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

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在通过自动化响应逻辑来成功过渡关键决策步骤，从而开发一种更有效的方法来管理大学和未来学生之间的沟通过程。数据挖掘技术和地理人口分析最近在大学招聘中获得了有限的普及，作为一种基于历史数据划分潜在人群的手段，然后重新校准人工沟通策略。然而，这些静态方法本质上是回顾性的，需要几年的一致历史数据才能实现，这限制了它们的吸引力。本研究中提出的方法采用了一个自动化系统来分析大学和潜在客户之间的持续互动。通过应用数据库嵌入式和集成建模和模式分析技术，在通信过程中识别关键决策点。高等教育的招生过程正变得越来越复杂和压缩。学生们正在等待更长的时间来表达他们对大学的兴趣，并向更多的大学提交申请。从一个学生被大学“知道”到实际的录取决定之间，只有一个短暂的窗口期，在这个窗口期，有机会进行有针对性的沟通，同时通知和影响每个学生的决策过程。在接下来的十年里，面对不断上涨的出勤费、不断变化的人口结构和不断下降的大学生人数，对学生的竞争将会急剧加剧，各院校的生存能力，更不用说繁荣了，将直接取决于它们以更有效、更经济的方式识别、选拔和与潜在学生沟通的能力。如果成功，提议的努力将为那些采用这种方法的机构提供一种可衡量价值的手段。

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.