At the opening plenary at the 2016 AACRAO SEM meeting in November, Ben Castleman, Assistant Professor of Education and Public Policy, University of Virginia, discussed how behavior science can shape important policies and provide scalable solutions to major problems. He provided specific examples of how interventions based on behavioral science are being used to improve college enrollment and completion.
Successful text campaigns in education are based on a set of underlying principles. Four underlying principles that have made educational text campaigns successful are:
1. Personalization. Successful campaigns are conducted in close connection with schools, colleges, state agencies, and nonprofits. Collaboration with partners harnesses student data to make outreach highly personalized.
2. Outreach. Achieving success means not just relying on a build-it-they-will-come mentality. Just putting information online and expecting that students will find it won’t work. Successful initiatives involve proactive outreach to students.
3. Meeting students where they are. This includes meeting students where they are technologically and personalizing the messaging.
4. Getting the details right. Success requires identifying all of the details of a campaign and getting these details rights, which can mean using behavioral science principles to maximizing student responsiveness and engagement.
Also important is conducting campaigns in partnership with educational institutions and organizations.
Go deeper. The above recommendations were a small part of a much broader presentation, "Behavioral Insights for Scalable Solutions," by Castleman.
For more insights from Castleman and other plenary presenters, download the Executive Summaries from Selected Sessions, 2016 AACRAO SEM.
In addition to a summary of Castleman's plenary, the summary includes:
- Analytics Panel Discussion (Monique Snowden (Moderator), VP for Institutional Planning & Effectiveness, Fielding Graduate University; Bridget Burns, Executive Director, University Innovation Alliance; Mark David Milliron, Co-Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Civitas Learning)
- Rapid Fire Thinking: Hot Topics in SEM (Tammy Aagard, University of Florida; Jay Goff, Saint Louis University; Kate Ralston, Iowa State University; Chris Shaffer, Shawnee State University; Melissa Tarrant, University of West Georgia)
- Market-Centered Enrollment Management (David H. Kalsbeek, Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing, DePaul University)
- UTEP's Path to Authenticity: Access and Excellence (Diana Natalicio, President, University of Texas at El Paso)
Share your knowledge at AACRAO SEM 2017. The 2017 SEM Conference will be held October 29-November 1, 2017, at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. Expect proven and leading practices and professional development for SEM practitioners—from those new to the profession to faculty members, student success managers, and senior enrollment leaders—at all types of postsecondary educational institutions.
Learn more about the conference and submit your session/poster proposals. Priority consideration deadline for proposals: March 24, 2017.
Questions? Email Clayton Smith, EdD, SEM Conference Director.