Become tech-literate not a techie. Communicate with student

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Cyber RecruitmentNAFSA Annual Conference 29
May 2008

• Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck, USjournal.com
• cheryl_at_USjournal.com
• Viktar Khotsim, educationUSA
• advising_at_amcenter.by
• Martin Bennett, Ball State University
• mabennett_at_bsu.edu

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Effective Use of Technology for a Dynamic
Demographic

• We hope to help you
• Become tech-literate not a techie
• Communicate with students using their preferred
  tools
• Share success stories

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The Digital Divide

• Only 1/5 of the worlds population has regular
  online connectivity.
• Only 43 countries have an Internet penetration
  rate of 50 or more 226 countries do not.
• Advertising online represents an Affluency Filter.

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Precision Marketing

• Desktops and Laptops
• Language (without regard to geographic borders)
• Geography (points of latitude and longitude)
• and Handhelds
• Carrier (NTT DoCoMo in Japan, China Mobile)
• Device Manufacturer (Nokia, Samsung)
• Device Capabilities (streaming video)

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Global Statistics to Consider

• In 2008, the Internet will be more frequently
  accessed on mobile phones than on Personal
  Computers (PCs).
• In Japan and Korea, 90 percent of all cell phone
  users use their device to browse the Internet.
• There are three billion cell phone subscribers
  worldwide (three times the number of PC users),
  who use their phones at least daily.

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• http//vco-edusa.net
• Advising Without Borders!

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VCO Project Now

• Team of 36 advisers from 21 countries
• Seven templates
• 1,000 IPs daily
• 7,800 incoming questions
• 5,219 subscribers
• One hit per second
• Extension to the two new language versions
• The VCO on-line consulting technique
• Supported by one tech specialist

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Objective

• To develop a classification
• of incoming questions and,
• accordingly, to prepare
• a set of concrete
• recommendations.

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Classification of incoming questions

• Very basic
• Labor-intensive
• Concrete
• Miscellaneous

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Very basic questions

• 75 of all incoming questions
• Student has never been to EAC
• New and under-served category of our potential
  clients
• Just curious about education in the USA

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Very basic questions Recommendations

• Inspirational sentence
• Simple and brief explanation of the application
  process
• Use of template answers
• Refer to the nearest EducationUSA Advising Center

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Labor-intensive questions

• 15 of total questions
• A prospective student who finally decided to take
  the first step in the application process
• A prospective student who somewhere heard about
  this opportunity and is wondering where to begin

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Labor-intensive questions Recommendations

• Avoid digging too deep when answering question
• Instead of doing search for student, show only
  direction where to find the answer (directing
  answer)
• Present direct link or contact information

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Concrete Questions

• 5 of total questions
• Coming from students who are in the active phase
  of the application process
• Requires a tailored answer
• Allow advisers to demonstrate expertise in a
  certain field
• Doesnt require too much time
• A collection of concrete questions is the most
  valuable part of the projects question archive.

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VCO and U.S. Educational Institutions

• Refer interested applicants with questions not
  specific to a U.S. institution to the VCO web
  portal
• Let your current students and alumni know that
  they are welcome to participate in the forum
  and other sections of the VCO project
• Place the VCO banner on your website

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• http//vco-edusa.net
• Advising Without Borders!

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Key Issues for Universities

• How easy is it to find your site online?
• How many clicks from your school's homepage?
• How important is the web in your international
  student enrollment plan?
• How do you respond to prospects electronically?
• Are you using DVCs?
• Are you chatting, using videos, or presenting to
  parents?
• Can students check the status of their
  applications online?
• What percentage of your international students
  apply online?
• After admission, what do you do to keep these
  students interested?

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International Website Basics 101What do you
have to have?

• Focus groups with your current internationals
• Review of U.S. State Departments How to Have an
  Internationally Friendly Website
• School description with costs and housing
  information
• International undergraduate / graduate admissions
  
• Proportion of international students at that
  university and class profiles
• Quotes from international students
• Requirements and documents that apply to
  international students
• Visas Up-to-date information

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Prospects to AdmittedMaintain Communication

• Change things up every so often student
  profiles, video interviews, alum interviews,
  promotional videos
• Send e-mails to prospects when new information is
  added
• Online application form a must
• Look into in-house or third-party chats
• Develop a web-based status check for applicants
• Offer video interviews to departments admitting
  GA/TAs (Skype, Live Messenger, DVC)

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Admitted to Enrolled Be Proactive

• Chats
• Emails to accepted students
• Online forms to confirm enrollment
• Arrival Info Transportation to campus
• Info about what to bring, health insurance, and
  other issues typically raised at orientation
• Things to do in the community
• Orientation schedules

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DVC (Digital Video Conferences)

• Recruitment fairs with state consortia of
  colleges and universities
• Service-topics / on-demand workshops
• Local institutions connecting with colleges and
  universities

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Chat Products

• Group Chats
• Online Chats with EducationUSA Centers
• Instant Chats

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Social Networking Sites

• Country-specific networks
• Worldwide options (MySpace, Facebook, etc.)
• How to use these networks Signing up,
  configuring appropriate privacy settings
• What you can do Advertising, posting electronic
  resources
• Example of use Destination Indiana Facebook group

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Facebook Users Worldwide

• 6th most-trafficked website in the world
• 2nd most-trafficked social media site in the
  world
• Users In Facebook70 million active (users who
  have returned to the site in the last 30 days)
• people in the United States25,945,340
• people in the United Kingdom10,200,200
• people in Saudi Arabia223,380
• people in Canada9,203,260
• people in the United Arab Emirates329,880
• people in France1,839,800

• people in Australia2,904,760
• people in Israel508,820
• people in Mexico847,260
• people in Egypt711,180
• people in Italy325,700
• people in Pakistan204,640
• people in Switzerland323,500
• people in New Zealand350,300

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Continue the Conversation viaNAFSAs MR Network

• Go to http//www.nafsa.org/
• Click Knowledge Community Networks and Resources
• Click Recruitment, Admissions, and Preparation
• Click Marketing and Recruiting
• Click Discussion Forums
• Click The M and R Idea Factory

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Cyber RecruitmentNAFSA Annual Conference 29
May 2008

• Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck, USjournal.com
• cheryl_at_USjournal.com
• Viktar Khotsim, educationUSA
• advising_at_amcenter.by
• Martin Bennett, Ball State University
• mabennett_at_bsu.edu