How the University of Notre Dame built a strategic continuation of their engaging event with prospective parents quickly
About the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame is one of America’s leading undergraduate teaching colleges with 75 majors offered to their nearly 9,000 undergraduate students. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is known for research advancements and a long list of accomplished alumni.
Focusing on an important part of student recruitment- parents and families
When the University of Notre Dame sets out to recruit their incoming class, they are keenly aware that the entire family is involved in the process. Parents often have even more questions than their student in learning about an institution and confirming the next steps towards their child’s dream of attending college. This fall, they planned a robust schedule of virtual events that were focused on students and their families.
Seizing opportunity is possible virtually
One event proved to be incredibly successful and warranted nimble and strategic shifting of plans. While utilizing Conduit to host an executive panel for parents to connect, the sheer number of questions and the thoughtful discussions that were happening was too much for the allotted hour. The team quickly added an additional “part 2” discussion to keep the engaging question and answer session going- a strategy not possible during the in-person open houses of the past.
The Results
The initial event saw 1,300 parents log-in asking questions and hearing from 3 different Fighting Irish families. Due to the popularity of the event, they strategically decided not to wait until the next scheduled parent event but instead turned to the services at PlatformQ Education to add a last-minute additional event to the calendar two days later. Exclusively inviting the panel’s attendees, they saw immediately how effective that decision was when 400 came back to continue the conversations.
“At Notre Dame, we developed a virtual strategy that goes beyond our traditional in-person family events. We’ve created virtual regional events that bring together both parents and students in evening information sessions. This way, enrollment officers are able to reach families at their homes, while also avoiding the screen fatigue that arises when staff members are expected to host numerous separate events.” Joyce Lantz
Director of Recruitment and Communications
University of Notre Dame
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