individual colleges and units should not plan high school visits without first reaching out to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA). OUA's Strategy In addition to on-campus efforts, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions conducts a wide range of outreach, recruitment, and yield [...]
On-Campus Events
Planning & Training All prospective student events are coordinated with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) and centralized through our CRM, Slate. Review our event planning and training to know what steps you need to take to properly coordinate your events and enter them into Slate. OUA's Strategy Visiting campus can be one of the most important factors when making a college choice. It gives students and parents the opportunity [...]
Slate
What is Slate? Slate is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) created by Technolutions. There are multiple instances of Slate on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, including one for undergraduate admissions. What is Slate used for? Slate allows us to have a centralized record for each "customer," which in the case of undergraduate admissions means prospective student. Through Slate we manage all our event and visit registration, we send all [...]
How-Tos
CommunicationsHow to Create a Communications PlanHow to Define Your AudienceDataHow to Add a Mailing, Data or Report Request in BasecampEmailHow to Add an Email Request to BasecampHow to Add an Email to SlateEventsHow to Coordinate Your EventHow to Create a Slate EventHow to Create a Special Slate EventMajorsHow To Edit Major Information on the Admissions WebsiteTextingHow to Add a Text Message Request to BasecampHow to Send Text Messages from Slate [...]
Policies
Undergraduate recruitment and yield policies are created to ensure consistency and reduce risk. If you have questions, please contact us. Applicant Communication Policy College/Unit Marketing and Communication Plan Policy Data Request Policy Email Send Policy Program Explorer Edit Policy Text Messaging Policy
Evaluation
How to Evaluate Communications & Marketing Success There are many ways to evaluate success, and you should always keep your campaign goals in mind. Preferably, you and your team should make a plan to evaluate success prior to the launch of a campaign in order to then tailor the campaign to succeed on your key metrics. Remember, some evaluation is certainly better than none. If you have limited time to [...]
Advertising
Top Priorities for Advertising Build and strengthen brand awareness. As with any advertising, building and/or strengthening brand awareness is a top goal. That's why it's important to brand your ads appropriately and target the right audiences. Generate new leads. Ads are a great way to reach prospects. Planting a seed is great, but if you can also provide an easy conversion method such as an email form for more information, [...]
Websites
Top Priorities for Your Website Make your inquiry form easy to find. Ultimately, you want to convert your prospective student traffic into inquiries. This means your inquiry form should be front and center on all pages. The best way to do this is to incorporate it into your navigation. Focus on relevant, engaging content. What do prospective students want to know? What will get them interested in your programs? Videos, [...]
Applicant Communication Policy
An applicant is defined as a student that has submitted an application but has not yet received a decision. Therefore an applicant audience includes students that will unfortunately be denied. Due to the sensitive nature of applicant communications, colleges and units are not allowed to communicate with applicants. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions manages an applicant communications plan to ensure students continue to receive touch points from Illinois while awaiting [...]
Contact
For general inquiries or specific questions regarding the R&Y Network, admissions policies, processes, etc., please email OUA-Contact@illinois.edu. The OUA-Contact inbox is monitored by a team of people representing different units within Enrollment Management. Questions will be filtered to the appropriate party and a response will be provided as soon as possible.
Cycle Overview
Stages of a Cycle Here are the key points throughout a cycle: Application opens Priority admission deadline Regular admission deadline (application closes) Admission notification (decisions are released) Accept deadline New student registration Students begin classes Tenth day of classes (official enrollment numbers are released) Key Dates & Deadlines The undergraduate application cycle starts when the application for admission becomes available, which is typically September 1. The cycle ends with the [...]
Handouts
Top Priorities With Handouts Focus on your content. With content pieces, make sure the focus is on your unit/services. Avoid including admissions content or anything that runs the risk of changing. Share stories and make the material as engaging and worthwhile as you can. Consider the quality. Cheap handouts will be ignored and find their way to the trash quickly. Invest in high-quality pieces, such as booklets, die-cuts, or keepsake [...]
Presentations
Top Priorities With Presentations Brand appropriately. Make sure your presentations have the appropriate branding in place, including logos, colors, messaging, etc. It's critical that all of our materials fit together, both through appearance and content. Be engaging. Audiences come to a conclusion on what level of engagement is necessary within the first 90 seconds of your presentation, so it's important to be engaging. Keep things concise and understand your audience. [...]
Social Media
Top Priorities for Social Media Engage prospective students. Make sure you post content that is appealing for teenagers and addresses their interests and needs. It's also important to consider what platforms are most relevant for high school students. If posts elicit comments, try to interact with your audience. Generate leads. Direct social content to landing pages where students can easily sign up for more information. Share information. This may seem [...]
