UA News

Instant messaging, virtual advising and application checklists are among the features that will be available to prospective UA students through the Hobsons Enrollment Management Technology Connect system.

This May, the Office of Admissions at The University of Arizona will have a new tool to recruit undergraduate students for 2010 classes.

The Office of Admissions needed to find a state-of-the-art recruitment system to complement the Mosaic Project's campuswide administrative computer systems conversion and has selected Hobsons Enrollment Management Technology, or EMT, Connect.

The Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, solution team – composed of representatives from admissions recruitment and processing, the Mosaic Project and the Enrollment Management Systems Group – considered all options carefully when reviewing potential providers and choosing Hobsons EMT as the admissions CRM provider.

Hobsons has supported college and university enrollment efforts for more than 30 years. The company has the breadth and depth of experience to support prospective UA students' communication and tracking needs, offering the greatest opportunity for success.

EMT Connect provides a Web-based CRM system that stores student contacts, manages communication flow and creates detailed reports on recruitment efforts. The UA will have the ability to construct and store customized, comprehensive, multi-channel communication plans, which can be targeted to specific groups. Communications can be varied based on student interests and can be scheduled and made recurring.

According to Nikolas Hodge, Mosaic Project manager for student recruitment, "As part of the (EMT) Connect implementation we will be working closely with Hobsons to develop a customized Web portal, which will replace our current MyUA (admissions) system. Hobsons refers to this portal as a VIP page; we will likely come up with a better 'UA-centric' name for it."

Prospective students browsing the admissions Web site will have the opportunity to request a personalized VIP page by filling out a simple inquiry form. These VIP pages will deliver personalized and directed content to any student in EMT Connect.

Students will be able to access information on a variety of topics, including financial aid, upcoming events and campus visitation programs. Their page's content is customized to their specific interests, and customized checklists will assist them in tracking their application progress.

The "Norton Online Living Report" states that 76 percent of U.S. teens, ages 13 to 17, "constantly" or "frequently" visit social networking sites.

EMT Connect allows online users to interact with each other in a moderated, common online networking location.

Prospective students browsing the UA admissions Web site will be able to ask questions of a virtual adviser, rate the responses, select similar questions and fill out an inquiry form. Questions that cannot be answered will be routed to staff for a personalized answer. Instant/group chat also will be available so that students can ask questions of a live counselor in real time.

"Really, the advantages of the Hobsons solution are the ability to more effectively target our student populations and ultimately allow us to organize and access our resources economically. Additionally, the student experience is greatly enhanced by a more customized interaction with our offices," Hodge said. "The features of the Hobsons service allow us to bring specific and customized information to our prospects."

More information is available on the Mosaic Web site. Questions regarding the student recruitment project can be directed to Hodge at glazier@email.arizona.edu.