If You Build It, Will They Come?
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Attracting students to your faculty-led program requires much more than just creating the course. Now is the time to jumpstart your marketing efforts on campus. While your Program Coordinator is available to answer questions and help set student expectations, and each study abroad office offers different levels of support, it’s important to remember that YOU are one of the main reasons students will choose your program.
Building a successful program demands active and ongoing promotion both on campus and online. To help you get started, we’ve gathered a few tips from seasoned faculty and our 20+ years of experience.
This blog will cover essential strategies for recruiting and marketing your program to Gen Z students. From kicking off recruitment early to busting myths and leveraging alumni ambassadors, we've got you covered.
Begin recruiting early. Be prepared to begin once your program has been approved. The most successful programs have long and loud recruitment windows.
Make sure students and campus colleagues have the facts and help bust study abroad myths. Keep communication positive and don’t apologize for things like cost - your program, effort, and experience are valuable.
Free food, convenient times, and pretty photos don’t cut it - students aren’t going to hear about your program if they’ve already told themselves they can’t go. Use mythbusting to drive attendance, then talk about specifics.
Don’t reinvent the wheel! Attend campus events such as Major Fairs, class visits, Welcome Week, Study Abroad fairs, etc. to promote your program and save time on event planning.
Ask your department to advertise your program on their website, social media, hallway TVs, and in other materials! Talk to colleagues, teaching assistants, and academic advisers. Tell them about your program and ask them to promote it. Speak about your program in your classes and ask other faculty if it would be possible to speak briefly about your program in their classes.
Keep lists of students who are interested in your program and email them with information regarding meetings, deadlines, or interesting details about the location(s) of your program and its academic focus.
Is this a repeat program? As much as possible, use past participants to help you recruit. Prospective students are very interested in hearing another student's perspective. The testimony of past participants may be the most effective recruiting tool.
In marketing, many believe it takes 7 “touches” before someone makes a big purchase or decision. Communicate frequently and diversify your outreach through various means!
Keep in mind that all student applications do not equal student participants. Always expect some applicants to drop from the program.