How CollegeRecon Delivers Solutions to St. Peter’s University to Succeed in their Branding & Enrollment Efforts
About St. Peter’s University
Saint Peter’s University has been unwaveringly focused on rigorous academics for 150 years. Saint Peter’s student body is made up of a diverse community of individuals who learn, live and thrive together. Saint Peter’s University is inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educating a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Saint Peter’s University is just a 12-minute train ride from New York City.
Executive Summary
In early 2022, we interviewed Frank Rivera, the Director of Military and Veterans Services at St. Peter’s University. Frank was
hired in 2021, becoming the first to be hired at his position. Since Frank first arrived, the university has grown its military and veteran funded enrollment by 27% (as of March ‘21). They expect to grow to 2x by the fall semester. CollegeRecon’s platform is delivering high quality, organic brand engagement and the ability to communicate directly with prospective students requesting information from St. Peter’s. In addition to these marketing activities, CollegeRecon is also providing Frank with invaluable resources, guides and strategic planning consultation. Frank, who served eight years in the United States Air Force, is a fan of CollegeRecon.
“The reason why I went with CollegeRecon at St. Peter’s is that I had a positive experience with them previously while I was at a different institution. They give me the individual veteran information that I need to make my approach specific, personal, and effective. I recruit every single student personally. That’s how we win. CollegeRecon is doing a great thing for service members and transitioning veterans.”
Initial challenges Frank confronted entering the military marketplace for colleges:
- Establishing trust within the military community
- Reaching the military community
- Lack of demographic data and historical information
- How to build and manage a military marketing plan that works effectively
- How to implement a strategic plan with CollegeRecon, Facebook, Google, etc.
- Creating effective messaging
- Compliance with government regulations surrounding military marketing and enrollment
- Building a budget for marketing to this target audience
- Ensuring the university had programs in place to ease transition and improve retention
