The Traditional Admission Funnel is Broken
This article is reproduced with kind permission from Brendan Schneider. Educate Plus are currently working with Brendan with the view of bring him to Australia to conduct a series of Master Classes.
In my opinion, the traditional admission funnel is broken. I believe this for two reasons:
1. The Rise in Ghost Inquiries
Ghost inquiries are those inquiries where the first point of contact with the prospective family is when they submit their application. The implications of ghost inquiries are huge.
Sure it was great that you received the application but what about all those families that researched your school and decided not to apply. The family has made a decision about your school without you having a voice in the conversation. I often wonder how many families have considered Sewickley Academy but never completed an inquiry form.
Let that sink in for a moment.
The implications are huge.
The traditional funnel model where a family would express interest in your school by calling the admission office with the purpose of receiving your admission packet are over. When the family made their inquiry, they were, in essence, giving you permission to market to them about your school. Those days are over!
The new model, as suggested by the ghost inquiry, is that families are doing their research about your school using Google, review sites like Great Schools, viewing your school’s social media channels, and talking to families and friends about their individual opinions.
When a family completes an inquiry form now, they have already made their decision that they are interested in your school.
Are you thinking about your marketing and admission processes in this new light?
2. The Funnel Signifies an End to the Process
I often walk around the office and say that it’s easier to re-enrol a student than it is to enrol a student. Where is re-enrolment represented in the traditional admission funnel?
It’s not!
Another reason that I think the traditional admission funnel is dead is that the point of the funnel signifies an end – that once a student is enrolled their journey is complete. I think that their journey is only beginning with your school.
There has been a change in this line of thinking in recent years as evidenced in the advancement model at schools as well as admission directors assuming the title of Director of Enrolment. Schools have increasingly spent more time strategically thinking about retention and my school even has a committee where we discuss retention beginning in the early winter of the school year.
What replaces the funnel?
This is a great question and one that I’ve been struggling with for some time. While I’m honestly not sure what form the new funnel should take I have recently settled on The Enrolment Rings.
Here is the general concept – a student moves from one ring to the next based on their level of attraction or commitment to the school. The goal of the school is to move a child into the ring in the middle which signifies an Evangelist for the school.
Here are the Rings:
Ring 1: Awareness (of your school)
Ring 2: Interest (in your school)
Ring 3: Application (to your school)
Ring 4: Enrolment
Ring 5: Re-enrolment
Ring 6: Alumni
Ring 7: Evangelist
The Enrolment Rings help to address the two weaknesses above of the traditional admission funnel: 1. A school cannot simply focus upon Ring 2: Interest (or Inquiry) anymore, they must also focus on raising awareness of your school for mission appropriate families, 2. The Enrolment Rings have no end, as the funnel does, once a family reaches Ring 7: Evangelist a school will have to work hard in order to keep the family in Ring 7. There is never an end, or finish line – schools, must continue to cultivate individual families to keep them in the Evangelist ring.
Meet the WA Educate Plus Committee and learn about all the opportunities your membership can bring. Hear from the Chair of the National Board, Mandy MacFarland, and enjoy the opportunity to network with industry peers.
Mara Roberts, Director of 
Mark Thomas