These days, branding is everything. Marketers go all out to position their product, control its image, and spin the message. For marketers at the nation's colleges and universities, the stakes are especially high. After all, they are entrusted with the image of institutions that have, in some cases, spent centuries building up their brand…

Recruitment is an expensive business: In 2010-2011, the median cost to recruit an undergraduate was $2,185 among private colleges and universities, according to Noel-Levitz, an enrollment management consultancy. In these tough fiscal times, admissions departments are under pressure to keep those costs down even as they pursue higher enrollment and…

For students, the financial ramifications of not graduating are eye-opening: Over the course of their lifetimes, students without a degree will earn an average of $800,000 less than their cap-and-gown brethren, according to the nonprofit College Board. The number is even more depressing in light of another statistic: In 2009, only 55 percent of…

The for-profit sector of higher education has generated some disturbing headlines recently. Widely publicized charges of predatory recruiting practices have prompted new regulations and provided fuel for scorching criticism of the entire business model. But while the spotlight is focused on what for-profits are doing wrong, are people overlooking…

Ever since the first customer relationship management (CRM) tools found their way onto North American campuses around 2002, higher education administrators have cringed at the mention of the word "customer," preferring to substitute "constituent" for the more sales-driven term. Yet, with competition for qualified candidates…

No longer do universities have to decide between off-the-shelf and custom programs, or between standalone constituent relationship management (CRM) applications and ERP-integrated solutions. Instead, today's mantra is "360"--an up-close, 360-degree view of student interactions. Whether the processes and technologies employed to achieve…

Are colleges and universities doing enough to take advantage of Web 2.0 and social networking tools in their recruitment and retention efforts? "Not even close," says Sam Richard, a 23-year-old junior in the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Richard is one of six students in ASU's Student Ambassadors for…

Back in the 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president and the internet was still a novelty, college recruitment was remarkably low-tech. Most prospective students visited high school guidance offices, wrote away for information about schools, attended college fairs, and visited campuses they were considering. Most admissions and recruiting activities…

In the corporate world, the notion of customer relationship management (CRM) is nothing new. That particular technology sector is now jam-packed with software that enables organizations to monitor and manage every interaction with a customer, from the very first experience on, throughout the lifecycle of the relationship. That relationship spans…