l ‘I i'li T; ‘ : er :v ~2 4...... 4- ' z :13" «la-6 .39. J“! h } : i 's'IICJ-‘I’V‘ofi r, H 0 'MM 53;". . a This is to certify that the thesis entitled AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF SELECTED DIRECT MAIL INQUIRY GENERATION TECHNIQUES FOR FRESHMEN IN A SMALL COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICE presented by James L. Schultz has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for PhD degree in Administration and Higher Education 0-7639 OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per item RETURNING LIBRARY MATEflgLE: Place in book return to remove charge from circulation recurs: AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF SELECTED DIRECT MAIL INQUIRY GENERATION TECHNIQUES FOR FRESHMEN IN A SMALL COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICE 3)! James L. Schultz A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Higher Education 1980 ABSTRACT AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF SELECTED DIRECT MAIL INQUIRY GENERATION TECHNIQUES FOR FRESHMEN IN A SMALL COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICE By James L. Schultz An increasing amount of attention among college administrators and the news media has recently been directed at the approaching and certain decline in enrollments of traditional college-age students. Demographic and population trends are clear, and several different forecasts have been prepared, the majority of them negative. The current professional literature is abundant with conflicting suggestions for handling this crisis. Several involve marketing strategies. The current study examines one narrow aspect of marketing -- promotion, and a specific type of promotion -- a direct mail campaign to generate inquiries in a particular college's recruiting effort, an underlying assumption being that students cannot make application to or enroll in a specific college if that college is unknown to them. The primary question addressed in this study was -- is a direct mail campaign a useful and effective strategy for increasing the number of enrolled freshmen at a particular college? Moreover, this study also attempted to determine which of several types of direct mail were more effective James L. Schultz than others. Methodolggy of the Study Because many colleges currently utilize the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board for assistance in direct mail programs, an experiment was designed to test some typical Student Search mailings as described in the literature. Information about a sample of 3,316 students was purchased for Aquinas College from the Student Search Service in the Fall of 1978. That sample was subsequently randomly divided into four equal test groups. Each of the four test groups received different treatments. Each student in Group One was mailed a personalized letter with specific curricular information regarding their stated academic interest area. Group One did not receive a follow up mailing. Group Two received an initial mailing identical to Group One as well as a personalized follow- up letter four weeks later. Group Three initially received a non- personalized brochure. Four weeks later, the students in Group Three received a personalized fellow up letter, but no specific curricular information. Group Four was mailed only a non-personalized brochure, with no additional information or follow-up mailing. The objective of the initial and any follow-up mailing was to have the student return a response card to the College, indicating a desire for more information. Once students responded, regardless of group affiliation, they were tracked internally, but were treated no differ- ently than any other students inquiring to the College, who were not a part of this experiment. James L. Schultz An "effective? mailing in this study was operationally defined to mean one which eventually led to an enrolled student. The four groups were examined for differences in rates of initial inquiry, application and matriculation, but it was the rate of matriculation which was considered the most important. Findings of the Study This experiment did not produce evidence that any one of the inquiry generation techniques (treatments) employed was more effective than another in producing matriculants for the College. In fact, each group produced an identical number of enrolled students -- one. Likewise, no significant differences between groups were found in rate of application. There were significant differences in rates of initial inquiry between groups, however. Students receiving personalized letters, either as part of the first mailing or through a follow up mailing had significantly higher (P <1 .05) rates of initial inquiry than did students who received only non-personalized correspondence. In fact, a further analysis revealed that non-personalized mailings generated a signifi- cantly lower (p <1 .05) rate of initial inquiry. It was also discovered that follow-up mailings resulted in a significantly higher (p 41 .05) rate of initial inquiry than did the absence of follow-up contacts. Finally, groups receiving curriculum specific materials as part of an initial mailing responded at a significantly higher (p <1 .05) rate than groups which received only general information about the College. To Connie and Ryan who helped most -- in absentia. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The researcher realizes that this study would not have become a reality without the substantial assistance of many people. Dr. Walter F. Johnson, chairman of the doctoral committee, provided valuable suggestions and criticisms throughout the preparation of this work. He also proved to be an exceptionally concerned friend and on-campus problem solver for a non-traditional doctoral student, who after several years and thousands of miles, knew the highway to, better than the campus at, Michigan State University. As the individual who helped in the development of the basic idea for the study, Dr. Lee E. Jacokes contributed greatly to the refinement of the topic, the design of the experiment and the analysis of the data. His assistance has been invaluable and is sincerely appreciated. Dr. James Costar, Dr. Louis Stamatakos and Dr. Kay White, the other members of the doctoral committee, provided very helpful input early in the project and graciously added yet another committment to an already over-burdened schedule. It has been a privilege to have known and worked with these people. That this dissertation exists today is a tribute to three other individuals. Dr. Norbert J. Hruby, President of Aquinas College, first encouraged the author to undertake a doctoral program in 1973. His confidence and support over the years have contributed most to the author's growth as a professional. The task of organizing illegible scribblings and incomprehensible notes into a document suitable for human consumption was graciously accepted by Nancy P. O'Hearn, who typed and retyped every word. Joanne Koller, a veritable wizard with word-processing equipment, somehow changed raw information on computer print-outs into personalized, attractive correspondence, which allowed this experiment to finally get underway. An expression of gratitude is also given to the T49 now nameless students who unknowingly became involved in this experiment, and particularly to four of them, who by actually enrolling at Aquinas College, ultimately justified the expense and the time of all those involved. Finally, I am the most appreciative of one who probably assumes she contributed the least. My wife Connie endured envelope stuffing, computer print-out checking, zip code sorting, brochure coding, lonely evenings, unknown pressures and worrisome waiting on too many wintry Michigan nights. Without her sacrifices and constant encouragement, this would never have come to fruition. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. LIST OF TABLES ................... vii CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM ..................... l NATIONAL POPULATION TRENDS AND ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS ........... 2 MICHIGAN POPULATION TRENDS AND ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS ........... 6 BROADENING THE MARKET .............. lO STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............. 15 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ............... 16 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS .............. l7 DEFINITION OF TERMS ............... l9 ASSUMPTIONS ................... Zl RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................ 2l PLAN OF PRESENTATION ............... 23 NOTES ...................... 24 II. RELATED LITERATURE ................. 28 INTRODUCTION ................... 28 THE USE OF DIRECT MAIL BY COLLEGES ........ 28 IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF GENERATING INQUIRIES THROUGH A DIRECT MAIL PROGRAM ................ 36 SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION ................. 39 Page DIRECT MAIL -- FEELINGS PRO AND CON ....... 43 STUDENT CONSUMERISM AND THE MOVEMENT TOWARD BETTER INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS ....... 44 ADAPTING SUGGESTIONS FROM THE LITERATURE TO THE CURRENT STUDY ............ 49 NOTES ...................... 52 III. PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE EXPERIMENT ....... 59 INTRODUCTION ................... 59 POPULATION AND SAMPLE .............. 6O EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES ............. 62 EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENTS ............. 64 COMPILING THE DATA ................ 67 GENERAL DESIGN AND STATISTICAL TREATMENT ..... 68 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................ 69 NOTES ...................... 71 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA ................ 72 OVERVIEW OF THE RESPONSES ............ 72 ANALYSIS OF HYPOTHESES .............. 76 RELATED FINDINGS ................. Bl V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............... 85 SUMMARY ..................... 86 (FINDINGS ..................... 87 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......... 88 NOTES ...................... 93 vi APPENDICES APPE A. LIST OF REFERENCES ..................... NDIX A SAMPLE OF THE PERSONALIZED LETTER MAILED INITIALLY TO STUDENTS IN GROUPS ONE AND TWO . . . A SAMPLE OF THE PERSONALIZED FOLLOW-UP LETTER MAILED T0 STUDENTS IN GROUP TWO WHO DID NOT RESPOND TO THE INITIAL LETTER .......... A SAMPLE OF THE PERSONALIZED FOLLOW-UP LETTER MAILED TO STUDENTS IN GROUP THREE WHO DID NOT RESPOND TO THE INITIAL MAILING .......... A SAMPLE OF THE RESPONSE CARD WHICH ACCOMPANIED ALL LETTERS SENT IN GROUP ONE, TWO AND THREE. . . A SAMPLE OF THE GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET INCLUDED IN FOLLOW-UP LETTERS TO STUDENTS IN GROUPS TWO AND THREE ............. A SAMPLE OF CURRICULUM-SPECIFIC INFORMATION SENT TO STUDENTS IN GROUPS ONE AND TWO ...... A SAMPLE OF THE NON-PERSONALIZED BROCHURE SENT TO STUDENTS IN GROUP FOUR AND AS THE INITIAL MAILING TO STUDENTS IN GROUP THREE. . . . vii Page 94 96 98 100 102 105 l08 lll LIST OF TABLES Page CHANGES IN ENROLLMENT BETWEEN 1975 and 1981 IN MICHIGAN'S LARGER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ................ 7 TREATMENTS ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS ...... 65 RATES OF INITIAL RESPONSE AND APPLICATION BY TREATMENT GROUPS ............... 74 RATES OF MATRICULATION BY TREATMENT GROUP ...... 75 CHI SQUARE ANALYSIS FOR RESULTS OF TREATMENTS . . . . 78 viii CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM In 1976, American higher education experienced an unpleasant indication of future prospects, when enrollments decreased nationally for the first time in more than two decades.1 In the Fall of 1978, "total enrollments in American schools and colleges . . . declined by 1.4 million and included the first significant drop at the high school level caused by fewer births in the 1960's.