OVERVIEW
CHALLENGE
For example, traditional students age 17–24 may typically enroll in baccalaureate transfer courses. Adult learners ages 24–50 are typical of those enrolling in certificate or degree programs in occupational areas, or to learn new professional skills. Employers and employees interested in workforce training fit a different profile — as do participants in continuing education programming.
ANALYSIS
sing MapMarker USA, TETRAD geocoded all of the addresses in both the enrollment and the prospect databases. “Now we can see where MCC’s students reside and where course schedules were being distributed,” said Len Walker, the College’s director of marketing and public relations.
The firm then helped Walker to create color-coded thematic maps to illustrate the density of course catalog distribution, as well as enrollment throughout MCC’s service area and surrounding counties (see Figures 1a–1c). This was accomplished by aggregating the number of students and schedules by U.S. Census Bureau block-group geography.
sing U.S. Census updates, we are watching the changing demographics and can forecast projections five years forward.
-Len Walker, McHenry County College
CONCLUSION
According to Walker, comparisons between household data and enrollment at the block level allow him to model marketing campaigns that can return a higher yield in enrollment than might otherwise occur. He estimated that the sum total investment in software is approximately $10,000.