Video
Top Priorities With Video Entertain and inform. Students are watching how-to videos and being entertained on YouTube. To meet them where they are, we must create entertaining ways for students to digest information they may need. Encourage YouTube subscriptions. It's good practice (and quite common) to build a prompt into the end of your videos encouraging subscriptions to your channel. Don't fret about production quality. High school students are accustomed [...]
Direct Mail
Top Priorities for Direct Mail Be strategic with populations. In order to reduce both physical and financial waste, you should be as strategic as possible with the populations you choose to engage through direct mail. This could mean sending to admits only, or sending to top-tier inquiries (those that have signed up for more information directly through our inquiry forms). Focus on yield. When a student is admitted, we have [...]
Directory
The R&Y Network directory helps you connect with colleagues across campus that participate in recruiting and yielding undergraduate students. To view the directory, you must log in to Box using your illinois.edu email address. View Directory
Joining
Who can join the R&Y Network? Any campus professional involved with recruiting and yielding undergraduate students can request to join the R&Y Network. How can I join the R&Y Network? First, you must request to join the R&Y Network. Every request to join is reviewed and access is granted based on two factors: (1) your role as it relates to undergraduate student recruitment at Illinois, and (2) your unit's approval. [...]
2021 Enrollment Management Summit
Download presentation decks
How to Present a Unified Brand to Prospective Students
Branding may seem like business reserved for marketing and communications staff, but each individual touchpoint matters. Even if you aren’t a designer it’s important to ask yourself, “What role do I play in the Illinois brand?” Or more importantly, “How can I contribute to the goal of presenting a unified brand to prospective students?” Why It Matters If we think about some of the strongest brands, there are a few [...]
2022 Admissions Cycle Marketing Plan
Chris Axtman-Barker, Marketing Coordinator within the Office of Communications for Enrollment Management, presents the 2022 Admissions Cycle Marketing Plan, providing information on overall strategy and ways to collaborate. If you work in a college or campus unit here at UIUC and create a marketing plan for prospective students, this is resource designed primarily to inform you of our efforts within Undergraduate Admissions. The slide deck for this presentation is also [...]
Tips for Creating and Sending Emails
Email is the most important communication channel we currently have, so it’s critical that we make our emails as effective as possible. Here are a couple tips to ensure we do just that. Keep It Simple Some of our emails go beyond text only and utilize HTML to create more visually appealing designs. This can often cause us to overcomplicate things. In fact, sometimes text-only emails are the most effective, [...]
Notice of Admission (2021)
Decisions are coming in February and that means admitted students will be receiving some great news. We’ve included many of the communications below so you can see what students receive online, in their inbox, and in their mailbox. myIllini Splash Page The first place students discover they’ve been admitted is within myIllini. When decisions become available, admitted students click on their application and discover a splash [...]
Best ROI Yield Activities (From Chief EM Officers)
Back in November a VP of Enrollment sent out a question on the AAU Chief Enrollment Management Officers listserv asking, "What do you consider to be the top 3-5 yield activities that bring the best return on investment (ROI)?" Here is a condensed list of answers that were shared in response to this question. Hopefully you can find some inspiration for your own yield activities this cycle. One-on-one meetings with students [...]
Inclusive Illinois Initiative
The focus of the Inclusive Illinois Initiative is to be innovative in how we enhance our current outreach programs to underrepresented populations. We will need the support of the campus community to be involved in the outreach to inspire prospective and admitted students to see the impact they will have on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus and the world. Increased partnership with UIUC stakeholders can help evolve some [...]
Marketing Planning: 1 of 2
In case you missed the webinar, here is the recording.
Marketing Planning: Part 2 of 2
In case you missed the webinar, here is the recording.
2019 Accept/Decline Survey Overview
In case you missed the webinar, here is a link to the slides and a video of the presentation.
How to Add a Text Message Request to Basecamp
In Basecamp, go to the project called “Communications | Your College.” In the To-Do List, name the to-do to match the subject of your text. Add your OUA Contact Person to the Assigned to section. Add the date you want the text to be sent in the Due on section. Be sure to select A specific day (“Runs for multiple days” doesn’t show up on our assignment list, which may cause delays in processing). We [...]
How to Send Text Messages from Slate
Before any texts can be sent, your unit must set up a phone number, have a Slate inbox, and communicated who will be responding to reply texts and for how long. See texting policies for more details. Making your text Login to Slate. Navigate to the deliver icon at the top menu bar (the megaphone). Select the "New Mailing" button at the top left. Next, you will see the [...]
