Helping Students Find Their Campus & Academic Program Fit

Welcome to the third in a series of blog posts that demonstrate how marketing and web teams can bring the power of personalization to life at their college or university. The series follows the staff at a fictional school, Gallena University, on their journey to attract, convert and engage learners using practical personalization techniques. Each blog is accompanied by a worksheet and online workshop so that you can make the Gallena experience a reality for your school.

As a career advisor, Camille has read the data: College and university students who feel like they belong or fit in on campus and with their peers are more likely to complete their degree than those who don’t. The challenge, however, is demonstrating “fit” on a website. It’s hard to steer prospective students toward a specific program when program and activity details are scattered throughout the website.  

Camille wants her students to succeed, so after brainstorming with other advisors, she brings up the issue with her supervisopr. Together, they decide that the easiest way to help these students find their fit and feel at home on campus is to use Modern Campus CMS powered by Instinct to have program-specific information pop up when students visit the website.

The Instinct Advantage for a Modern Campus

Working with Gallena’s marketing department, Camille outlines a plan to make the university’s website responsive to the needs of prospective students interested in specific programs. First, she creates a roadmap for each program. Next, she uses Instinct to create dynamic text for the website’s home page and academic department landing pages. She highlights program-specific information, lists requirements for certain majors and includes targeted testimonials from students who are currently in the program.

Another example of this type of automated website personalization involves academic-themed clubs and organizations. When a student visits the journalism department page, they receive messaging that lists all related clubs. When they visit for a fourth time, they see video testimonials from current students about how getting involved fostered their success in college.

Whenever a prospective student visits the Gallena University website, they now see content that changes with each visit. For example, a list of programs appears on the prospective student’s second visit. On the fourth visit, they see requirements for specific majors. On the sixth visit, students are shown targeted testimonials.

Best of all, Instinct is built directly into Modern Campus CMS, so there’s no complicated integration or need to tap your IT team to implement it.

Mason, a high school senior, wants to be an engineer but she's uncertain about the classes and skills needed. She is also curious about co-curricular opportunities for engineering majors—such as student engineering clubs and campus events. Instinct makes it easy for Gallena to not only present Mason with the various engineering programs on campus but also provide a list of related professional societies and clubs that she can join.

Are You Ready to Supercharge Your School’s Enrollment and Admissions Process?

Like Camille, you, too, can use Instinct to do big things, attract prospective students and help them find their fit on your campus. Even before you know your website visitor’s name, Instinct helps you understand their interests and then uses that information to offer tailored content and messaging that the student is looking for—at the right time.

Don’t wait. It’s time to transform your website into a next-generation digital experience with rich personalization that dramatically increases digital engagement.

Get started on making Instinct work for your institution. Register for our free online workshop on May 18 at 12pm ET.

We've also created a customizable worksheet to help you follow along during the webinar:

Download the Worksheet

Read the first two blog posts in this series:

Website Personalization Website Content Management

Last updated: May 11, 2022