Pushing Forward: Recruiting During a Global Pandemic

With the Governor’s “Stay at Home” order issued on March 23, UToledo had to pivot quickly to an entirely virtual recruitment plan throughout the spring and early summer. The Office of University Marketing and Communications divided efforts between crisis communications/COVID19 response and enrollment support with designated teams leading each area. The enrollment-focused team quickly created a number of new digital assets and launched several new websites to replicate the University’s cancelled Experience Days and other spring recruitment events, driving conversions from applications to admits, and admits to enrolled, and attracting new, local admits.

Future Rocket

With the cancellation of the University’s spring Experience Days and on-campus visits, UToledo repurposed the existing utoledo.edu/futurerocket website to welcome prospective students (primarily rising high school seniors) with a special video from Dr. Flapp Cockrell, vice president for student affairs. In addition, each academic college and several campus units recorded a video showcasing their unique program offerings. In total, the site had 2,796 total pageviews since it launched April 8, with visitors spending an average of 2 minutes, 5 seconds exploring the content.

New Rocket

Designed specifically for admitted students, this website creates a personalized experience from the first login. Admitted students directly from high school received a special congratulatory mailer with a decal enclosed and an invitation to log into utoledo.edu/newrocket. After logging in with their name and the college they have been admitted to, they are then served up custom content specific to their particular academic interest. The goal of the website was to create a fun, virtual experience that walked the student through the next steps needed to enroll for fall including: paying for college, setting up UTAD accounts and submitting an enrollment deposit. In total, the site received 4,173 pageviews since launching on April 10, with 43.4% of visitors clicking on one of the call-to-action links. Nearly 140 students activated or logged into their UTAD account from this site.

Hometown Rocket

UToledo also quickly stood up a special “Hometown Rocket” campaign that included direct mail, email, digital advertising and a web landing page focused on the advantage of staying close to home given the uncertainty of the pandemic. Read more in the Marketing feature Sparking Conversations on Choosing a College Closer to Home.