Real Life Christian Academy Experiences 15% Enrollment Growth

RLCA LogoI have known Dr. Steve Long, Administrator at Real Life Christian Academy in Clermont, FL, for several years. Steve has attended many of my workshops that I presented at several ACSI Conventions as well as at the RenWeb Power User’s Conference.

Based on this relationship and his need to grow the enrollment at RLCA, Steve reached out to me in the fall of 2011. Even though the overall enrollment had grown at RLCA, the new student interest had declined for several years. Steve’s goal was to develop a marketing and enrollment plan that would fuel growth through increased retention of current families and increased recruitment of new families.

Through this partnership in the Enrollment Catalyst Program, a two-day site visit and a parent survey was conducted. As a result, a detailed report was presented that included a comprehensive assessment and recommendations for the school’s marketing and enrollment plan. Then, weekly coaching conference calls were held using Skype to discuss the implementation of the plan. This weekly coaching provided the accountability and guidance necessary for Real Life Christian to exceed its enrollment goal this year.

Read what Dr. Steve Long said about his work with Enrollment Catalyst and Rick Newberry:

“I have known Rick for several years, and he is simply a great guy. He is easy to work with, keeps abreast of the latest practices and brings an informed, critical eye to your school. Our process with him helped us to drill down to areas of strength and weakness that were based upon constituent surveys and hard data. It removed some of the guesswork. From that he was able to make clear practical recommendations of action steps. As a result we revamped our entire marketing and communications plan, made social media a key component of our strategy, developed a retention plan (for the first time), and moved from a part-time enrollment person to full time.

As a school we have continued to grow the past few years, but new student enrollments had declined every year.  After working with Rick, we have been able to reverse that trend. Our total student enrollment this year is up about 15% over last year and new student enrollment increased for the first time in four years.

Perhaps the most significant impact has been in the area of re-enrollment. We now see this as an everyday effort throughout the year, connected with customer service, communication, telling our story again and again, and turning unhappy parents into fans. Our early reenrollment for next year is at 88%, which is huge for us. In the past it hovered around 78%. I can honestly credit Rick for this drastic improvement. Many of the recommendations we are still working at implementing, so long after our contract with Enrollment Catalyst ended we are gleaning benefits.

I would highly recommend Rick and Enrollment Catalyst. If you aren’t willing to make changes, then don’t waste the money – simply listening to advice won’t change your school. But if you are serious about the future of the school, an investment with Enrollment Catalyst will produce results for you. We likely will repeat the process in a few years, just to keep us on track.”

About Enrollment Catalyst and Rick Newberry

Enrollment Catalyst partners with schools across the United States and Canada to provide coaching and consulting in enrollment management and marketing systems, strategies and solutions. The program is designed to provide school leaders with effective marketing and enrollment growth strategies as well as staff accountability, direction and results needed to grow enrollment.

Enrollment Catalyst President and Consultant Dr. Rick Newberry has 25 years of educational leadership, marketing and enrollment management experience in both higher education and K-12 levels, and has served as the executive director of development and enrollment management at a private university, as well as head of a large independent school. Rick regularly writes in his blog at www.enrollmentcatalyst.com/blog and presents at many educational conferences around the country.

To find out how Enrollment Catalyst can help your school grow and increase enrollment, contact Rick at Rick.Newberry@EnrollmentCatalyst.com.

 

 

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