Communication Tools: Technology to Use When Recruiting New College Students

Communication Tools: Technology to Use When Recruiting New College Students
David Compton
Western Oregon University
March 2, 2020

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Communication Tools: Technology to use when recruiting new college students
Introduction
One of the most important aspects of knowledge and understanding is communication.
Individuals, and society as a whole, have developed many inventions, but without the invention
of language, none of it would likely have taken place. The ability to pass information from one
person to another allows the ability to give direction, show understanding, pass on historical
events, or simply make friends. As time has gone on, the ways in which information is spread
has changed. In the past, information was shared by town criers, “It is said that 'town criers'
would hold annual contests to discover which of them could shout a comprehensible message
over the greatest distance” (Gascoigne, 2001, p. 1). In other words, they were trying to see who
was the best at disseminating information to the people. In modern day, large amounts of
information can easily be sent to the masses by the click of a mouse button. As technology has
advanced, so have the ways people communicate.
Given the complexities of communication methods and how they have changed over
time, this essay discusses the types of communication technologies that are used to best recruit
students to college. It should be deliberate effort in deciding how to best present information.
This includes using a multifaceted approach that includes some print, and many forms of digital
media. At Western Oregon University, the Office of Admissions tries to provide multiple media
for prospective students to garner information. This includes print material, emailing as well as
text campaigns, and using multiple social media platforms. In the world of college recruitment,
communicating the correct information with prospective students in an effective manner, and

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through the right means, is of utmost importance. The success of any admissions office
demands that the information is clear and concise. Without that there will be a decrease in
enrollment which, if not stopped, could lead to a closure of a campus. Unfortunately, this is a
reality that some colleges are currently experiencing. To avoid this problem, there are many
tools available to use, but there are preferred ways in which 16 and 20-year olds want to be
reached.
The Types of Communication Medias
Before identifying practices of college recruitment communication, it would be wise to
understand what technologies are commonly used. This section presents multiple types of
media used by recruiters to communicate with students. I will discuss the purpose and
techniques of print media, email, text and social media (digital media). Print media includes any
information that is printed on paper for the purpose of distribution. A device is not needed to
read or understand print information. Also, I will keep e-mail separate from other digital media:
although e-mail is a form of digital media, it does not take on the same behavior as programs
like texting, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. E-mail technology is older and generally used
to present more in-depth information to a student as opposed to the quick nature of social
media platforms. Digital media is not intended to give you the whole message without further
exploration on the part of the user. Brief information is there, but the consumer must take
action to find out more. The information you see on the surface is quick and meant to pull you
in.

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We use these three types of media at Western Oregon University’s Office of Admissions.
This section will define each of these media types, explore their uses, and analyze their benefits
and drawbacks.
Print
Of the three types of communication media described in this essay, print media is the
oldest. It is also widely used in the recruiting process of a college hopeful. As described by
Schmandt-Besserat (2014), “writing is a system of graphic marks representing the units of a
specific language” (para. 1). This simply means that the text you see on a printed document
represents a language used to communicate an idea. One of the earliest known forms of writing
was in 3200 B.C. in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq. Writing by hand can be very time
consuming, but around the year 1440, Johannes Gutenberg developed a way to copy writing
very quickly which led to a boom in the ability to spread information around the known world
(New World Encyclopedia, 2019). The reason for this boom in the spread of information was
the increased number of common citizens who started to learn how to read. Before this time,
information was “fed” to those who were not literate. Prospective students today are highly
capable of doing research and reading the information available on their own, but the
recruiter’s job of presenting information verbally is still important. Just as the pamphlets and
viewbooks that are distributed every year are also important in grabbing and keeping the
interest of the student. Today, the use of electronic printers and Xerox machines makes
information readily available within seconds.

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Although print has been available for centuries, there have been more recent advances
that have made it seem obsolete in many ways. During the early 1990s roughly 33 percent of
10th graders said they read a newspaper almost every day (Twenge, 2018). By 2016 that
number had plummeted to only 2 percent. Teenagers today are reading less and less print
media, gravitating to internet usage and social media instead. “Use of digital media increased
substantially from 2006 to 2016. Among 12th-graders, internet use during leisure time doubled
from one to two hours per day during that period” (para. 7). This tells us that 16 to 20-year olds
are using the internet far more often to get their information than by reading it in print
material.
Plainly stated, students are not getting their information primarily from print media. If
they are, it is usually through a computer or e-reader and not from a book, magazine, or
newspaper. A Common Sense Media report showed that from 2010 to 2012 the use of paper
books for reading decreased from 66% to 58% for 9- to 17 – year-olds (Alter, 2014, para. 5).
Reading of printed material has continued to decline for all age groups over the last 15 years.
According to a Washington Post article, reporting on an American Time Use Survey, “In 2004,
roughly 28 percent of Americans age 15 and older read for pleasure on a given day. In 2017 that
figure was about 19 percent” (Ingraham, 2018, para. 2). Students who are hopeful to start
college in the next year or two are reading less for the purpose of leisure which is also causing a
decrease in reading for information.
Not everyone feels that print is on its way out for good, however (Lisk, 2018). Some
within the media world have found that print media isn’t so much dead, as it is evolving. Print
was once the staple in the marketing world, but now can, “sometimes feel unique and break

