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October 1, 2020
Episode 63: A Recruitment-Centered Approach to Enrollment Planning and Financial Aid in the Era of COVID-19 | The Enrollify Podcast

A Recruitment-Centered Approach to Enrollment Planning and Financial Aid in the Era of COVID-19

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About the Episode

In a recent Inside Higher Ed piece co-written by leaders at Huron Consulting and Whiteboard Higher Education, the authors noted that "as a rising chorus of higher education leaders and commentators is observing, now may be the time for a great many institutions to set aside hope as the foundation of their strategies going forward and fundamentally reimagine their business models." 

On this week's episode, Zach is joined by Rob Bielby, the Vice President of Analytics & Insights at Whiteboard Higher Education, to discuss how enrollment marketers can more effectively leverage data to make informed enrollment planning and financial aid strategic decisions.

In light of the higher ed challenges brought on by COVID-19, Rob and Zach dive into the following topics and questions:

  • Where does friction exist when it comes to the business model of higher education and how should individuals working in enrollment management, marketing, and graduate admissions have productive conversations about reexamining business models?
  • What indicators can enrollment marketers use this fall and into next spring to discern inquiry and applicant quality when they can't rely as much on some of the things they're used to depending on, like campus visits?
  • How can marketing and communications and enrollment management professionals cultivate, as Rob puts it, a "longer-term enrollment perspective" while managing short-term demands?

Tune in for an exciting discussion about making the best use of your resources to find and attract your best-fit, high-quality applicants, even (and especially) amidst a pandemic.

People in this episode

Host

Seth Odell is Founder and CEO of Kanahoma, the fastest growing digital marketing agency in higher education, and host of The Higher Ed Pulse.

Mallory Willsea is a strategist and consultant working at the intersection of higher education.

Interviewee

Rob Bielby

Rob Bielby is the Managing Director at Huron. He has a passion for distilling complex data down to actionable information and insights to drive institutional decision-making. With over 10 years of experience in higher education and analytics, he has a refined understanding of student decision-making, financial aid policy, and enrollment strategy. Rob has partnered with dozens of institutions and Fortune 500 corporations to efficiently achieve their goals. By applying advanced modeling and econometric techniques to student and consumer data, he is particularly skilled at pinpointing business problems and identifying effective solutions. He has published extensively in the areas of higher education research and policy as well as in statistical methodology. Prior to joining Whiteboard, Rob has served as a senior analyst at Human Capital Research Corporation, Wayne State University, and Gongos, Incorporated. Rob holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in political science from Stony Brook University. He can be reached at rbielby@gowhiteboard.net.

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