Case Study: University of North Florida

Turning Research Into Results: How One University Doubled Regional Admits, Dramatically Increased Summer Applications, and Admitted More than 95% of Its Summer Class by December 1.

Located in Jacksonville, Florida, the University of North Florida (UNF) serves roughly 16,000 students through 53 undergraduate- and 28 graduate-degree programs. In 2014, UNF partnered with Stamats to conduct an aggressive program of research that would shape the university’s short- and long-term recruitment strategy.

Our team hit the ground running. The goal was to design a factor correlation study that would influence UNF’s recruitment success in two interrelated ways: First, by providing a detailed profile of recently enrolled UNF students, the study would identify specific personal, demographic, and psychographic factors that correlate with recruitment success. Second, it would offer university leadership direction on how to apply the data to refine future recruitment targeting efforts and increase conversion rates.

To the credit of UNF leadership, the information Stamats provided was put into action immediately. Shortly after the factor correlation study results were shared, the insights it generated were used to inform and reshape the university’s recruitment strategy. That same year, UNF more than doubled admits in one of its most crucial geographic regions. Building on this early success, UNF’s summer applications increased by 4,000 and by December 1, the university had admitted an impressive 95 percent of its summer class.

Like our own teams, UNF leadership has been delighted by the incredible results. In the words of Cathy Cole, assistant vice president for enrollment services and director, integrated marketing and strategic communication at UNF, “The data and recommendations we received were simply incredible. Not only were they thorough and comprehensive in nature, they were such a deep dive that we were able to use the information to strategically plot the next five years of our recruitment marketing plan. Because Stamats’ research team was as well-versed and experienced in higher education data mining and analysis as they were, the predictive nature of the findings and their recommendations absolutely exceeded our expectations. Stamats has earned my highest recommendation. Their counsel is just smarter.”

At Stamats, we understand that powerful research can drive powerful results. If you’d like to learn more about how our research products can add to your school’s success, call us at 800-553-8878.