“2 College enrollments declined from 11.5 million in 1977 to 11.1 million in 1978.3 As Henderson and Plummer caution, "Higher education can no longer look forward to the sustained enrollment growth that has characterized the last two decades."4 This study will examine one means by which colleges and univer- sities may choose to respond to possible enrollment declines in the future. The broad question to be answered will be -- is a direct mail campaign a useful and effective strategy for increasing the number of enrolled freshmen at a particular college. This study will also attempt to determine which of several types of direct mail campaigns might be more effective than others. Following a discussion of some important background infbrmation on the nature and extent of the approaching enrollment difficulties for higher education, and a brief reView of the total marketing concept and why it may not be the answer for many institutions, a much more detailed statement of the current study will be presented. National ngulation Trends and Enrollment Projections Enrollments in colleges and universities are closely tied to the number of 18 to 24 year olds in the population. More specifically, the new students who will comprise each fall's freshman class will predom- inantly be drawn from the 18 year old cohort of the population for that year. In 1979, the number of 18 year olds in the population reached an all-time high. By simply counting the number of births in each previous year, it becomes clear that at least for the next eighteen years, there will be fewer potential students available to enter colleges each fall. In 1979, there were 4.3 million eighteen year olds in the United States. By 1992 that figure will shrink to 3.2 million, a decrease of 1.1 million potential students.5 Henderson and Plummer advise that colleges should be concerned not only with the declining numbers in the college age pool, "but also -- because specific subgroups of the population had different fertility rates during the 1960's -- the characteristics of the pool will change, especially with respect to racial/ethnic composition."6 The nonwhite percentage in the college-age group is expected to increase from 12 percent in 1965 to nearly 20 percent by the mid 90's. Henderson reports a third area of concern -- participation rates —- the rate at which 18 year olds enter college immediately after high school. Nationally, it is estimated that 31 percent of the 18 year old population enters college the fall after their high school graduation. A somewhat lower figure, estimated at a median rate of 28 percent, attend an in-state college.7 In recent years, there has been a decline in the proportion of students enrolling in college immediately after high school, and an increase in the number of individuals delaying entry for one or more years. "In 1976, 22 percent had waited from one to three years before enrolling in college; moreover, 19 percent had delayed college entry for five or more years."8 Shulman reports other changes which make enrollment projecting a difficult task. The percentage of male students planning to attend college is decreasing, while the percentage of female students is remaining constant. Students of high ability and high socioeconomic status are no longer automatically continuing their formal education in college. In 1960, 90 percent of high ability, high socioeconomic status males entered college after high school; in 1972, that figure had decreased to 70 percent. Among females in similar classifications there has been a smaller, yet significant, decline of 5 percent.9 To further complicate matters, Glenny found that the interests of traditional college-age students are changing in directions that may not coincide with the current offerings of many traditional colleges. Liberal arts subjects are being shunned as majors, in favor of areas which offer more direct career preparation. Increased enrollments of 80 percent in health sciences, 73 percent in business and 81 percent in other vocational/technical fields have undoubtedly caused decreased enrollments of 63 percent in foreign languages, 36 percent in education and 26 percent in humanities.10 It is feared that students may increasingly select career-oriented technical institutes and business schools over the more traditional college or university education. Henderson and Plummer report another trend emerging in recent years that increases the difficulty of projecting enrollments. There has been an increase in the number of families with more than one child in college simultaneously. "'Sibling overlap,‘ as it is termed, places an added financial burden on some families insofar as they are called upon to meet college costs for more than one child at a time. In 1967, sibling overlap affected 12 percent of all families with dependents in the college age group. By 1976, the proportion had increased to 16 percent."11 Allen and others have explored the question of unemployment and underemployment of college graduates and whether prospective college students may react to media reports of problems in the job market for college graduates by opting not to attend college upon graduation.12 Henderson and Plummer see both part-time employment and full-time employment of college-age students as an option being increasingly considered instead of full-time college attendance upon graduation from high school.13 Centra, in a study for the College Entrance Examination Board, reviewed seven enrollment projections for the 1980's. As he explains, "the forecasts are essentially based on extrapolations of recent trends for different groups, plus some educated guesses about future condi- tions."14 The seven different projections which Centra compared included: (1) National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), projections to 1985, (2) Carnegie Council projections to the year 2000, prepared in 1971 and 1974, (3) Projections through the year 2000 prepared by Allan Cartter in 1976, (4) Projections to 1985, prepared by Joseph Froomkin in 1974, (5) An economics-based model with projections to the year 2000 prepared by Stephen Dresch in 1975, (6) An educated labor supply and demand based model prepared by Richard Freeman in 1976, (7) An optimistic view of the growth potential for higher education through 1994 prepared by Howard Bowen in 1974. The projections of Dresch, Froomkin, Freeman and Cartter call for moderate to drastic contractions in enrollments, at least through 1985. The forecasts by the Carnegie Council and the National Center for Educational Statistics project less serious decreases through 1985, but some contraction after that year. Bowen "sees the possibility of higher education doubling or tripling in size during the next 20 years, as part of a major social and cultural change in America. Little evidence to date supports this hopeful view."15 All of the forecasts described above projected total college enrollments in future years. Their figures included part-time and full-time students, older and other non-traditional students, graduate students and students in professional programs. While the negative trend is a clear and important warning to all colleges, some colleges face a much bleaker future than others simply because older and non- traditional students simply may not be available to them in sufficient numbers to offset the decreases in 18-24 year olds. Similarly, graduate and professional programs may increase student enrollments, but some colleges cannot realistically expect to compete with major universities for students for such programs. In other words, many colleges will remain especially dependent on attracting traditional 18 year olds for their freshmen classes to maintain enrollments. To many small colleges, stable enrollments every year are critically important because nearly two-thirds of their education and general revenues flow from tuition and fees.16 A dramatic decline in numbers for even one year can have disastrous effects. Michigan Population Trends and Enrollment Projections "Michigan's public secondary schools (grades 7-12) will lose one- fifth of their enrollment during the decade 1975-84. In 1984, the public secondary schools will have 184,700 fewer pupils than they do now. Substantial enrollment losses will continue until the early 1990's. By 1990, Michigan senior high schools (grades 9-12) will have lost almost one-third of their present enrollment."17 In short, the situation in Michigan is no brighter than it is nationally. Michigan's "statewide public school enrollment figures have paralleled the national trend. As in Michigan, pupil enrollment in the United States began a decline in the fall of 1972, for the first time since 1943-44."18 In Michigan, it appears that the largest school districts will experience the greatest declines. Table 1-1 shows that between 1975-76 and 1980-81, enrollments are expected to decline in the largest inter- mediate school districts. Of the 58 intermediate school districts in Michigan, 35 districts will experience losses greater than 5 percent.19 TABLE l-l CHANGES IN ENROLLMENTS BETWEEN 1975 AND 1981 IN MICHIGAN'S LARGER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.20 INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PERCENT DISTRICT CHANGE Genesee - 14.3% Ingham - 12.9% Kalamazoo - 15.2% Kent - 13.5% Macomb - 15.7% Oakland - l3.9% Saginaw - 8.7% Wayne - 18.3% The projections for Michigan's non-public schools are similarly bleak. Between 1976-77 and 1992-93, twelfth grade enrollments are expected to decline by almost one-third.21 Michigan higher education enrollments in general and freshman enrollments in particular, cannot be simply deduced from state-wide elementary and secondary school projections, although the trend certainly seems clear. Two other factors must first be considered, the participation rate and migration patterns. The in-state participation rate in Michigan, the percent of Michigan high school graduates immediately continuing their education at a Michigan college or university was 25.3 percent in 1970.22 By 1985, it is expected that the in-state participation rate will increase slightly to 28 percent, the national mean.23 In 1985-86, it has been projected that there will be 121,630 seniors graduating from Michigan public and non-public high schools.24 If the 28 percent participation rate is applied to that figure, approximately 34,000 Michigan residents could be expected to enter Michigan colleges and universities as fresh- men in the fall of 1986. If the participation rate does not change, but remains at 28 per- cent through 1993, when 103,467 seniors will graduate, Michigan colleges could expect to enroll approximately 29,000 resident students in the Freshman class in the fall of that year.25 The projected decline from earlier levels are dramatic. In 1970, 43,400 resident students enrolled as freshmen at Michigan colleges.26 The projections for 1986 would predict a 22 percent decline and the projections for 1993 a 33 percent decline from 1970 figures. In 1985, the proportion of 18 year olds in Michigan is expected to have declined by 8 percent over the 1975 level. The decline in Michigan is not as severe as in surrounding states where Illinois and Indiana are expected to experience decreases of 17 percent and Ohio 12 percent in the 18 year old population over that ten year period.27 These population trends can be combined with migration patterns to assist in assessing enrollment trends. Michigan has historically been a "net importer" of students, which means that more students migrate to Michigan from other states to attend college than leave Michigan for colleges elsewhere.28 By examining population shifts and migration trends, Henderson has predicted that between 1975 and 1985, Michigan will experience a net change of -.2 percent in enrollments of tradi- tional age freshmen.29 No predictions are made for the years 1985 to 2000. Moor tends to support Henderson's findings although Moor developed his projection based on an economic-demographic model of Michigan which "not only yields projections of important economic variables needed to erect the education model . . . but provides the necessary annual pop- ulation matrix . . . which allows similarly differentiated treatment of the demand for higher education."30 Moor estimates that if participation rates remain constant, that enrollments will "experience a steady state through the early 1980's and then begin to fall."31 This estimate compares favorably with Henderson's projected decline of .2 percent through 1985 discussed above. Moor's projections extend further into the future however. Beyond 1985, Moor found that even very small negative changes in certain economic, educational and participation rate assumptions utilized in his model caused enrollment projections to show declines of from 9 percent to as much as 28 percent to the year 2000.32 In describ- ing the projection assumption scenarios which he views as "'most likely' for the remainder of the century," Moor concludes that "we in Michigan 10 should expect a virtual steady state in enrollments through the early 1980's, followed by slow and then more rapid declines through the mid 1990's, ranging at a maximum to from 15 percent to 20 percent of present enrollment. The projection results . . . suggest that, if the medium economic growth and base education assumptions are correct, baccalaureate enrollments may fall by as much as 30,000 students by the mid 1990's, while junior colleges will experience up to a 40,000 student decline."33 Moor's forecast, utilizing a sophisticated projection model, por- tends an even bleaker future for Michigan colleges than does the pro- jection derived by extrapolating Henderson's estimate through the 1990's. Broadening_the Market It is clear from the figures presented above that the number of 18 year olds in the population will decrease markedly in the foreseeable future. Annually, these 18 year olds represent a considerable portion of the students entering college for the first time. Therefore, if each college and university continues to attract exactly the same proportion of 18 year old students in 1992 as it did in 1977, then every college and university will experience decreases in traditional Freshmen enroll- ments in the ensuing years. The decreases could be even more severe than predicted if participation rates or migration patterns change negatively. It is not likely that all colleges will accept declining enroll- ments without a fight. As Doermann explains, "whether colleges try to expand or to avoid shrinkage, all but the few in the most favorable circumstances must be concerned with how their own effective applicant ll pools might be broadened. For any single college, an obvious potential source of additional students is high school graduates who expect to attend college somewhere . . ."34 In recent years, an ever increasing number of authors have suggested marketing as the answer to increasing the effective applicant pool to which Doermann refers. Kotler defines marketing as: "human activity undertaken to satisfy some set of needs through exchange processes. In the college context, we recognize the existence of needs and wants in young adults and others for a higher education. We also recognize the existence of suppliers who provide higher education services at a cost to consumers. Marketing describes the activities of both buyers and sellers, in this case students and colleges, in searching for suitable ways to satisfy their respective requirements." 