Study Shows Not-For-Profit
Universities Exhibiting Aggressive Behavior In Online
Marketing Practices: Findings Part of eLearners.com Recently
Released Research Report
While for-profit
institutions have been aggressively courting students for
their online programs via emarketing for years, the
not-for-profits have been slower on the draw. But that is
changing, according to a recent report, entitled “Attracting
The Next Generation of Online Learners,” from eLearners.com,
the leading resource for connecting students with online
education. In a survey of colleges and universities actively
marketing their degrees online, 82% of the for-profit
institutions claimed they devote more than fifty percent of
their budget to online marketing versus only 40% of the
not-for-profits claiming expenditures of fifty percent and
above. However, when asked about their anticipated spending
for the coming year, 80% of the not-for-profit schools
indicated they would be increasing their online marketing
budget, while 82% of for-profits say they plan for their
budgets to decrease or remain the same.
(PRWEB) July 10, 2006 -- While for-profit
institutions have been aggressively courting students
for their online programs via emarketing for years, the
not-for-profits have been slower on the draw. But that
is changing, according to a recent report, entitled
“Attracting The Next Generation of Online Learners,”
from eLearners.com, the leading resource for connecting
students with online education.
In a survey of colleges and universities actively
marketing their degrees online, 82% of the for-profit
institutions claimed they devote more than fifty percent
of their budget to online marketing versus only 40% of
the not-for-profits claiming expenditures of fifty
percent and above. However, when asked about their
anticipated spending for the coming year, 80% of the
not-for-profit schools indicated they would be
increasing their online marketing budget, while 82% of
for-profits say they plan for their budgets to decrease
or remain the same.
When asked about their student enrollment process,
for-profits appeared to be a bit more aggressive with
91% saying they follow up with prospective students at
least once per month after the initial contact compared
to just 50% of not-for-profits indicating the same.
However, the outcome tends to lean in favor of the
not-for-profits, at least with respect to timing, where
70% of not-for-profit respondents saying that the
average time it takes from initial contact to paid
enrollment is three months or less versus only 55% of
the for-profits closing the deal in that time frame.
“Obviously, the for-profits have been realizing success
using online marketing channels for a longer period of
time, and their budgets reflect it,” said Andrew
Gansler, CEO of eLearners.com. “But, without question
the not-for-profits are taking the field and want to
play. At eLearners.com, we are seeing it day in and day
out as more and more not-for-profits are approaching us
for help. The question now is whether the
not-for-profits can leverage their brand names enough to
offset the tremendous marketing prowess that the
for-profits have achieved.”
Overall, the participating institutions indicated that
the biggest challenges facing them in online recruiting
is generating qualified leads, name recognition, contact
rates (ability to reach the leads) and conversion rates
of leads to enrollments. A unique struggle among
not-for-profits was dealing with internal bureaucracy
challenges, while for-profits mentioned the challenge of
ever increasing competition and costs.
eLearners.com interviewed 25% of its client base for
this survey. The sample was evenly distributed, with 52%
of respondents representing for-profit institutions, and
48% representing not-for-profits. The candidates were
interviewed on a host of subjects, including contact
response, conversion, retention, vendor relationships,
budgets and program selection.
eLearners.com’s research report, “Attracting the Next
Generation of Online Learners,” from which this data was
drawn, is available to institutions offering online
programs by emailing Howard Mandel, VP of Sales, at
e-mail protected from spam bots.
About eLearners.com®
The eLearners.com website is one of several high visibility, high-quality prospecting tools offered by EducationDynamics, LLC. Since 1999, eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners to online education, including online degree and certificate programs, specialized career training, and a variety of online courses. For prospective students, eLearners® provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online program offerings, as well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid resources. For colleges and universities, the eLearners.com website offers a low-cost, performance-based method to provide national exposure and increase enrollments in their programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit www.elearners.com.
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Press Release
