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RECRUITMENT & MARKETING
From Admitted to Enrolled:
How the iSchool at Illinois Utilizes Purposeful Engagement with Admitted MS/LIS Students
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By Katelyn Talbott, EdD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Emma L. Kopko, MS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Moises Orozco Villicaña, PhD, University of Illinois, Chicago
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he Master’s in Library and Information Sciences (MS/LIS) program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is continuously ranked the #1 program of its kind. To uphold the standards of a #1 ranked program, the Enrollment Management (EM) team and the Student Affairs team work in tandem to provide accessible and engaging resources to admitted students as they take into consideration the many factors that impact their decision to accept an admission offer.
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In 2021, the MS/LIS program accounted for 41% of the iSchool’s total student population. Of the total enrollment for the MS/LIS program, 67% are enrolled in the online, synchronous program with the remaining students participating in the on-campus program. The racial and ethnic make-up of the MS/LIS program is predominantly white (76%), followed by Latinx (10%), Black/African American (5%), students that identify as being more than one race or ethnicity (3%), Asian (3%), American Indian or Alaska Native (>1%), International (>1%), and Unknown Race or Ethnicity (>1%). What follows is an overview of the collaborative approach between Enrollment Management and Student Affairs to create purposeful engagement with admitted students to the MS/LIS program, which has consistently generated a yield rate that exceeds the campus yield rate for master’s programs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Enrollment Management The iSchool at Illinois is an extremely collaborative environment, where the Enrollment Management (EM) team frequently partners with the Students Affairs staff to ensure a positive, welcoming environment for all iSchool students. The EM team is responsible for working with prospective students during the application cycle –
recruiting applicants, answering a myriad of questions, holding information sessions and campus visits, and processing and reviewing applications. They are also in charge of the yield campaign, which seeks to convert admitted LIS students to accepted and enrolled students. The Student Affairs team assists with recruitment and yield efforts, but their primary role is to provide high-touch support to current students. Once students accept their offers of admission, there is a behind-the-scenes handoff between the EM team and the Student Affairs staff – but students must receive their offer of admission first. Our yield campaign launches two to three days after applicants are notified of their decision. The first email in the admitted LIS student yield campaign congratulates them on their admission and encourages them to consider joining the next group of talented information professionals, but the true purpose is to inform them of all the upcoming yield events, dates, times, and registration links. These events are designed to provide as much information as possible to the admitted students, so they feel prepared and confident to make an informed graduate enrollment decision. The fall 2022 yield campaign, which ran from February 1-April 15, 2022, contained eight yield events, many of which were held
Of the total enrollment for the MS/LIS program, 67% are enrolled in the online, synchronous program with the remaining students participating in the on-campus program. 4
Summer 2022
NAGAP Perspectives
