Exploring More Graduate and Online Enrollment Trends at the RNL National Conference

I previously wrote about 30 Ways to Learn About Graduate and Online Enrollment Trends at the RNL National Conference. In that post, I spotlight a number of sessions, but our track on graduate and online enrollment is so jam-packed with content that I wanted to highlight a few more.

This year marks the fifth full-scale graduate and online track at the 2023 RNL National Conference in Nashville (July 25-27, 2023). Over these five years we have expanded from a track of 15 sessions, then a smaller track in the two virtual Covid-era conferences, and then 20 when we returned to an in-person event in 2022. This year, attendees will have more than one graduate and/or online session to choose from in every session block of the conference. The full program is ready and it is jam-packed with content, including sessions on these compelling and timely topics.

The Road to Centralization

Carmen Barnhardt, OD, MSEd from Marshall B. Ketchum University will talk to RNL’s Reena Lichtenfeld, EdD, and Shane Pruitt, EdD, about how, in the process of developing an annual marketing and recruitment plan, the university determined that centralizing the three independently operating admissions office was critical to their success. This is a key session because more institutions are realizing that they need to work toward centralizing core business processes in order to be more efficient and successful, and Carmen and Reena will talk through both the hurdles and successes of a real-time process.

Counting Down the Steps to Launch Successful Digital Marketing Campaigns

Sabrina Brown from Duke University will talk with RNL experts Vaughn Shinkus and Lori Cannistra about each step in the development of Duke’s highly successful lead generation campaign for new academic programs. Each speaker provides unique perspectives (Sabrina as an institutional marketing leader, Vaughn as a consultant with more than 20 years developing SEO and other campaigns, and Lori as the manager who puts it all together). They will focus specific attention on the unexpected discoveries about audience and messaging development, channel strategy, and lead time.

Online Learner Satisfaction: Priorities for Improvement in Recruiting and Retaining Students and Alumni

Three RNL experts will discuss how increasing student satisfaction benefit institutions now and in the future. Online learners are generally more satisfied than traditional, on-ground students with their overall experience, but there are still priority areas that institutions can improve upon to better attract and retain students. This session will unpack the national student satisfaction data by key demographic variables to identify opportunities for institutional action and consider the best messaging for enrolling students who will be a good fit for online learning. The presenters will share strategies for using these data to inform change on campus.

What RNL Has Learned About Graduate Students: Findings on Motivations, Slow Response, and Cost on Enrollment Decisions

As RNL’s vice president for graduate and online research, I will present findings from the forthcoming 2023 Graduate Student Recruitment Report. The session will focus on what we learned about motivations for study, the effects on interest of slow response times, and the effects of cost on both enrollment decisions and enrollment patterns.

Join us in Nashville to learn and connect

If you haven’t been to the RNL National Conference in the past, you should really consider doing so this year. I am now five year’s into this and it is a conference like no other. While you will be able to network and see old friends and make new ones among our 1,500 attendees, you will also have the opportunity to dig into topics and issues and learn in an almost seminar-like format. Finally, by offering unparalleled discounts for multiple registrations, you can bring your team and fan out across the six different tracks and then come together at the end of the day to process all that you have learned. Take a look at the agenda, the keynote speakers, and the location and join us in Nashville.