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through the digital clutter of digital advertising (para. 1).” In other words, print material can
help break up the monotony of digital information. It can stand out as it is different than the
advertisements we get on a device. According to some, print needs to be included in a diverse,
cross-platform strategy. In college recruiting this means that in addition to social media or
digital advertising, you also have material that has been printed. Print might not be used as
often, or is in shorter runs, but it is still effective in getting information out there.
Admissions counselors are accustomed to using print media. In college recruitment it is
still important to have information written down so that the students being recruited have a
way to go back to it without having to get lost in the clutter of digital advertisement. The types
of things that are used to entice college bound students are pamphlets about housing, view
books to show off the entire campus, financial aid and scholarship flyers, as well as information
about specific degrees that are offered. As much as students are attached to their phones,
people still want something tangible to flip through when they are looking for information. A
study done in Singapore showed that students, aged 14 to 18, still prefer to have a printed book
in favor of an e-reader (Loh, Sun, 2018). Some of the reasons included that the students felt
“awkward reading online”, they “liked the feel of turning pages”, or that they felt that using
their device made it “difficult to read” (ps. 667-668). It is important that with printed
information a mixture of text and visual media is provided for it to be most effective. Since
teenagers are not reading as much as they once did, it is necessary to find a way to make print
media have a high reward for reading it. Most of the print material that is used ties back to a
website so that students have an option to get more information using a media they are most
comfortable with.

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E-mail
E-mail has a long history. The earliest form of e-mail was used at MIT in 1965 (Peter,
2014). E-mail predates the creation of ARPANet, which was the precursor to the internet (para.
1). In other words, we have been using this form of communication since before the World
Wide Web was even conceived. As time has passed, more and more people have adopted the
use of e-mail, and with internet companies like Google, Yahoo, and MSN, e-mail is not only easy
to access, it is an important form of communication for work. Recent surveys suggest that those
in the working world send and receive up to 122 emails per day. This number is expected to
grow (The Radicati Group, 2015).
According to a 2018 Radicati Group study there were estimated to be roughly 4.4 billion
e-mail accounts in use as of 2015. That number was expected to grow by 3.8 billion before the
start of 2019. (Tschabitscher, 2018) The same study stated that the average user has 1.75 e-
mail accounts active. The world’s population at roughly 7.6 billion people. This shows that not
everyone has an e-mail account but, it is still widely used (Census.org, 2019). Virtually all
prospective students have access to an email account and if they don’t, they can get a free one
with relative ease.
The use of e-mail has given people the ability to communicate quickly with one another
through the use of computers or devices. Sending a note to someone can be easy as typing it
and pressing send. This can be a helpful tool in communicating knowledge, which can be used
to send information to an entire recruiting class, but there are some drawbacks to this type of
communication. One drawback is the loss of non-verbal and social context cues (Zawacki-

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Richter and Latchem, 2018). Recruiters have to be very clear about the information that is being
sent out. If it is not explicit, meaning the content of your email is easy to read and identify what
should be taken away from it, it could make a prospective student turn away from the college.
Finally, not all students will seek out the information that is sent to them through e-
mail. E-mail is easily avoidable if a student does not login to the service. E-mail, although
offered to almost every student through their school district at no additional cost, is not always
a resource that is used. A recruiter may not have knowledge of the accounts that a student
chooses to use. This can cause problems within an educational setting if a student is not
receiving the information even if they check their preferred account often. Even among WOU
students, many forget to or don’t check their university provided email account. Thus, email is
not always the most reliable way to reach current or prospective students.
E-mail has some drawbacks, but there are also some upsides to using this technology.
“Using e-mail is time independent” (Zawacki-Richter and Latchem, 2018). When writing an e-
mail, you can take the time to articulate what your purpose is and what the recruit should be
getting out of this communication without worrying about real time issues. A recruiter can be
thoughtful of what they are trying to inform students of and can respond in a more useful
fashion. It also allows students who might be more introverted an avenue to craft a question
that can not only be private, but also allows them to use wording that best outlines what they
are trying to get across to the admissions counselor.
E-mail communication can be a valuable tool that any admissions office has at their
disposal. Admissions offices allocate money out of their budget every year on Customer

