Because of Modern Campus Message and the ability to text our students with timely nudges, we’re helping them stay enrolled in college.
3
campuses
13,000+
students
28%
students age 30 and over
The Challenge
Olympic College experienced a consistent enrollment decline spanning several years, prompting staff to review resources that could increase attract more students and increase retention.
First, staff tried reaching correct and prospective students via email... but they quickly found that students rarely responded to emails, if they even read such messages in the first place.
Next, they tried text messaging, with faculty sending out texts from their personal phones. This proved to be an ineffective solution as there was no high-level, central location to house students’ messages. This made it nearly impossible to form a campus-wide texting strategy.
With these challenges in mind, Olympic College turned to Modern Campus Message to leverage two-way conversational text messaging at scale.
Implementation
Olympic's Student Services department led the implementation.
First, staff launched a one-year pilot project to test the effectiveness of texting. During this phase, staff targeted students who needed to complete various steps before being dropped from classes for nonpayment.
The program quickly proved to be effective at keeping at-risk students enrolled. Students appreciated the nudges, with specific tasks, and staff loved the robust data provided as a result of the campaign.
Results
The pilot program proved successful in increasing the college’s revenue! In fact, it saved 100 students from being dropped due to nonpayment. As a result of implementing the Modern Campus Message, the school secured $280,000 in tuition revenue in one academic year that would have otherwise been lost.
Additionally, Olympic College staff have found that texting has led more students to use student support services in person. Students frequently come to campus and interact with staff to resolve challenges. And the response is speedy too; staff note a consistent influx of student traffic on campus just after a text message is sent.
Since the original pilot program, Olympic has expanded the reach of texting to encompass all students. They now send students texts about financial aid, enrollment, course registration, and more.
🎥 Hear from Shawn Devine, Director of Communications & Web Services ▶️:
Discover additional ways you can use text messaging to connect students with campus resources, extend staff resources and boost retention—and how doing so fits into the entire learner journey—in our free guide:
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About Modern Campus
Modern Campus empowers 1,700+ higher education institutions to attract, engage, and retain learners for life with software solutions that enable a modern student experience.
The Modern Campus learner-to-earner lifecycle platform powers solutions for web content management, conversational text messaging, catalog and curriculum management, career pathways, student engagement and development, and non-traditional student management. The result: innovative institutions engage their modern learners for life, while providing modern administrators with the tools needed to streamline workflows and drive high efficiency.
Learn how Modern Campus is leading the modern learner-to-earner movement at moderncampus.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
