7 Steps to Successfully Grow Your Online Enrollment
When I moved from four years as Director of Residential Recruiting to Executive Director of Distance Learning, I realized I was comparing apples and oranges in the recruiting cycle. Through this posting you will see bits and pieces of an article written by Marketing Sherpa, Inc. in June 2008 that I participated in. (I could not include the whole article because of copyright laws) Please click the logo above to visit their website. They have a full range of useful articles and tools.
Here was the challenge I was faced with when I first came into the online industry:
“Adult distance learners are a difficult demographic for colleges to attract. It’s not like targeting high school students within a certain radius and knowing that many of them will be interested in you simply because of your location.” (Marketing Sherpa June 2008)
“Ronald Kennedy faced this dilemma when he became Executive Director, Distance Learning and Graduate Studies, Liberty University, about 2 1/2 years ago. He was charged with increasing the college’s distance learner enrollment, which were about 12,000 students when he took over. At Liberty, adult and distance learners are almost one and the same — 60% to 70% are 30 to 45 years old.” (Marketing Sherpa June 2008)
Six Online Distance Learning Success Steps
In an earlier posting I laid out a five point plan on how to determine what your next steps should be once you thought going back to school in your future. Below I have outlined six steps to being successful once you start. Are you nervous to try online education? I myself was very skeptical of taking online versus the traditional classroom setting. I felt I was not disciplined enough to take responsibility for my studies without procrastinating until the very last minute on assignments and test. It was not until a friend of mine started taking classes online and logged in and showed me how to navigate the course (Liberty University uses Blackboard technology). Once I saw how simple the technology was to use and how the students and faculty interacted it took the fear out of trying this. I was in my early 30’s when I decided to attempt my MBA online. I felt I was very computer literate, but I still was nervous until the above encounter showed me I could do it. I can imagine for older students the fear of the technology is even greater.
Five Steps to determine what Online, Distance University is right for you!
Taking advantage of online, distance education can help land the career you want—all in a format that fits your life, your schedule, and your finances.
No matter what online school you decide to enroll with, landing the career of your dreams takes planning. The most important thing to remember is, no action means no change. With everything to gain and nothing to lose, make today your day of change! Below I have outlined five steps that are important as you decide what school is right for you:
1. Decide to do it!
Examine your life and current career and determine the key areas where change is needed and then make the commitment to change them.
How continuing your education can pay you back
“Benefits abound for workers pursuing continuing education in certain fields, such as healthcare, business and education, experts say. Teaching continuing education and nursing continuing education seem to be the most popular today, along with continuing medical education. But the pursuit should be a lifelong occupation for everyone, no matter what their vocation.”
Attached is an article that summarizes a few career fields and how continuing education can help your career. Please note that all of the degree programs talked about in this article are available through Liberty University’s distance learning program as well. Click here for more information.
With the rising cost of gas and just about everything else, continuing your education is one thing you cannot afford to cut back on. There are still many options for financing your education that do not have to be direct expenditures out of your wallet today.
Federal student aid (Title IV) is available in the way of pell grant and, student loans, subsidized and unsubsidized. Most companies offer corporate tuition reimbursement for furthering your education, check with your human resource department. If you are a veteran or military personnel, military tuition assistance and other grants could apply to you. Also, there are a large amount of “outside” scholarships available if you know where to look for them. Liberty University Distance Learning has a website to help you with “outside” scholarships.
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