5 Barton is more specific in defining marketing as "exchanging something of value for a price, getting the right product to the right people at the right time,"36 Montana stresses that marketing is con- sumer oriented, "all . . . decisions of an organization must be made in light of customer needs and wants . . . trying to satisfy a particular group of customers -- the target group -- with a particular good or service, while satisfying the objectives of the organization and operating within the resources and constraints imposed by the organiza- tion."37 Engledow and Anderson see marketing as matching identified societal wants and needs with organizational capabilities and objectives. They stress that marketing "requires a committment, a changed point of view, and an intensification of effort" on the part of the college.38 Barton and Treadwell support the notion of total institutional involvement in their discussion of the sequential nature of the 12 marketing process, "from research, strategy consideration, and decisions on technique, to implementation, communication, and ongoing evaluation -- as well as strong backing and brutal objectivity from those in positions of power at the institution."39 Johnson specifies that marketing is not "aimed just at admissions, development and public relations, although these are some of the delivery functions of the marketing effort. Product (courses) place (when, where and how courses are offered), price, and promotibn (publications and public relations)" must be considered.40 Ihlanfeldt cites three components of marketing higher education -- 41 As part of the research effort research, strategy and communication. above, Engledow and Anderson suggest an environment review, focusing on the socioeconomic climate, demographic trends, educational climate, public policy and the competition.42 Barton suggests that part of the research effort should be several institutional assessments: programs and strengths, goals and mission, message, academic posture, traditional and potential markets, marketing strategy, educational delivery systems, interpretive style, recruiting techniques, and staffing, salaries and recognition policies.43 Shapiro would add pricing policies to the list, as well as a determination of where the institution's "distinctive competence" lies.44 Once the research has been done, strategies need to be developed. Kotler suggests seven basic activities: "institutional positioning, portfolio planning, applicant development, applicant evaluation and notification, recruitment effort evaluation, college improvement planning and alumni loyalty development."45 Each of these activities is a 13 complex undertaking. Institutional positioning, a term borrowed directly from the corporate marketing vocabulary, is explained by Geltzer and Ries as finding "a way to position your product or school in relation to the leader, the one that exists in the mind first."46 The position of Avis ("We're only number two in rent-a-cars") vis-a-vis Hertz is a commonly cited example. A part of positioning is market segmentation, "the attempt by the organization to fill especially the needs of a particular group with a marketing mix designed just for them."47 Berry and George feel that a "competitive advantage tends to accrue to those institutions that tailor their marketing mixes to specific groups having more or less homogeneous needs within the broader and more heterogeneous total market."48 Wolf encourages admissions personnel to serve a sensory function, identifying changes occuring in the environment the institution serves and providing input which "will have some influence in adjusting the tactics their institution will use in performing its basic " functions."49 It becomes clear that marketing is not simply selling higher education.' "Marketing impinges on all activities of the organization and is essentially the process by which the organization becomes an open system, responding to changes in the external environment."50 In short, marketing should be a multitude of basic and interrelated activities involving every aspect of the institution to discover the needs of potential students, to make whatever institutional changes are necessary to meet those needs, to promote and publicize institutional l4 offerings which meet particular needs in a manner which effectively attracts prospective students, and to continually evaluate current offerings and delivery systems in light of the changing needs of the potential consumer. It is a complex process, affecting the very nature of the institution. As described above, marketing originated with and occurs continu- ously in business and industrial settings. Colleges and universities, however, are quite different than profit-making organizations. The tenure system alone dashes any hopes of making the quick and dramatic changes in program offerings that college marketers would seek to meet the rapidly changing needs or expressed desires of potential students. In addition, many colleges have neither the time, manpower nor finances to apply the total marketing concept to their institutions. Gaither details several other problems colleges may face in trying to market their institutions to prospective students. In some states, public institutions are prohibited by law from competing against each other. Secondly, major marketing practices normally require significant changes in the values, attitudes and skills of current staff at the college. Faculty may perceive marketing as manipulating human behavior and some administrators are reluctant to provide the data necessary for market research simply because they are not sure of the ethical conse- quences of the use of the data. Third, such tasks as image building and institutional positioning are not short-term efforts. Several years may be needed to see any tangible effects from even the most carefully prepared marketing plan. Fourth, marketing attempts may be ignored or even denigrated by some top level college administrators. If admissions 15 office or other personnel try to adopt the marketing concept surrep- titiously, it is likely that such efforts will fail for lack of support and an overall strategy. Negative results can be expected if the total institution is not actively involved. Finally, Gaither concludes that "there are few validations of new practices in university marketing for students; thus there are many unvalidated practices tempting uncritical adoption by institutions facing financial and enrollment duress. Such practices are not without their perils and institutions should be aware of the risks."51 Statement of the Problem For many colleges and universities there may be several reasons why adopting a total marketing approach might be an attractive yet unrealistic or unsound approach to the competition for maintaining freshmen enrollments in the next two decades. The fact remains, how- ever, that in order to maintain enrollments with a shrinking pool of potential applicants, colleges and universities must attempt annually to gain a larger proportion of the 18 year old students for their institutions. As Doermann concedes, "the general pressures of steady or declining enrollment will place individual colleges and systems of colleges under strains they were not designed for. The principal casualty is most likely to be the capacity of these institutions to adapt and to preserve vitality."52 One way in which colleges may strive to increase the proportion of 18 year old students at their institution is to increase the number of 16 potential students who know something about their college. Students cannot make application to a college if they do not know such a college exists. Consequently, colleges may attempt to expand the number or variety of high schools visited, or increase the size of the geographic area in which active recruiting is concentrated. Often, rather than actually visiting the new high schools or the expanded geographic area, colleges and universities will simply mail descriptive literature and other materials to potential students in the target area. In this regard, organizations such as the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board or the Educational Opportunity Service of the American College Testing Program offer assistance to institutions. While less expensive than actually visiting students in the target areas, these services are still costly to use in terms of the fees charged and printing, postage and personnel costs. The problem under consideration is to determine if a direct mail campaign can be a useful and effective technique to which colleges and universities may turn to help increase their proportion of 18 year old, traditional freshman students. Purpose of the Study This study will examine the effectiveness of participation in a Student Search Service direct mail campaign. The current study will combine principles derived from previous general surveys, research, subjective reports and commercial experience, and apply those principles to an actual college recruitment situation. Specifically, an experiment 17 will be designed and conducted to examine the rates of response and other effects of mailing different types of college promotional literature directly to qualified students who had never made inquiry to Aquinas College previously. The primary objective of this study will be to determine if any differences exist between comparison groups regarding the rate of initial response, the rate of application and the rate of matriculation. Of particular concern will be to discover whether there are any differences in matriculation rates for groups receiving personalized or non-personal mailings, general or curriéulum-specific materials, and one-time only mailings or mailings with a follow-up component. A secondary objective is to determine if a particular type of mailing to 18 year old prospective students can be expected to draw a better initial response from those students than other specific types of mailings which colleges have been using or could decide to use in the future. Such a determination, if significant, could result in a saving of time, effort and money for admissions offices. Moreover, if a particular type of mailing is found to be particularly ineffective, or have negative effects, admissions directors can avoid including such materials in the publication plans. Scope and Limitations This study is concerned only with seniors in high school who are potential first-time-in-any-college freshmen. Older adults and other "non-traditional" students are not included in this study, although it 18 is recognized that enrollments may be stabilized or increased by attracting a different clientele to the institution rather than by attempting to attract more of the same clientele. Also excluded are many other means by which colleges have attempted to increase the enrollment of 18 year old students, including variations in recruiting techniques, pricing strategies, financial aid incentives, alumni involvement, parent solicitation, and academic program expansion or diversification. Moreover, no attempt is made to analyze the wide variety of mailings which could be sent to an inquiring student. Dealing only with a group of specially selected students who have made no previous inquiry to Aquinas College, this study is designed to examine only selected methods by which a student might be encouraged to request additional information from a college in which the student (presumably) had little or no prior interest. Other methods such as advertising and face-to-face recruiting are likewise not considered. Also excluded from consideration are all of the direct mail methods that could be employed by colleges in attempting to attract new students. Commercial lists, mailable 45 rpm records, computer printed letters and mass distribution of catalogs or course schedules are among the tech— niques not taken into consideration here. Some colleges "automatically accept" all students whose names the institution receives from the Student Search Service. By simply sending the students a partially completed application form, the college promises admission if the student signs and returns the form prior to an estab- lished date. These practices are not examined here. 19 Furthermore, the study is concerned only with the Summer Search option of the Student Search Service. This option makes available less than half as many potential names as other Searches during the year, but it enables colleges to receive the names and mail literature in the Fall of the year. Presumably this is the time of year when seniors become concerned.about future plans and college choice decisions. Moreover, while the Student Search Service allows colleges the option of contacting sophomores and juniors as well as Seniors, this study excludes all except currently enrolled high school seniors. Definition of Terms Because many of the following terms are widely used in colleges and universities, they are occasionally defined in accordance with local usage rather than as part of nationally standardized terminology. The operational definition of these terms as they are used in this study are provided below. These definitions may also be of assistance should others wish to replicate this study. Prospect -- A student whose name and related information has been purchased or secured by the college. A student classified as a prospect has made no direct effort to contact the college. Inquiry —- As used in this study, a student is classified as an inquiry only if the student contacted the college for more infbrmation within eight months after receiving a promotional mailing from the college. Response patterns are standardized through the use of postage-paid return cards. 