Welcome week
Increasing enrollment by 93% at SLU, Madrid
As prospective students were no longer able to visit the campus during the pandemic (one of the university’s most powerful yielding tools), SLU, Madrid sought out a campus app to support their digital efforts, with outstanding results.
1.9K+
Sessions
92%
Activation
90
Sessions/User
Institution:
Saint Louis University, Madrid
SLU-Madrid sought out a campus app to support their digital efforts, and chose to deploy two Raftr communities: one for admitted students and another for their parents & family members
Solutions:
Raftr YieldRaiser
Raftr FamilyConnect
Key Features Used:
- 1:1 & Group Messaging
- Resource Hub
- Insights
On-Demand Webinar
Surpassing enrollment goals: how a holistic admissions strategy increased enrollment by 93% at SLU-Madrid
Reaching Enrollment Goals During a Pandemic
As prospective students were no longer able to visit the campus during the pandemic (one of the university’s most powerful yielding tools), SLU-Madrid sought out a campus app to support their digital efforts, and chose to deploy two Raftr communities: one for admitted students and another for their parents & family members.
Enter Raftr.
Quick Navigation:
The Task
For a university that recruits students globally and understands the impact of an in-person campus visit, the team at SLU-Madrid needed a way to connect prospective students not only to their campus, but to their peers, as a means of encouraging them to enroll.
The team also had other aspects to consider, like: gaining buy-in from parents & family members who were hesitant about students living abroad during the pandemic.
Additionally, they had a business requirement for counselors to manage communication with admitted students and their families in an authenticated community – to avoid inaccurate information circulating from unofficial social media groups.
“We’ve come a long way with Raftr in a very short time! After the first call with Raftr, I was excited about the possibilities of using the app, but also a bit daunted by the amount of work involved. But Raftr’s support throughout the process allowed us to set up our communities effectively with hands-on guided implementation help.“
Heidi Buffington,
Director of Admissions
SLU, Madrid
Implementation
The Saint Louis, Missouri-based university with a campus in Madrid, Spain prides itself on being the “American University in Spain,” delivering a world-class education that expands students’ cultural horizons. The Jesuit university is home to 900 students from the U.S., Spain and 50+ other countries, including a combination of short-term study abroad students and four-year degree seeking students.
Paired with better tracking, improved communication, extra webinars and digital events, as well as a larger focus on counselor connections, the admissions team was able to increase their fall 2021 numbers by 93%.
And according to Heidi Buffington, Chief Strategic Enrollment Management Officer, Director of Admissions of SLU-Madrid, they welcomed their “largest incoming class in decades.”
With the help of the Raftr platform, the team at SLU-Madrid was able to better meet student and staff needs at scale, as well as help to increase yield, reduce melt, and maximize enrollment.
95% of families who activated accounts had students who enrolled and of the 140 students who activated accounts in SLU-Madrid’s admitted students community, 104 enrolled.
Results
93%
Increase in 1st year enrollment – Fall 2021
92%
Activation rate
within the first 3 weeks
1,914
Total sessions logged by Raftr users
7 mins+
Avg session
duration
90
Avg sessions per user
1.9K+
Total sessions
Final Thoughts
By introducing both an admitted students & a parent community, the team at SLU-Madrid was able to:
- Integrate and expand upon existing admissions strategies
- Connect students to campus life early on prior to the decision period
- Extend student & family reach to share necessary resources during the admissions process
- Empower admissions leaders and counselors with tools to help save time
- Provide dynamic omni-channel communication among current and admitted students