How to Create a Communications Plan
It is important to make a communication plan. Having all of your messages in one place, with brief descriptions, timelines, and send dates will make planning for the rest of the cycle much easier. These plans will also help you evaluate your message holistically, focus your messaging, and target the right audiences. Think about your audience. What are their needs? What do you need to tell them in order for [...]
How to Add a Mailing, Data or Report Request in Basecamp
In Basecamp, go to the project called "Communications | Your College." In the To-Do List, name the to-do to briefly describe your report request. Add your OUA Contact Person to the Assigned to section. Add the date you want the mailing to be sent to you or report to be received in the Due on section. Be sure to select A specific day ("Runs for multiple days" doesn't show up on our assignment list, [...]
How to Define Your Audience
Audience Parameters Following are the four audience parameters we need in order to process your email requests in Basecamp. Be as specific as possible in your request, avoiding the use of "all," since this doesn't give us enough information. 1. Current Student Status As a rule, you can only send emails to students in your college's interest area who have the following status: Inquiries - students who have expressed an [...]
Data Request Policy
Colleges and units may submit a data request to obtain information regarding audiences or general student trends. Data Request Restrictions Requested data should be about the college or academic unit's audience, or general student trends Requested data and reports will be presented in Tableau or in a live Slate report Data will not be exported from Slate unless absolutely necessary. This protects student data and ensures information is as recent [...]
College/Unit Marketing and Communication Plan Policy
Marketing Plan Requirements Before each admissions cycle, colleges and other strategic partners are required to submit a comprehensive marketing plan to OUAContact@illinois.edu by August 1. Marketing plans are shared with the R&Y Network and reviewed by Enrollment Management. Not only does this allow for transparency, but it also optimizes coordination of activity. Communication Plan Requirements Before each admissions cycle, colleges and other strategic partners are required to submit a communications [...]
How to Add an Email to Slate
In Slate, go to Deliver (megaphone icon), then Mailings. On the right, select the folder/subfolder where your email belongs. Units are categorized by college or department. Select New Mailing. (In some cases, you may want to make a copy of an already-existing email. To do so, select the email, then Copy Mailing. Be sure to uncheck "Copy Query" in the resulting pop-up box.) Name should be the subject line of the email. Folder should [...]
How to Add an Email Request to Basecamp
In Basecamp, go to the project called "Communications | Your College." In the To-Do List, name the to-do to match the subject line of your email. Add your OUA Contact Person to the Assigned to section. Add the date you want the email to be sent in the Due on section. Be sure to select A specific day ("Runs for multiple days" doesn't show up on our assignment list, which may cause delays in processing the [...]
Program Explorer Edit Policy
What is the Program Explorer? The Program Explorer is an interface on the Admissions website that allows users to explore undergraduate majors. What information is editable within the Program Explorer? College staff may request an edit to the following information: Description –Descriptions are carefully crafted to be informative and understandable for those who do not yet have a high school degree. Please consider these factors when submitting an edit suggestion. [...]
Email Send Policy
Email Requirements All emails to inquiries or admitted students must be sent via Slate, and in coordination Enrollment Management. This ensures that student statuses are accurate, reduces the risk of emails being filtered as spam, and enables centralized metrics and functional tracking. An email from an academic unit must be about the academic unit, it's subject area, relevant interests, or majors. Broad campus topics such as application dates and deadlines, [...]
Text Messaging Policy
Texting Requirements All text messages should be sent via Slate, in cooperation with the Office of Enrollment Management. This ensures that student statuses are up to date, reduces the risk of texts being filtered as spam, and enables centralized metrics and functional tracking. The unit sending the text message must have staff online for at least two hours after sending a text message to handle responses. Communication expectations with text [...]
How To Edit Major Information on the Admissions Website
Program Explorer We present our programs of study through an interface called Program Explorer. This tool allows students to see what we offer and learn more about each program of interest. Some of the program information comes directly from data sources, however some information is provided by the college. You can read more about this within our policy for editing major information within the Program Explorer. If you have a [...]
10 Tips for Creating Effective Emails
1. Define your purpose. You should always have a clearly defined purpose for your emails so that you can keep your content focused on that purpose. If you don’t have a clearly defined purpose, you should probably revisit whether the email is necessary. 2. Know your audience. For starters, Gen Zers (categorized as 19 years of age and under) know how to educate themselves and find information. They’re driven [...]