SBIR Phase I: An Innovative and More Effective Means to Manage the Communication Process Between Colleges and Prospective Students

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a more effective means to manage the communication process between colleges and prospective students by automating the response logic needed to successfully transition critical decision making steps. Data mining techniques and geo-demographic analysis have recently gained limited popularity in college recruiting as a means to segment prospect populations based on historical data and then to recalibrate manual communication strategies. However, these static methods are retrospective in nature and require several years of consistent historical data for implementation, limiting their appeal. The approach proposed in this research employs an automated system that analyzes the ongoing interaction between colleges and prospects. Through the application of database-embedded and integrated modeling and pattern analysis techniques, key decision points are identified in the communication process as they occur. The recruitment process in higher education is becoming increasingly complex and compressed. Students are waiting longer to reveal their interest to colleges and submitting applications to more colleges. There exists only a brief window, between the point a prospect becomes 'known' to a college and the actual matriculation decision, when the opportunity exists for targeted communications to simultaneously inform and influence each students' decision-making process. As competition for students increases dramatically over the next decade in the face of rising attendance costs, changing demographics, and a decline in the number of college-bound students, each institutions' ability to survive, much less prosper, will depend directly on its ability to identify, qualify, and communicate with prospective students in an more efficient and cost-effective manner. If successful, the effort proposed will provide a means for measurable value for those institutions that embrace this approach.