SightLine’s Top Five Tips for Mid-Funnel Conversion
In the past few months, we have seen a lot of higher ed leaders scrambling to look at new enrollment and communications solutions throughout the student funnel. Across the board, the goal is to increase enrollment without sacrificing discount rates, overall revenue over four years, or the caliber of the incoming class. At SightLine we are focusing on the best strategies to improve on mid-funnel conversion of the highest quality students who are interested in your institution. We have five strategies to focus on this year.
Financial Aid Optimization Analysis Reveals Increased Student Price Sensitivity Year over Year
Each year, SightLine uses student application, financial aid, demographic, and census level data to optimize new scholarship offers for the following enrollment cycle with our university customers. During this process, we compare student enrollment behavior from the most recently completed enrollment cycle to the prior enrollment cycle. Earlier this year we analyzed the fall 2023 enrollment outcomes in comparison to fall 2022 enrollment and most of our findings were consistent across all our customers, indicating changing market conditions.
Enrollment Leaders – If You Aren’t Considering Retention, You’re Doing it Wrong
Scholarships play a vital role in attracting talented students to universities, but their impact extends far beyond enrollment numbers and new net student revenue. For universities, considering student retention when optimizing scholarships is not just about ensuring a stable student population; it's about fostering a supportive environment that promotes student success, enhances institutional reputation, and ultimately boosts long-term revenue.
Keep Financial Aid Expenses within Budget – A Predictive Modeling Approach
Financial aid expense forecasting is challenging for universities but is necessary to make sure the financial aid payouts will fall within the annual budget. With enrollment and retention levels fluctuating annually, there is much uncertainty around institutional financial aid payout amounts. However, SightLine’s innovative predictive modeling and machine learning solution allows colleges and universities to reliably estimate financial aid expenses, mitigating uncertainty and risk.
Targeting Supplemental Aid During the Spring to Boost Fall Enrollment
As the VP of Enrollment or Director of Financial Aid, you may gain a better idea of the size and caliber of your incoming student class as the enrollment season progresses. At this time of year (spring through early summer) you may feel pretty confident about application progress and the number of deposits your institution is receiving, but there is always room to improve. On the other hand, your institution may be tracking a little behind expectations. But it is not too late to make some targeted adjustments to get back on track or even exceed enrollment goals.
Preparing for SAI – Adjusting Institutional Aid for New Students
The SightLine team is focused on proactively supporting financially underserved students through the evolving FAFSA requirements. We are keeping a close eye on these changes to help our college and university customers seamlessly make the transition.
The Top 4 Issues We See on College Financial Aid Websites
Clear communication on university financial aid pages is paramount for ensuring education affordability and accessibility. These pages serve as crucial gateways for students seeking information about available financial assistance, scholarships, grants, and loans. In a landscape where the cost of education continues to rise, affordability and easily comprehensible content on financial aid pages empowers prospective and current students to make informed decisions about their academic pursuits.