20 Applicant -- A student who has submitted a standard application for admission to the college. Matriculant -- A student who was accepted for admission and subsequently enrolled for at least three credit hours during the fall semester, beginning August, 1979. Direct Mail -- Promotional information prepared by the college and mailed by the admissions office to a student's home address. Personalized letter -- A promotional letter and envelope prepared with the assistance of sophisticated word-processing equipment on which the students entire name and address are individually typed. The salutation of the letter contains the student's first name. Non-personalized brochure -- A promotional brochure which is printed and folded in such a way that neither a letter nor envelope are used. To address the brochure, a self-adhering, computer-prepared mailing label is simply placed on the brochure. Curriculum-specific information -- Promotional material describing the offerings of a specific academic department or major only. General information -- A fact sheet about the college explaining in general terms location, degrees and majors available, costs, admissions policies, financial aid availability and services available to students. Follow-up Letter -- A personalized letter, sent four weeks after the initial mailing, which attempts to generate an inquiry from those students who have not yet responded. 21 Assumptions Underlying the study are the following assumptions regarding recruitment activities directed at high school seniors: 1. That 18 year old students today, through continuing exposure to electronic and print media have become somewhat sophisti- cated in their understanding of advertising and promotion. They disdain the hard-sell and huckstering, but appreciate high quality communications providing information useful in their decision making. 2. That the activities associated with this study will comply completely with the Statement of Principles of Good Practice of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors. The promotional efforts undertaken on behalf of Aquinas College and all contacts with students will be conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the profession. Research Questions The following null hypotheses will be tested. Hypotheses 3, 6 and 9 related to the primary objective of this study while the remaining hypotheses are concerned with the secondary objective. 0(1): There is no significant difference in rate of initial response between groups receiving personalized correspon- dence and groups receiving non-personalized correspondence. H0(2): There is no significant difference in rate of application H0(8): H0(9): 22 between groups receiving personalized correspondence and groups receiving non-personalized correspondence. There is no significant difference in rate of matriculation between groups receiving personalized correspondence and groups receiving non-personalized correspondence. There is no significant difference in rate of initial response between groups receiving a fellow-up letter and groups receiving no follow-up letter. There is no significant difference in rate of application between groups receiving a follow-up letter and groups receiVing no follow-up letter. There is no significant difference in rate of matriculation between groups receiving a follow-up letter and groups receiving no follow-up letter. There is no significant difference in rate of initial response between groups receiving curriculum-specific information and groups receiving general inf0rmati0n. There is no significant difference in rate of application between groups receiving curriculum-specific information and groups receiving general information. There is no significant difference in rate of matriculation between groups receiving curriculum-specific information and groups receiving general information. 23 Plan of Presentation Chapter I has introduced the current study by examining national and Michigan population trends which are expected to severely restrict the growth of higher education in the foreseeable future. The field of marketing was discussed as it is currently being applied to colleges and several problems with the total marketing concept were explained. The impetus for the research was described and the problem stated. The purpose of the study, its design, scope and limitations were out- lined and operational definitions were provided. Chapter II is a review of the literature pertinent to this study. Several general principles are discussed and information resulting from surveys are presented. The need for an experiment incorporating what has been learned from surveys and commercial experience is supported. Chapter III details how the experiment was conducted. The specific procedures are explained as well as the methods utilized for collecting the data. Chapter IV presents the analysis of the data, while Chapter V summarizes the results of the research with specific recommendations and attention to additional studies that would be useful to admissions officers. 24 NOTES -- CHAPTER I 1Cathy Henderson and Janet C. Plummer, Adapting to Changes in the Characteristics of College Age Youth, Policy AnalysisTService Reports, Vol. 4, N0. 2:7(Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, December, 1978), p. l. 2 , "Total Education Enrollment in U.S. Down 1.4 Million," Higher Education and National Affairs, Vol. XXVIII, No. 19, May 11, 1979, p. l. 3 , "Total Education Enrollment in U.S.," 4Henderson and Plummer, p. l. 5U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-25, No. 704, (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1976). 6Henderson and Plummer, p. 3. 7 Cathy Henderson, Changes in Enrollment by 1985, Policy Analysis Service Reports, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, June 1977), p. 3. Henderson and Plummer, p. 4. 9Carol H. Shulman, Enrollment Trends in Higher Education, ERIC Higher Education Research Report, No. 6 (Washington, D.C.: The American Association for Higher Education, 1976), p. 11. 10Lyman A. Glenny, et. al., Presidents Confront Reality. From Edifice Complex to University Without WaTTs,’A7report for the Carnegie Councilion Policy Studies ifi’Higher Education, (San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 1976), p. 21. 11Henderson and Plummer, p. 4. 25 12 Edwin J. Allen, Jr., "Higher Education in the Eighties and Nineties: U.S. Demography and Institutional Enrollment," Trends 2000 Centerpiece, Vol. 1, No. 1, (Washington, D.C.: The Association of American Colleges, May, 1978), p. 11. Henderson and Plummer, p. 5. 14 John A. Centra, College Enrollment in the 1980's: Projections and Possibilities, (Princeton, N.J.: Cfillege Entrance Examination Board,’l978), p. 3. 5 John A. Centra, "Reading the Enrollment Barometer," Change, April, 1979, p. 51. 16Bruce M. Carnes, A Profile of Liberal Arts Colleges, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health,_Education and Welfare, 1977), p. 36. 17Michigan Department of Education Task Force, Michigan's School Enrollment Decline: Projections and Implications, (Lansing: Michigan Department of Education, 1977), p. ix. 18 Michigan Department of Education, p. 3. 19 Michigan Department of Education, p. 27. 20.. . Michigan Department of Education, pp. 24-25. 21.. . Michigan Department of Education, p. 72. 22 Cathy Henderson, p. 15. 23 Cathy Henderson, p. 15. 24 Michigan Department of Education, p. 14. 25.. . Michigan Department of Education, p. 14. 26 Cathy Henderson, p. 15. 26 27 Cathy Henderson, p. 13. 28 Cathy Henderson, p. 5. 29Cathy Henderson, p. 19 James R. Moor, Jr., The Demand for Higher Education in Michigan: Projections to the Year 2000,7(Lansing: *President's Council, State Colleges and Universities, 1979), p. 12. 31 Moor, p. 63. 32Moor, p. 64. 33 Moor, p. 65. 34 Humphrey Doermann, "The Future Market for College Education," in A Role for Marketing in College Admissions, (New York: College Entrance Examination Board: 1976), pp. 15é161 35 Philip Kotler, "Applying Marketing Theory to College Admissions," in A Role for Marketing in College Admissions, (New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1976), pp. 55-56. 36 David W. Barton, Jr., ed., Marketigg_Higher Education, New Directions for Higher Education Sourcebook, No. 21, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1978), p. vii. 37 Patrick S. Montana, ed., Marketing in Nogprofit Organizations, (New York: AMACOM, 1978) p. xi. 38 Jack L. Engledow and Ronald D. Anderson, "Putting Small College Admissions in a Marketing Mode," College and University, Vol. 54, No. 1, Fall, 1978, p. 5. 39David W. Barton, Jr. and David R. Treadwell, Jr., "Marketing: A Synthesis of Institutional Soul-Searching and Aggressiveness," in Marketing Higher Education, New Directions for Higher Education Source- book, No. 21, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1978), p. 84. 27 40Dennis L. Johnson, "The Researcher and Nonprofit Marketing: Is Anyone Listening?" in Developing a Total Marketing Plan, New Direct- tions for Institutional Research Sourcébook, N0. 21, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979), p. 5. 41William Ihlanfeldt, "A Management Approach to the Buyer's Market," revised in Patrick J. Montana, ed. Marketing in Nonprofit Organizations, (New York: AMACOM, 1978), p. 179. 42Engledow and Anderson, p. 10. 43David W. Barton, Jr., "Taking the Scare out of Scarcity," National ACAC Journal, Vol. 19, N0. 2, November,.1974, pp. 5-6. 44Benson Shapiro, "Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations," Harvard 'Business Review, Vol 51, No. 5, September-October, 1973, pp. 130-132. 45Kotler, "Applying Marketing Theory," p. 571. 46Howard Geltzer and A1 Ries, "The Positioning Era: A Marketing Strategy for College Admissions in the 1980's," in A Role for Marketflgg in College Admissions, (New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1976), p. 75: 47Leonard L. Berry and William R. George, "Marketing the University: Opportunity in an Era of Crisis," Atlanta Economic Review, July-August, 1975. p. 6. 8 Berry and George, p. 6. 49Jack S. Wolf, "Marketing Admissions: Using Modern Business Techniques in Student Recruiting," The College Board Review, No. 89, Fall, 1973, p. 3. 50William L. Caren and Frank R. Kemerer, "The Internal Dimensions of Institutional Marketing," College and University, V01. 54, N0. 3, Spring 1979, p. 173. 516erald H. Gaither, "Some Tools and Techniques of Market Research for Students," in Developing a Total Marketing Plan, New Directions for Institutional Research Sourcebook, No. 21} (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979), pp. 62-64. 52Doermann, p. l. CHAPTER II RELATED LITERATURE Intrgguction The impetus for this study was two-fold: a pragmatic need to know how best to approach prospective students; and, following an earlier cursory review of several articles and reports, a sense that the answers provided to date were at best incomplete and at least either ambiguous or conflicting. Chapter II provides a more thorough review of recent literature related to several topics important in the planning, design and operation of a direct mail program to generate student inquiries for colleges. Much of what was learned in this review will be applied in the design of this experiment. This chapter investigates the extent to which colleges currently use direct mail programs. The utilization of the Student Search Service is explored, including results achieved by a variety of colleges. Suggestions for improving the effectiveness of mailings to prospective students are provided both from commercial and institutional experience. The current movement to provide better information for students is examined and related to the objectives of a direct mail program. The Use of_pirectuMail by Colleges In the Spring of 1977, Henderson conducted a survey to determine "the extent to which computer technology and direct mail advertising 28 29 have entered the college admissions field."1 Over 200 colleges from 38 states responded. Nearly three-fourths of the respondents were four-year, private institutions. Henderson discovered that 82% of the private and 63% of the public institutions used direct mail to encourage inquiries. Only school visits (98%) ranked higher as a method utilized in contacting prospective students.2 Ihlanfeldt, at Northwestern University, reported a decline in the traditional and expensive visits to high schools by admissions counselors, and an increase in the use of direct mail. "Direct mail activity initiated by a college to large numbers of students is the major inno- vation in college recruiting, and has the potential 0f completely changing the way prospective students and colleges relate to one another. One by-product is that a college is less dependent upon the high school visit and third parties to meet its enrollment objectives."3 In a study of over 200 admissions directors at private colleges and universities, Murphy and McGarrity found that over 70% of the institutions used direct mail in their contacts with prospective 4 students. In that study, 20% of the colleges' yearly recruiting expenditures was earmarked for direct mail, ranking second only to personal recruiting in high schools.5 Henderson discovered that over 60% of all the institutions he surveyed spent more than $5000 per year on direct mail and advertising to generate student inquiries, while more than 25% of the private institutions budgeted $15,000 to $25,000 or more each year for direct mail and advertising activities.6 Lupton and Moses studied 21 selective, small, liberal arts 30 colleges in late 1977, "to gain a better understanding of the admission and recruiting efforts of a sample of private liberal arts colleges; to document the true costs of those efforts; and to try to determine which practices appear to be more effective than others."7 At the 21 colleges studied, expenditures for "mailing lists" increased 187% between 1973-74 and 1976-77.8 The average institution annually sent out 35,500 pieces of direct mail and purchased 20,200 9 names from the Student Search Service. In 1976-77 mailing list costs alone averaged $5 per matriculant, while