December 10, 2024
Excerpt taken from the Inside Higher Ed blog by Joshua Kim and Edward J. Maloney:
The new RNL report, “Online Program Marketing and Recruitment Practices: How Online Programs Are Leveraging AI, Communications Planning, ROI, and More to Maximize Yield,” is a must-read for anyone working in online program marketing and recruiting. With the significant focus that the report gives to AI usage and planning, we sat down with Rebecca Jenkins, director of product marketing at RNL, to discuss some of the most interesting things that the report surfaced about current usage of and attitudes about AI. Rebecca has a unique perspective as someone with a deep background as an institutional marketing leader. We asked her four questions:
Q: Was there any finding that stood out among all the others in terms of AI in higher education?
A: One thing that was surprising in the study is how many people are planning to or currently use AI for online marketing and recruiting. This doesn’t just extend to the people who are in the trenches and are trying to figure out how to get all the work done and still engage with students at the same time. This also extends up through senior leadership.
The study showed that nearly half of senior leadership or cabinet-level individuals are receptive to implementing AI solutions, and nearly 90 percent of marketing and recruitment leaders are receptive—with a considerable share being “very receptive.” This strongly indicates that AI enrollment solutions are not just something that some are hoping can be implemented but that they will be implemented.
Conversations about AI are happening all over now, and with these data, enrollment and marketing leaders can be confident in saying that there is a lot of receptivity across the nation in marketing and recruitment operations, as well as among institutional leadership.