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Relationship Management tools, known as Customer Relations Modules (CRMs). According to
the CRM used in the Office of Admissions at Western Oregon University, there have been over
200,000 emails sent to prospective students over the last two years as of 2019. The topics can
vary from an upcoming event on campus, to a specific deadline, or to highlight something
exciting that has been happening with a former alumni or current student. The price of a CRM
platform can vary greatly depending on the types of features that might be important to an
Admissions Office. These add-ons can be the addition of texting platforms, a modifiable
application, letter printing capabilities, etc. The Office of Admissions at Western Oregon
University allocates nearly $30,000 per year on their CRM, but that number is expected to rise
each year. These tools allow users to store student contact information and send out e-mails to
them at a fast pace. They also allow for the creation of communication plans, or ways for you to
plan out the different information campaigns, that include important print material, calling
campaigns and e-mail communications. Although not every student uses e-mail at the same
rate, it is fair to say that most students being recruited by Western Oregon University staff will
have at least one e-mail available for this type of communication. The same cannot be said of a
working phone number, or a reliable mailing address.
Texting and Social Media
Today, the most popular and continually growing way to reach people is through social
media and texting. As with many other types of technologies it is not used by 100 percent of
the population, a high percentage of the United States population uses social media as a way of
getting their information or communicating. A 2018 survey done by The Manifest, a business
consultant, showed that 86 percent of those surveyed used social media on a daily basis and 72

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percent use social media multiple times per day (Herhold, 2018, para. 6). A lot of people are
using social media and many are using it at multiple intervals throughout the day. Two separate
surveys, one from 2015 and another from 2017 showed that students are getting information
through social media rather than seeking out other news sources like a newspaper or scheduled
news report. The 2015 survey showed that roughly 60 percent of respondents use their social
media, or friends feeds to “bump into” content (Swanson, 2015, para. 13). In other words, over
half of those surveyed preferred to not seek out additional news, but would rather come across
it while they are using their social media applications. The 2017 survey also had about 60
percent of the 853 respondents between the ages of 10-18 saying that they prefer to receive
information through social media (Robb, 2017). Social media isn’t the only way that the
students being recruited today are getting information, but it is important to have content
available through these means.
In addition to social media platforms, a high percentage of Americans own cellular
devices and use texting as a valued form of communication. Getting the information into the
hands of a prospective student is an important piece to recruitment. An article by the Pew
Research Center stated that in 2019, 96% of Americans owned a cell phone, but those that
owned a smart phone is now “...at 81%, up from just 35% in 2011” (Pew Research Center, 2019,
para. 2). In less than a 10-year period the number of individuals owning a smartphone that has
the capability of accessing the internet, email, texting and apps has skyrocketed. The way that
information is gathered and sent out is dependent on the type of device and application people
are using. If the goal is to reach someone on their phone, text might be a valuable way to reach
that student. It is also important that the information can be made adaptable for programs like

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Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram. These are currently the most popular programs
being used by teens as of 2019 (Broadbandsearch.net, 2020). With a high percentage of
Americans owning smart phones and another large percentage owning a tablet or computer,
information needs to be digital in order to reach the masses.
This goes along with the trend that is seen in college admissions. Most of the students
being actively recruited, the so-called Generation Z, or students who were born between the
late-1990s and the second decade of the 2000s, are native users of devices (Mohr and Mohr,
2017). They were virtually born with technology in their hands, unlike earlier generations. In
order to reach them, a robust online presence is necessary, but further, taking advantage of the
technologies available is a must. The use of Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and even Facebook is
widespread. According to research done by LivePerson, a company that develops
conversational commerce and AI software, nearly 70% of their research group responded that
they preferred receiving information through messaging programs as opposed to apps that they
download (Sulleyman, 2019, para. 7). This means that students are open to getting information
through chat programs they are already using.
How to connect
When trying to distribute information to a student, it is important that student is being
reached through the technologies they are using. Using applications that they are using is a
priority, but even that is not enough. A successful campaign must provide information that
grabs the student’s attention. A post on the website academichelp.net stated that “The average
attention span of a Generation Z teen is only 8.25 seconds” (Swanson, 2015, para. 3). That

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means the Office of Admissions must have content that is catchy and makes a student want to
continue to engage in the information being presenting to them. This puts pressure on the
admissions office to make sure that the information being provided is information that the
student wants to know about.
In conclusion, the type of technology that is being used is important. There are obvious
positives and negatives with using one type of way to present information exclusively. The way
that information is presented is just as important. All types of media, print, email, or digital, can
be an effective way to reach a young person if it is something that catches their attention. It is
important that a connection is made with the newer generation using the most popular means,
but it is also important that the student doesn’t feel like it is a waste of their time. That is why
the Office of Admissions at WOU continues to look for ways to connect with students using
some print material as well as digital delivery methods. To reach enrollment goals there is a
need to keep things familiar, but also to expand the delivery methods to make sure that more
students are being reached and get the information in a manner that is most useful to them.

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