postage costs and printing expenses (excluding catalog printing) averaged $44 per matriculant.10 Over the four year comparative period, the institutions reported an average increase of 150% in direct mail activity and an increase of more than 400% in the number of names purchased from the Student Search Service program.11 Established in 1972, the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board has become an important tool for colleges desiring to approach prospective students through a direct mail program. Most students take the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) in their junior year, and information about only those students who agree to participate in the Student Search Service is stored in computer files. The Student Search Service provides computer assisted searches of its files at four standardized times during the year. Two searches are conducted in the Spring, one in the Summer and one in Winter. "The Student Search Service of the College Board is a valuable system for colleges, scholarship agencies and consortia of colleges to use in identifying college-bound students . . . who have certain interests, 31 achievements, aptitudes and other characteristics the institutions may be seeking."12 Following each computer search, a participating college receives the names, addresses and intended majors of students who have the characteristics specified in advance by the college. In nearly all cases, a participating college will immediately mail those students some form of descriptive information about the college and its programs. "The SSS (Student Search Service) helps colleges~and students learn about each other and their respective interests and goals."13 Henderson found that slightly less than half of the colleges he surveyed either "currently use or have used in the past the assistance of the Student Search Service."]4 This compares quite favorably with the records of the Student Search Service which reported 700 participa- ting colleges in 1975-76.15 In 1977-78, over 1900 searches were con- ducted for nearly 1000 institutions.16 Henderson found that only 18% of all responding institutions utilized a source other than the Student Search Service in their direct mail programs.17 In another survey of 144 admissions officers, Abernathy found that nearly 75% of the responding private colleges utilized the Student Search Service for assistance in conducting a direct mail program.18 Less than one-third of the public colleges utilized such assistance, suggesting that the private, more expensive colleges currently need to employ a wider variety of means to attract students than do less expensive public institutions.19 Murphy and McGarrity demonstrated the impact that the Student Search Service has had on recruiting methods since its inception in 1972. 32 While personal visits to high schools by recruiters had been used by colleges for many years, direct mail usage had increased so substan- tially that it had become the second-most important factor in student recruitment in less than ten years.20 This finding also supports Ihlanfeldt's contention, reported above, that direct mail reflects a major change from traditional recruiting methods employed by colleges in the past. Direct mail is certainly being used more, thanks in large measure to the assistance provided by the Student Search Service, but how effective is it for the colleges that use it? Lupton and Moses report that "the CEEB SEARCH Program . . . was credited by several institutions with substantially improving the actual and potential size of the inquiry pools. Institutions believe that the ability to specify a pool of potential applicants by twenty one fac- tors . . . provides inexpensive (10 cents per name) access to new groups of students."21 The institutions studied by Lupton and Moses spent large sums of money and devoted much time and effort in direct mail activities associated with the Student Search Service. They feel_that the size of the inquiry pool can be increased through such efforts. But what about the applicant pool? And are matriculants generated through these efforts? Lupton and Moses report that "seven of the nine institutions that had used mailers provided no detailed statistics on the response rate this specific tool generated."22 One institution which did keep track of the results of its direct mailing efforts found that "10 per- cent of the class was first contacted through a SEARCH-generated mailing list."23 33 Giampetro reported the results of utilizing the Student Search Service during one year at the University of Miami (Florida). Of 90,000 initial brochures mailed, this university received 7,400 re- 24 In this sponses, 1,100 applications and 250 enrolled students. isolated case, an 8.2 percent initial response rate was achieved, with 2.8 percent of the group initially contacted actually enrolling. No figures were given for the number of students who persisted as sophomores. According to Henderson, "the percentage of inquiries generated by direct mail varies widely from college to college. A small percentage (6%) of respondents depend almost totally on direct mail advertising."25 One-third of the private institutions reported that from 1 to 10 percent of their inquiries were generated through direct mail, while one-fifth said that direct mail accounted for from 41 to 80 percent of all the inquiries generated annually.26 Ihlanfeldt substantiates the variations in the degree of success that direct mail provides even within one institution. Northwestern University uses a brochure, not a letter, as its first contact with students through a Student Search Service assisted mailing effort. Response rates in various years and from different areas of the nation have ranged from 10 to 25 percent.27 Druesne and Zavada reported that while colleges participating in the first Spring search reported the highest rate of initial responses (9.4%), students contacted as a result of the Summer search yielded a higher rate of eventual application (2.0%). The least productive seasonal search in terms of both rate of initial response (4.3%) and rate of applications received (1.6%) was the Winter search.28 34 In a survey of 200 randomly selected Freshmen at a medium-sized public university, the University of Tennessee at Martin, direct mail was demonstrated to be an important recruitment tool. Gorman found that of six specified "student attracting methods," new freshmen students ranked mailings regarding curricular offerings at the univer- sity as the second most influential method of attracting prospective students (themselves).29 Personal phone calls from university person- nel was ranked as most influential in helping them decide to attend that institution. In a rating of the six methods, 69 percent of the students rated mailings as an "excellent" or "very good" method, while another 25 percent felt mailings were a good method. Only 2 percent felt that mailings "did more harm than good."30 Other research also indicates that students appreciate and react favorably to direct mail overtures from colleges. "A survey of 6000 students who received information from colleges and scholarship agencies as a result of their participation in the SSS (Student Search Service) showed its value. Fifty percent reported that they were considering or had applied to at least one college they had learned about through the SSS, and 91 percent said they would recommend that other students participate."31 At the University of Rochester, Hetherington found student response "32 He conducted a survey CT to mailings "overwhelmingly positive. admitted students who had first been contacted through Student Search Service assistance and discovered, "more than 80 percent of those responding reacted favorably to our mailings."33 Hetherington reported that the cost per contact was 27¢, while the cost per enrolled applicant 35 of such a direct mail program was $42.34 Ihlanfeldt reported that direct mail and other approaches to student recruitment reduced the number of annual high school visits by Northwestern University personnel from 700 to approximately 100.35 How do high school counselors and college recruiters feel about direct mail? Is it infringing on their traditional responsibilities? In 1975, Haines surveyed the membership of the Pennsylvania Association of College Admissions Counselors to determine feelings on various student recruitment practices. The Association consists of both high school counselors and college admissions office personnel. Of 222 institutional responses, 83 percent "strongly approved" or "approved" of direct mail to students who previously gave permission for their names and addresses to be released to colleges and others.36 On the other hand, 80 percent of the responding members "strongly disapproved" or "disapproved" direct mail to students who had not released their names and addresses for the purpose of receiving information by mail.37 The Student Search Service released information about only those students who have agreed to participate, not all students taking the SAT. Previous research indicates that direct mail may be an effective means by which to recruit students. Some colleges have found it to be less expensive than traditional high school visits. The Student Search Service approach to direct mail seems to be widely accepted by students and their counselors at the high schools, and by college admission personnel as well. As reported above, however, the degree of effective- ness of direct mail experienced by colleges varies widely. The literature 36 suggests that some approaches are more effective and less costly than others. Improving_the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Generating Inqpiries through a Direct Mail Program In 1977, at the sixty-third annual meeting of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, one panel presentation chaired by Griffin explored the use of direct mail in recruiting new students. Rooney, a member of the panel, cautioned "that while you want to look at the net results, how many you enroll, you want to realize you are not going to sell education by direct mail, it is too high cost an item. But we can help move people along the process."38 Rooney also suggests several ways to increase the effectiveness of direct mail efforts. He suggests using professionally written copy for letters, stressing benefits rather than features, and addressing the specific needs of the person to receive the letter. In terms of whether a long or short letter is best, Rooney explains, "You are really going to have to experiment."39 Several other experiments are suggested to determine what aspects of direct mail yield the best results in terms of response rates. Included as possible test items were personalization of letters (personal or non-personal), the class of mail used to deliver the message (first class or bulk rate), the type of item mailed (brochure or letter), the benefits versus costs of additional mailings to those who did not respond to the first correspon- 4O dence (follow up). and the timing of the mailings. Initial response rates, however, should not be the final test for the effectiveness of 37 Student Search and related types of mailings. Rooney feels cost effectiveness should be determined not just by the number of inquiries received, but also by the number of students who apply, are accepted, enroll at the college and are satisfied.41 The current study will operationally define effectiveness in a similar way. The Student Search Service has conducted several national studies regarding the use and outcomes of its programs by colleges and univer- sities. Druesne and Zavada report the combined findings of three 42 In 1975, Student Search Service users were surveyed separate studies. to determine rates of student response from mailings. In 1976, the relationship of editorial and graphic quality to rates of response were studied. During the Winter of 1977, interviews were conducted with students who had received mailings as a result of the participation of various colleges in the Student Search Service.43 Several findings from these studies relate to the current study. Materials which speak to specific student interests seemed to elicit more responses than did general mailings.44 0f the 152 C011€9€S included in this study, however, only 19 percent mailed specific curricular information. All others sent general institutional brochures.45 Certain editorial and graphic qualities also seemed to elicit a higher rate of response from students. The most successful mailings were determined to be direct, thorough, spirited, consistent in tone, sympathetic to student concerns and generally attempted to explain what the students could expect if they chose to attend the college in ques-’ tion.46 In a similar vein, Rooney recommends that colleges "find out what the person's need is and respond to it."47 38 LaBaugh demonstrated "that students have definite information needs. They clearly identified items they wanted when presented with thirty-nine possibilities."48 Rosenberg supports that contention noting that students have said "mailings which schools send us should provide us with a solid knowledge of the factual aspects of the school."49 Because meeting student information needs is extremely important in preparing materials for distribution through a direct mail program, LaBaugh is critical of "some individuals (who) have guessed at what students want and put these together in a taxonomy. Others asked tangential groups, i.e., those with whom students have contact in college selection," what it is students want or need to know.50 One study attempted to rectify such problems. In interviews with high school seniors who had received 50 or more mailings from colleges, Student Search Service staff obtained subjective input on what is appealing or unappealing to recipients of promotional mail from colleges. The students seemed to appreciate honesty and simplicity and disliked gimmicks and hard sales pitches. They preferred material relating to their academic interests over testimonials from previous students or materials which too strongly emphasized geographic features or recre- ational opportunities.5] Ihlanfeldt reports similar findings as a result of questionnaires sent to all accepted applicants at Northwestern University. He found that "the more ability a student has, the more likely he is to be interested in acquiring information on academic programs than in the emotional reasons for selecting a given college."52 39 Commercial experience in selling products may also be useful to colleges promoting their institutions through direct mail efforts. Although referring to consumer products rather than to higher education, Kanter echos the advice of Ihlanfeldt and others: "learn your market. To whom is this product or service going to be sold? What is he or she (or they) like? What are their demographics, their lifestyles? Where do they live? Again, don't try to reason this out for yourself. Talk to people to find out. Then visualize your prospect and talk directly to him or her, as if you were selling in person. Keep in mind that you are selling, and that you are substituting the written word for the spoken word. This is another part of the writing process that lies underneath that part of the iceberg which is visible: your copy. But like producg knowledge, market knowledge undergirds what you write." 