Press Release

Media Contact: Kelsey Ill
(857) 221-9772
kelseyill@eduventures.com

COLLEGES NEED TO INVEST MORE IN ADMISSIONS WEB SITES, EDUVENTURES STUDY SAYS

Sites Shown to Have Critical Impact on Prospective Students, Yet Spending Lags

(Boston, MA) October 31, 2007 - College admissions Web sites are one of the most utilized and trusted sources of information by prospective students, yet admissions departments allocate a low percentage of their overall marketing budgets to them, according to a new Eduventures report, Maximizing the Effectiveness of the Admissions Web Site.

The report echoes previous studies by Eduventures' analysts in claiming that admissions Web sites have a critical impact on prospective students; however, despite their importance, it found that on average admissions departments spend just $61,500 – or 12% of their marketing budgets – on Web sites annually.

The report states: "Given that we now know the admissions Web site ranks as the most important channel through which colleges communicate with prospective students, we would expect institutions to be apportioning a relatively large share of their admissions marketing budget to the Web site. The data suggests this is not currently the case."

The report recommends that spending levels in this area be substantially increased to one-quarter to one-third of the overall admissions marketing budget. This, it says, would result in sites with improved content, feel, and architecture, and enable colleges and universities to boost marketing effectiveness and yield rates.

"Admissions departments must allocate more resources – financial and otherwise – to their Web sites," said Brent Keltner, Eduventures Senior Vice President. "Today, the importance of this channel for advancing the institution’s brand and engaging prospective students is second to none. The status quo no longer works."

 Maximizing the Effectiveness of the Admissions Web Site was prepared for Eduventures Enrollment Management Learning Collaborative membership. Its recommendations are based, in part, on in-depth analysis of admissions Web site usage by more than 5,500 high school seniors and incoming college freshmen.

About Eduventures
Eduventures is the industry leader in collaborative research and consulting for higher education. Eduventures is committed to providing colleges and universities with cost-effective, data-driven research and analysis designed to improve critical operations and practices. More than 300 higher education institutions participate in one or more of Eduventures’ six Learning Collaboratives: Continuing and Professional Education, Development, Enrollment Management, Online Higher Education, Schools of Education, and Student Affairs. These collaboratives provide members with research reports on current trends and issues, custom analysis, and implementation support, including opportunities to network with fellow professionals. More about Eduventures can be found at www.eduventures.com.