Rondeau's Roundtable - Higher Education Blog

Colleges and universities across America will soon begin detailed planning for their yieldc ampaigns, if they have not already done so. Since money is still so tight for many families, a number of institutions will look carefully at the discount rate to see if there is any way to give students better financial aid packages. That is a viable and effective way to improve enrollment.

A number of enrollment managers report that response rates to Student Search campaigns are continuing their downward trend. With the considerable expense involved, some may wonder: Is Search still worth the cost? 

This week, Penn State received severe penalties from the NCAA, worse than the  “death  penalty,” once the most stringent discipline meted out to athletic programs that break NCAA rules. This punishment is well-deserved. For unlike previous perpetrators who showed callous disregard for the rules of collegiate sports, officials at Penn State displayed total disregard for the welfare of children.

Ah, summer at last! Unfortunately, for many enrollment officers, easy summers disappeared with the crest of the high school population wave. All their marketing communication strategies, effective yield programs and one to one communication may have produced a promising incoming class. But these days, numbers that look good in May could easily melt away by September.  

Getting students on campus is a well-known key to successful admissions conversion and yield programs. Few marketing communication strategies can match the yield rate for students who visit for a tour and admissions interview.  As a marketing services company that has helped colleges improve both applications and enrollment, The Allied Group is committed to finding new ways to get more students to sign up for campus visits.

Have you or your staff ever had an experience like this one? You have a conversation with a high school student who’s appears to be a perfect fit for your institution. He/she is responding with enthusiasm to your message. You’re certain that this student will be a member of your incoming freshman class. And then…you never hear from them again.

The Boston Globe reported on Tuesday that five BU students were found in the basement of a house in Allston occupied by members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. The students, all men, were taped together, clad only in underwear and covered in condiments like fish sauce, hot sauce and mustard as part of, police believe, a hazing ritual.

Whether good or bad, rumors can have a big effect on an organization. Stories about a company’s positive results can send its stock price soaring. Negative gossip about a firm can seriously hurt sales. 

The Boston Globe reported last Wednesday that a federal judge blocked the new FDA requirement that tobacco companies put graphic images on cigarette packaging. The article outlined the judge's ruling that requiring the images, which include "a sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, on cigarette packs violates the free speech amendment to the Constitution.”

Many were shocked and saddened by the sudden, unexpected demise of singer Whitney Houston. Most wonder about the cause of death. While answers will undoubtedly come from the toxicology report, the news media tells of the presence of strong prescription meds in her hotel room. Those at her last impromptu musical performance testify that she had been drinking and appeared under the influence. Some medications combined with alcohol can be deadly, especially for those bathing in a hot tub. The singer takes her place in a long line of talented people whose lives were cut short or ruined by drug and alcohol addiction.