3 McLean also supports the noti0n that a "profile" or “picture" of prospects is required before direct mail materials are prepared.54 Fortunately for colleges, the Student Search Service allows colleges to "define the characteristics of the students" to be identified through a computer search.55 In effect, a college can request the names of students who most closely resemble that "profile" which institutional researchers have found most likely to be interested in that college and its programs. Specific Suggestions and Practical Applications From research conducted by its own staff, the Student Search Service provides several suggestions as well as caveats to potential users. Materials sent at first class postage rates generally produced a higher rate of response than items mailed at other postal rates. Over 60 percent of the mailings utilizing first class postal rates 40 produced 9% or better rates of response. Less than 40 percent of the mailings utilizing other postal rates drew 9 percent or higher response rates.56 The least successful mailings "had too little information, too much information, confusing information or a patronizing attitude, particularly toward blacks or women."57 Other problems included small, unreadable typefaces, cluttered layouts and poor quality printing. "Some mailings that included pamphlets, letters and promotional pieces gave no indication of what to read first."58 The multitude of problems cited reflect not only lack of experience by colleges in utilizing direct mail programs, but also confusion as to what colleges should try to communicate to prospective students. Research has given colleges one specific clue however. "Surveys make it clear that materials that are related to the students intended major are read by the students. Surveys of previous users 0f Student Search have indicated that those sending curriculum-specific materials (for example engineering materials to students who plan to major in engineering) experienced higher rates of return than those sending materials describing the college generally."59 Two other recommendations are made to increase the effectivess of direct mail efforts. Some follow up contact should be made to those who do not respond to the first mailing. Material that is personalized seems to be favored by students. Giampetro recommends a second, but not a third mailing, to students who do not respond to the first contact. "We felt the third follow-up did not result in a sufficient number of responses, applications and enrollees."60 Ihlanfeldt "found that anything which personalizes the 41 the admissions process is most conducive to responsive consumer behav- lOP-"fil In interviews with students who had received several mailings from colleges, Druesne and Zavada reported that students gave "high marks“ to materials which acknowledged "that students were more than the statistics conveyed about them by the Student Search Service."62 Grossman speaks from commercial experience when he says that "no area of the direct marketing business has suffered so much from an obvious confusion of substance and style as in some of the imitative computer fill-in mailings."63 The problem is that while an attempt is made at personalization, the recipients can obviously see that a computer was used in preparing the letter. Druesne and Zavada found that students disliked "computerized letters that obviously had inserted the addressee's name and address into the message."64 They also cite an example of a student named Elizabeth who refused to read any material which appeared personally addressed to her, but which dropped the ninth letter in her name, simply because the computer could accomodate only first names of eight letters or less. Grossman stresses, however, that "trge_personalization is here to stay. There's no question in my mind that the future of direct marketing will be dominated by increasingly personal messages delivered to increasingly better identified prospects."65 Haines' research with counselors and admissions personnel is comple- mented by one additional finding of Druesne and Zavada. "Student response is much higher if mailings indicate that the student's name was provided "66 by the Student Search Service. It appears that if students are re- minded that they asked to receive information from colleges, they 42 will respond to such material at a higher rate than if mailings to them appear to be unsolicited. Kunz has identified five elements in a direct mail program; the letter, graphics and copy for the brochure, the response mechanism, the mailing envelope and the mailing list.67 To be most effective, the letter must perform four functions: "1. Make the program more personal, 2. Explain the purpose of the enclosed information, 3. Explain why the contents should be of importance to the reader, 4. Make clear the action steps necessary to respond."68 An effective letter helps to generate the maximum number of qualified responses.69 Kunz feels a brochure should be included in a direct mail program. Graphically, he suggests that the visual image is critically important. "Perceptual attraction to the image will not only arouse interest, but also, long after the copy has been read and forgotten, the image will be retained."70 The copy should relate to the graphics, be direct, understandable, interesting and honest. Moreover, Kunz stresses that the editorial content of the brochure should inf0rm and persuade.71 Druesne and Zavada support the contention that good editorial and graphic qualities have a positive impact on student response rates to college mailings aimed at generating initial inquiries.72 The response mechanism is one way to measure the degree of influence and persuasion generated by the letter and brochure. Kunz suggests that a reply card be included as the means by which the student can respond, and such a card should "require a minimum of effort of the part of the 43 student who completes it, yet provides enough information so that the admissions office can follow-up in the appropriate manner desired."73 Kunz, through commercial experience with direct mail programs, suggests that the mailing envelope is an integral element "since it is that which gives the reader his first impressions, (and) if the envelope fails to stimulate the imagination," the entire package may be left UNOPEHEd and unread.74 Kunz suggests that multiple colors, odd-sizes, "teaser lines“ or pictures on the envelope stimulate interest and "readership" for the contents.75 Direct Mail -- Feelings Pro and Con In Chapter I, it was postulated that one way in which colleges in future years may strive to increase the proportion of 18 year old students at their institution is to increase the number of potential students who know something about their college. It is obvious that students cannot make application to a college if they do not know such a college exists. Hetherington lends support to this belief and con- firms the utility of the Student Search Service in informing students about new educational opportunities. He feels that "the evidence suggests that our participation in Student Search was worthwhile. The geographic distribution of our applicant pool and of our entering class is somewhat broader than a year ago. It is clear that some students enrolled who had not only not planned to apply, but had not even heard of the University of Rochester before our contact through "76 the Student Search Service. Interestingly, one detractor from the direct mail approach to 44 prospective students was a high school principal in a large, affluent, midwestern, suburban school system. Stressing the value of person-to- person, face-to-face discussion, Schreiner explained, "there is much evidence that students are not reading or writing much anymore; consequently, the use of a college catalogue or a brochure as a means of transmitting all but technical information about a college may be an anachronism. Some means other than the written word should be used to convey the mission and the educational program of the college to prospective candidates."77 Such a statement is more a criticism of high schools or parents for not stressing reading and writing than it is of colleges for mailing materials to prospective students to help them make informed decisions in their college planning. His naivete and confusion is evident when Schreiner later proclaims, "if a college were to come back to its raison d' etre, to state its mission clearly and unequivocally, it would not need to publicize itself in the commercial sense."78 One question begs to be answered. If a college "came back to its raison d' etre" and "stated its mission clearly and unequivocally" as Schreiner urges, where should it be stated and how should the college best inform students in different parts of the state or country what has been done? Student Consgmerism end the Movement toward Better InformatiOn for Students To put the preceeding sections into perspective, the current trend toward student consumerism must be briefly addressed. Students as 45 consumers of education programs and services at colleges and univer- sities expect to receive true value for their tuition dollars. One of the most obvious demands by such consumers is for honest, adequate information on which they can base decisions. Hoy contends that students trying to decide on a college to attend have need for three different kinds of information; access information, process information and results information.79 Access information should detail what the campus offers and what is required of the student for admission to that college. Process inf0rmation speaks to the concerns of students about what day-to-day life on the campus is like, and what occurs both in and out of the classroom. Finally, results information refers to what outcomes the student should realistically expect from an education at a particular college. Results information is important for students to consider with regard to their personal objectives. If their objectives cannot be accomplished at a particular college, then students should be able to decide against that college early in their college planning.80 If students have adequate, factual information about colleges, better decisions will be made about which college to attend. If better decisions are indeed made, more students would be satisfied with the colleges they chose to attend. Attrition from one year to the next should decrease because students initially picked the right college. According to Shulman, therefore, "both the institution and the student have an interest in assuring a successful match between a student's needs and abilities and the institution's capabilities."81 46 Lenning and Cooper have found, however, that "information that postsecondary institutions provide to prospective students is often incomplete, insufficiently detailed, not clearly presented, or pre- sented at the wrong time.82 Interviews with students, parents, college staff members and high school counselors as part of a National Center for Higher Education Management Systems study found "unanimous agreement that much of the information currently being provided to students is inadequate or being communicated ineffectively.”83 Lenning and Cooper conclude that several problems exist for institutions that fail to provide adequate information to prospective students who subsequently make unwise choices about which college they will attend. The problems include not only low student morale and high rates of attrition, but also future recruiting problems for the institution when disappointed students tell their friends, parents and relatives of their displeasure.84 It appears that it is not only in an institution's best self- interest to provide adequate, honest and factual inf0rmation to students, but it is also being demanded by the students themselves. Stark traces the beginnings of a student consumer movement in education to a 1962 message to Congress, in which President John F. Kennedy defined the rights of individual consumers "to be safe, to be informed, to choose and to be heard."85 If these rights do not naturally and obviously seem to be guaranteed to students, then federal legislation has been enacted to ensure that these rights are not violated. Stark suggests that legislation increasing student access and choice in higher education through increased financial aid, has "transferred power in the form of portable dollars from institutions to individual 47 students, who could then select the institutions which best fit their needs.