Communication Is Key
With all of the changes to technology in communication, what type of communication do you find most useful?
Email has become one of the most vital communication tools. It seems that 98% of students have email and check it regularely. Second most important would be the phone. I perfer to use email.
Hi Patrick,
I prefer to email students as well. Most students have smart phones and most have their email sent to their phones. I have found that email gets the most and fastest response from students. Also, email is great documentation that you have tried to contact the student. One issue is making sure that you have the correct email address.
We find that the phone is still our primary form of communicating with prospects. Email is not used as often at our school. The phone is also reliable for communicating our presentation within a live monitoring environment to ensure active compliance on every call.
Joseph,
Agreed, that many schools still rely on the phone as the fastest and best form of communication. Several schools are monitoring every call and maybe every type of communication to ensure that compliance is being met at every level.
Cindy Bryant
Obviously, the phone will always be essential; however, in current day, texting and e-mails have almost surpassed a simple phone call.
As a Registrar, for current students having questions, I see them during school hours. For graduates email seems to be the best form of communication. They tend to be working during business hours so it's difficult to get in touch with them. Email is definitely my go to form of communication.
Sandra,
In your position as a Registrar you have important information to convey to the students and it is critical that you be able to communicate effectively. I am glad you have found the method that works for you.
Cindy Bryant
I find that students tend to respond better to either email or text messages. Seems like phone numbers are more likely to be changed than email addresses so sometimes the only way of contact is email.
Linda,
Today's generation of students are definitely more technologically driven. I have learned that many people text each other while in their own home. I have noticed people respond much quicker to text than any other form of communication but you make a good point that email addresses seldom change.
Cindy Bryant
Most students are technologically savy these days and use e-mail or text messaging as their primary method of communication. So, I find that most of my communication is done through e-mail. I have had students suggest I e-mail them rather than call them because they do not always listen to their voice mail messages, or their phone mailbox may be full. People are able to get their e-mails on their cell phones and can receive, view, and respond to them faster.
I believe that social media has a huge impact and is really useful for students and institution, transparency is the key
I agree with Loretta; although I do still make a lot of phone calls, text messaging and emailing seem to be very popular of late.
My organization uses several types of communication. We use print material, phone calls, social media (several of them), email, and the stddent portal. Being a propriety education setting, we sometimes have trouble reaching our students by phone so we have to find different means in order to contact them. Their phones get disconnected or they change number severals times but it is always important to try and each them. You also need to be careful about disclosing too much information and causing a FERPA violation.
Kristi,
Using a variety of communication methods allows you to reach a wider variety of people. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy Bryant
In this technology savvy world we live in now, I have found facebook and texting to be the most useful. Students respond to text more then a phone call. Also, you may not be able to get in touch with a student but they will "like" something on your facebook. this indicates to me that the school is on her mind and she will contact me when she is ready. I find this to be a huge benefit because students can be difficult to get in touch with.
I agree, I am most successful reaching students via email and text...but the phone can still be effective.
I find that text messaging and emails are the type of communication that are most useful today. I have experienced that replies by text are way faster than a voice message. Due to today's technology and busy life schedule most student prefer to be texted or emailed.
I find the best communication is through email and if students are active students and they know the admissions officer well, then sending a text is works effectively.