“86 El-Khawas explains that "the consumer movement emphasizes giving the consumer all pertinent information about a product or service be- fore he decides to purchase."87 Stark evidences caution and concern because "it is not at all clear at this time, however, that more information is necessarily better information. Students who are pro- vided with masses of data but with no guidance in how to use them may fare no better than students who have the right questions but no way to get the answers."88 Two questions need to be raised at this point. What is better infbrmation and how should it be provided? In general terms El-Khawas reports that better information explains "what the institution is like, what it offers and what it expects of its students."89 The objectives are to provide information that is detailed, candid, analytical, accurate and complete.90 Moreover it should be relevant to student decisions, describe probable student experiences, use empirical data extensively, highlight the distinctiveness of the institution and communicate everything effectively.91 Franklin includes an emphasis on maintaining currency in published information, explaining requirements and objectives in specific, rather than general terms, avoiding ambiguities, using a vocabulary that does not exceed the reading skills of the intended audience and striving for comprehensiveness in coverage.92 The Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education supports the above recommendations as evidenced by its specific "institutional 48 responsibilities" regarding advertising, noting that all attempts to attract students should be accurate and reliable, up to date, com- plete -- balanced and comprehensive and understandable.93 The National Task Force on Better Information for Student Choice also identified specific topics that need the attention of institutions desiring to provide better information to students. One criteria used in determining the importance of a topic was its relative importance tg_students, and not strictly whether it was identified as important by_students. Topics needing extensive coverage, following the general objectives outlined above include costs and financial aid, academic offerings and requirements, and the outcomes or results of attendance.94 Stern would add career planning and occupational information to the list of specific topics needing extensive coverage in information provided by colleges.95 Kinnick at Portland State University conducted a local information needs assessment and found that information on "support services, general school environment, school reputation, physical surroundings and social life and activities" should be included with the topics listed above as important information needs of prospective students.96 In another local study of information needs, LaBaugh found similar topics to be important. Moreover, he discovered that the late Junior and early Senior years were the times when students most needed the information in the decision-making.97 El-Khawas broadens the perspective and reiterates that "information is 'better' if it improves the ability of students to make rational, informed decisions about postsecondary education. Completely rational deCisions are not the goal; rather, the objective is to improve the 49 resources available for making intelligent decisions."98 Hoy agrees, but cautions colleges to recognize "that the existence of improved information does not guarantee that students will actually read or use it PV‘OPEV‘U-99 Sandeen laments that "despite widely held beliefs to the contrary, most students apply only to a single institution. The dominant pattern is for the student to apply to one institution, to be accepted by that institution, and to attend that institution. Unfortunately . . . this early decision to apply to only one institution is often based upon very limited, and often inaccurate information."100 Adapting Suggestions From the Literature to the Current Study The survey results of LaBaugh have important implications for this study. LaBaugh discovered that not only do students report specific information needs, similar to those reported by the other researchers reviewed above, but that students also have preferred ways in which to receive that information. Because LaBaugh's study dealt with groups of students who either had already inquired or who had already applied, some adaptation of his results to approaching a third group, prospective students, is necessary. LaBaugh's findings, however, indicate that students prefer to receive information from the college administration, and that receiving the information via a brochure and/or a letter is an acceptable method of communication.]01 It therefore appears that a graphically attractive, editorially sound, letter or brochure, containing accurate information that students want and need to know about a college, mailed at a time when students are most concerned about college choice decisions might contribute to 50 the solution of the current problem of students deciding in a capricious or uniformed manner to attend a particular college. Moreover, if such an effort is successful, a college might attract students who had pre- viously not considered that college, and in doing so help solve poten- tial enrollment difficulties that are imminent for nearly all colleges. Such is the overall hypothesis to be further addressed in Chapter III. This study will also attempt to answer other questions raised in the literature or incompletely addressed by some of the earlier studies reviewed above. One shortcoming of Henderson's survey will be rectified by this study. He reported on how colleges respond to the inquiries generated by various means, but he did not attempt to discover which types of direct mail approaches draw the most responses or produce applications from qualified applicants. Lupton and Moses undertook a much more extensive study than Henderson, although their sample was neither large nor randomly selected. The current study will attempt to answer several of the questions they raised regarding the effective- ness of a direct mail program and the response rates generated by different, yet related means. The studies reported by Druesne and Zavada must be approached with some caution because the information was collected from colleges after the fact. Standardization in computations, follow-up and type of mailing system used was lacking. Results from large, major universities were included with those of small private colleges without taking into account the importance differences in potential constituencies that eXist. No accomodation was made for the wide variety of academic in- terests of students and the limited ability of some institutions to 51 meet more than a few of those interests. It is also probable that the students they interviewed, those who each received more than 50 mailings from colleges, were academically talented students with very high SAT scores. Their subjective responses are interesting, but most colleges must be content with enrolling a much higher percentage of less able students. This less able majority may need to be approached in a different manner than the talented minority. This study will approach a broader group, in a standardized manner, so that future replication or pragmatic adaptations by others may be facilitated. 52 NOTES -- CHAPTER II 1 Gene M. Henderson, Admissions Information Needs Survey Report, (Burlington, Massachusetts: Epsilon—DataTManagement, Inc.,71977), p. 2. 2Gene Henderson, p. 7. 3 William Ihlanfeldt, "A Management Approach to the Buyer's Market," The College Board Review, No. 96, Summer, 1975, p. 30. 4Patrick E. Murphy and Richard A. McGarrity, S.J., "Marketing Universities: A Survey of Student Recruitment Activities," College and University, Volume 53, No. 3, Spring, 1978, p. 254. 5Murphy and McGarrity, p. 253. 6Gene Henderson, p. 5. 7Andrew H. Lupton and Kurt D. Moses, Admissions/Recruitment: A Study of Costs and Practices in Independent Higher Education Institu- tions, (MEnagement DiViSion, Academy forTEoucationaT‘DeveTOpment, Inc., , p. i. 8Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 11. 9 Lupton and Moses, p. 3. 10 Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 7. ll Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 24. 12 , Using the Student Search Service 'Effective1y, 1978—79, (New York: COTTege Entrance Examination Board, 1978), p. 3. 53 3 Norman C. Francis, College Board Annual Report, 1977-78, (New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1978), p. 13. 14Gene Henderson, p. 9. 5Barry Druesne and Mary Zavada, "Reaching Students Effectively: Some Notes on College Mailings,“ The College Board Review, No. 103, Spring 1977, p. 6. 16Francis, p. 13. 17 Gene Henderson, p. 9. 18Lucky Abernathy, "Highlighting What's New in Admissions," Ihe_ College Board Review, No. 100, Summer 1976, p. 34. 19 Abernathy, p. 34. 20 . Murphy and McGarrity, p. 255. 21 Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 24. 22 Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 25. 23 Lupton and Moses, p. IV - 28. 24 Donald W. Griffin, Chairman, "The Use of Direct Mail in Recruitment," College and University, Volume 52, No. 4, Summer, 1977, p. 622. 5Gene Henderson, p. 11. 26Gene Henderson, p. 11. 27Ihlanfeldt, p. 30. 28Druesne and Zavada, p. 7. 54 29Walter P. Gorman, "An Evaluation of Student-Attracting Methods and University Features by Attending Students," College and University, Volume 51, No. 2, Winter, 1976, p. 224. 30Gorman, p. 224. 31 . FranCis, p. 13. 32Frank W. Hetherington, "Recruiting by Direct Mail," The COIIGQE Board Review, Volume 91, Spring 1974, p. 12. 3 3Hetherington, p. 12. 34 , Hetherington, p. 13. 35 Ihlanfeldt, p. 29. 36Richard W. Haines, "Student Recruitment Practices: A Survey Yields Some Surprises," The National ACAC Jggrnal, Volume 20, No. 1 July, 1975, p. 37. 37Haines, p. 37. 38 . . Griffin, p. 616. 39 . . Griffin, p. 617. 40Griffin, p. 618-622. 41 , , Griffin, p. 621. 2 Druesne and Zavada, p. 6. 3 Druesne and Zavada, p. 7. 44Druesne and Zavada, p. 7. 45 Druesne and Zavada, p. 8. 46Druesne and Zavada, p. 8. 55 47Griffin, p. 618. 48Thomas D. LaBaugh, Information Needs Asses$ment of Potential que College Freshmen as a Guide for DevelQping Recruiting Material, diss., MiEhigan State UfiiVersity,Tl977, p. 154. 9 Sally Rosenberg, "Techniques for Effective Recruitment," The_ National ACAC Journal, Volume 23, No. 3, May 1979, p. 21. 50LaBaugh, p. 154. 51 Druesne and Zavada, pp. 9-10. 52Ihlanfeldt, p. 29. 53Don Kanter, "Knowing the Basics of Writing Good Direct Response Copy," Direct Marketing, May 1978, p. 44. 54Ed McLean, "Producing Additional Sales through Means of Direct Mail," Direct Marketing, July 1975, p. 48. 55Using the Student Search Service Effectively, 1978-79, p. 5. 56Druesne and Zavada, p. 7. 57 Druesne and Zavada, p. 8. 58 Druesne and Zavada, p. 8. 59Usingythe Student Search Service Effectively, 1978-79, p. 7. 6O , Griffin, p. 623. 61 Ihlanfeldt, p. 29. 62Druesne and Zavada, p. 9. 63Gordon Grossman, "Conceptions, Misconceptions about Direct Marketing Today," Direct Marketing, August, 1976, p. 44. 56 4 Druesne and Zavada, pp. 9-10. 65Grossman, p. 44. 66 Druesne and Zavada, p. 10. 67 James W. Kunz, Student Prospecting Utilizing Direct Mail, (Kansas City, MO.: United Student Association, 1975), pp. 8-14. 68Kunz, p. 8. 69 Kunz, p. 8. 7O Kunz, p. 8. 71 Kunz, p. 8. 72 Druesne and Zavada, p. 8. 73Kunz, p. 10. 74 Kunz, pp. 12-13. 5 Kunz, p. 12. 76Hetherington, p. 12. 77 William Schreiner, "Getting Messages Across the Diploma Divide," The College Board Review, No. 94, Winter, 1974-75, p. 2. 8 Schreinter, p. 5. 9 John C. Hoy, "A Question of Balance," The College Board Review, No. 101, Fall, 1976, p. 9. 8O Hoy, p. 9. 57 81 Carol Hernstadt Shulman, University‘Admissions: Dilemmas and Potential, ERIC/Higher Education ResearEh Report,TNo. 5, (washington, D.C.: American Association for Higher Education, 1977), p. 37. 82Oscar T. Lenning and Edward M. Cooper, Guidebook for Colleges and Universities: Presenting,Information to Prospective Students, (Boulder, Colorado: The National’Center for Higher Educatidn Management Systems, 1978), p. vii. 83 Lenning and Cooper, p. 1. 84Lenning and Cooper, p. 5. 85Joan S. Stark, "The Emerging Consumer Movement in Education" in Promoting Consumer Protection for Students, New Directions for Higher Education Sourcebookj'No. 13 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1976), p. 2. 86 Stark, p. 3. 87Elaine H. El-Khawas, "Clarifying Roles and Purposes," in Promoting Consumer Protection for Students, New Directions for Higher Education SourCEEofik, NOT—13, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1976), p. 41. 88 Joan S. Stark, "Is More Information Better?," in Promotin Consumer Protection for Students, New Directions in Higher Education Sourcebook, No. 13, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1976), p. 69. 89Elaine H. El-Khawas, Better Information for Student Choice: Report of a National Task Force, Conference reView copy, (The National Task Force on Better Information for Student Choice, March, 1977), p. 16. O El-Khawas, Better Information, p. 17. 91J0an S. Stark, Inside Information: A Handbook on Better Inf0rmation for Student Choice,T(Washington, D.C.: American Association for Higher Education, 1978), p. 6. 92Paul Franklin, "Decisions about Curricula and Careers: The Need for Better Information," in Improving'Educational Information Services, New Directions for Education and Work’Sourcebook, No. 5, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979), p. 8. 58 93Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, Fair Practices in Higher EduCation, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979) p. 33. 94El-Khawas, Better Information, pp. 22-34. 95Barry E. Stern, "National Priorities: An Emerging Commitment to Informed Career Choice," in Improving Educational Information Services, New Directions for Education anHTWoFk Sourcebook, No. 5, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979), p. 12. 96Stark, Inside Information, p. 188. 97LaBaugh, pp. 88-89, 91. 98El-Khawas, Better Information, p. 16. 99 Hoy, p. 32. 100C. Arthur Sandeen, "Who Decides Who Will be the Students?," a position paper presented to Sixty-First Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 6-7. 101LaBaugh, p. 94. CHAPTER III PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE EXPERIMENT Introduction Chapter I provided an overview of the potentially serious enroll- ment problems facing higher education institutions in the decade of the eighties and extending into the early 1990's. The application of broad marketing strategies to college and university admissions efforts was discussed, but several problems with this approach were delineated for institutions in general and small colleges in particular. An idea utilizing a direct mailing program was suggested that might assist a college to increase the number of potential applicants who were not previously familiar with the college. In Chapter II, the extent to which direct mail is currently being utilized by colleges and universities was investigated and the ways in which the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board may be employed to contact additional prospective students was explored. Pragmatic applications were examined which might increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a direct mail effort. The trend toward consumerism in higher education was discussed and the resulting need for better inf0rmation for student decision-making was addressed. It was suggested that perhaps an effective direct mail program could accomplish the twin goals of providing students with better information on which to base their college choice decisions, as well as expanding 59 60 the enrollment at colleges which utilized this strategy. In Chapter III the experiment which was designed to test one aspect of that multi-faceted idea is outlined and discussed. Basically, the primary question to be answered remains -- Is direct mail an effective way in which to gain more enrolled students? Of secondary concern will be whether a particular type of mailing draws more responses than another type. Population and Sample The population for this study was over 400,000 high school students who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in preparation for applying for admission to colleges and universities. The students took the SAT in their junior year, in anticipation of beginning college in the fall of 1979. Each student requested to be included as part of the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board, and were included as part of the Summer Search in 1978. Detailed information about these students was stored in the Student Search Service computer and was available to Aquinas College for a fee. The sample for this study consisted of 3,316 seniors in high school from the population described above. The sample included the entire group of students selected for Aquinas College by the Student Search Service of the College Entrance Examination Board. In the Spring of 1978, a Student Search Service participation form was submitted, on which specific criteria were designated. Only students meeting all of the established criteria would be selected from the computer files of the Student Search Service. Those files contained 61 information on nearly oneahalf million students who had taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) during the previous year, in antici- pation of applying for admission to one or more colleges at some later date.1 The selection criteria designated by the researcher ensured that students in the sample would be eligible for admission if they eventu- ally decided to apply to Aquinas College. The criteria were also established to reflect a realistic approximation of the characteristics of current students at Aquinas College, following the suggestion of McLean and others who stress the importance of knowing the "profile" of those to be contacted by mail.2 The following criteria were submitted to the Student Search Ser- vice. Each student selected: (1) Would be a high school senior during the 1978-79 academic year, (2) Would have a self-reported grade-point average between 2.50 and 4.00, (3) Would have scored no lower than 400 on each of the Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), (4) Would be enrolled at a private (either parochial or indepen- dent) high school during the 1978-79 academic year, (5) Would have listed as either a first or second choice one of the intended college majors designated on the participation form by Aquinas College as available for study at Aquinas; or was carried in the computer as a student in the "undecided" or "no response" category with regard to intended college major, 62 (6) Currently resided in the State of Michigan, or in specified zip code areas in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over several years of experience these areas have been found to be either primary or secondary recruiting areas for Aquinas College. No criteria were stipulated for sex, race, veteran status, achievement test scores, and several other factors which were regarded as unimpor- tant for the purposes of this experiment. The student names were selected during the Summer search. In August, 1978, 3,316 names were received, with each indiVidual's address, the name of the high school attended and the intended major. The student names were listed alphabetically by intended major. Individual gummed mailing labels for all students, arranged in zip code sequence, were also provided. Eyperimental Procedures Using the list of students arranged alphabetically by intended major, each student was randomly assigned to one of the four experi- mental groups. A table of random numbers was utilized, first to determine at which point to enter the list, and again to determine which group number would be assigned to the first student name selected. From that point through the entire list of names, each subsequent student was assigned to an experimental group using the repeating sequence 3, 4, l, 2. Experimental group assignments were made in this way to ensure that each intended major area had as equal a distribution as possible 63 of student names in each of the four experimental groups. Such assign- ment served as a control for the current popularity of certain intended major areas such as business, pre-medicine and pre-law. Sex and geographic area of residence, two other potentially relevant variables, were thus also controlled through randomization. Each experimental group contained 829 students. The four experi- mental groups each received different treatments, and the treatments were randomly assigned to each group. The information for each student assigned to group one, two or three was copied from the original list and entered on diskettes in IBM 430, Office System 6 word processing equipment. This equipment was already being used by the Admissions Office at Aquinas College for other recruiting purposes and therefore was available for this experi- ment. A trained and experienced operator, already employed by the Admissions Office, was solely responsible for processing all the information as requested by the author. The letters prepared by the IBM 430 appear to by typed by a common office typewriter, rather than by a computer however, because the type face employed is nearly identical to those available on IBM Selectric Typewriters. The type-face selected for the letters used in this experiment was 12 point Letter Gothic, because it is attractive and easy to read. The letters in this experiment were personalized in several ways. The student's full name and address were used in the heading. The salutation included their first name. The body of the letter referred both to their specific state of residence, as well as to their self- 64 reported intended major. Each letter was hand-signed by the author in blue ink to contrast with the body of the letter which was typed in black ink. An example of one of these letters in included in Appendix A. Following a recommendation of Druesne and Zavada, each letter indicated that the student was being contacted as a result of the Student Search Service, in which the student had agreed to participate.3 Hecksher has also found that students "are pleased to receive mailings from Student Search, especially if they know it is because of Search that they are being contacted."4 _§yperimental Treatments Table 3-1 summarizes the treatments received by each group. All treatments began simultaneously on September 21, 1978. Group One was mailed a personalized letter (see Appendix A), a postage-paid response card (Appendix D) and specific curricular information (Appendix F) concerning the department or program at Aquinas that most closely matched their self-reported intended college major. Students from Group One who did not respond to this mailing received no follow-up mailings. Group Two received the identical initial mailing as Group One. That mailing was followed four weeks later by a personalized follow-up letter (see Appendix B), a postage-paid response card and a fact sheet (Appendix E) containing extensive general information about Aquinas College. Only those not responding to the first mailing received the follow-up mailing. Group Three was mailed a non-personalized general brochure (see 65 mcoz Agmpwme-mpmmv vgmu mmcoammc cogomppw cow: mgzguoga Fmemcmm .um~wpmcomgoaucoz Lao; azocw cowpmscoecH mmmFFoo ~mcmcmw ugoo mmcoammm coupe; umuwpmcomcma Acmpwmsnwpmmv ucmo mmcoamos nonemppm gpwz mgscuoga Fmgmcmm .umNWchomgmaucoz moccp gsogo cowmeLowcH ommFFou Fmgmcmw cowumsgomcH owmwowam E:_:uvgg:u ugmu mmcoqmmm vgmu wmcoammm 93p usage gmppwq uvapmcomgma coupe; umNPchomema cowpmsgowcH uwmmomam 53P30wcgau mcoz ucmu mmcoammm mco azogw coupe; coNPPmcomgma m=2__az a=-zo._oa mewp_az _awpwcH aaoco Faucoewgoaxm mpcwEumeh .._.o mowum wLmuowmeu masogw Pmucmewcmgxm op umcmwmm< mpcmeummch an MAmO.C_Z>m 57 ZELZLxZQZ. ))L oomov Z<0_IO_S_ .mn=a_o< $522.4 2 :1: .x. 2:: rewind tag: :2 .vfliax r520 ER; .32 :Ezud mwddu Ga: 95.; 32:5 it . 3335c .5325 c? 4_4Lw¢ wwwzfiDn .323? Orcmréfigv Li Drum DEC (CEOEQL ZO:<:<$~E G 0:3 _2 b2. 3:0 U5: $209.0 mé :OE $5th 0 P .19 :5. J. a: OBEOUO (GE .50.: :09: 50?: 3320:. 1 3:3 2, i:¢9® QOQOU C c. CEEEE. m: :9 : .Om om @200 .9 :85 30.0 Cu :0) paw (Q6 56 oz. 99:0 9 .05. 0 mo mam: o. 20> 2.52 9 E bcooi __ mi, .2002” 55383 0 050». P. Uc< 300 95 9.30 o :0 E9005 oguoum 30> 5.2. 20> 06: O_ 500 Co 0.0 $92 EwCBm EQOQOO .0 930.0 0 _ E0505 50> O. 0:: 2069500 590d 0933 .05»? Lo 0:0 5.3 0:803 .0 c900 0:. m5: 20> o. LIST OF REFERENCES LIST OF REFERENCES Abernathy, Lucky. "Highlighting What's New in Admissions." Ihe_ College Board Review, No. 100, Summer l976, pp. 29-35. Allen, Jr., Edwin J. “Higher Education in the Eighties and Nineties: U.S. Demography and Institutional Enrollment." Trends 2000 Centerpiece, Vol. I, No. l, Washington, D.C.: The Association of Ameritan Colleges, May, l978, pp. ll-18. Barton, Jr., David W., and David R. Treadwell, Jr. "Marketing: A Synthesis of Institutional Soul-Searching and Aggressiveness." Marketing_Higher Education, New Directions for Higher Education Sourcebook:’No.T?1, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, l978, pp. 77-84. Barton, Jr., David W. ed. 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"Reading the Enrollment Barometer." Change, April 1979, pp. 50-51, 62. 111 112 Doermann, Humphrey. "The Future Market for College Education." in A Role for'Marketing;in'College'Admissions, New York: College Entrance Examination Board, l976, pp. l-53. Druesne, Barry and Mary Zavada. "Reaching Students Effectively: Some Notes on College Mailings."' The‘College Board Review, No. l03, Spring l977. pp. 6-l0. Durand, Jr., Rene A. and J. David Ralston. "A Search Experiment." The College Board Review, No. 113, Fall, l979, pp. 22-23. El-Khawas, Elaine H. Better Information for Student Choice: Report of a National Task’Force. Conference review copy. The National Task Force on Better Information for Student Choice, n.p., March, l977. El-Khawas, Elaine H. "Clarifying Roles and Purposes." in Promoting Consumer Protection for Students, New Directions for Higher Education Sourcebook, No. 13, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Spring, 1976, pp. 35-47. Engledow, Jack L. and Ronald D. Anderson. 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"Marketing Admissions: Using Modern Business Techniques In Student Recruiting." The COllege Board Review, No. 89, Fall, 1973, pp. 3-4, 23-25. GENERAL REFERENCES Carter, Virginia L. and Catharine S. Garigan, eds. A Marketing Approach to Student Recruitment. Washington, D.C.: The Council for Advancement and Support of Education, l979. Fram, Eugene H. "Marketing Higher Education" in The Future in the Makin . Dyckman W. Vermilye, ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 973, pp. 56-67. Fram, Eugene H. "Marketing Revisited: Clarifying Concepts and Strategies" The College Board Reviep, No. 94, Winter l974-75, pp. 7-8, 22. Freund, John E. Modern Elementary Statistics. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1967, pp. 262-290. Hays, William L. Statistics for the Social Sciences. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,—T973, pp._735-36, 886-87. Huddleston, Jr., Thomas and Frank A. Wiebe. "Understanding the Nature of the Student Market for a Private University." 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