Case Study: TargetX and George Mason University

Enter the TargetX Schools App.

“Schools App was the only platform I found in the marketplace that allowed for mobile and for us to engage in a more robust way across campus,” says Boyce. “Faculty, staff, and our current students charged with talking to prospective students could now connect with ease.”

Schools App is a university-branded mobile community that connects incoming students with university staff and one another to encourage enrollment and continued engagement. The Schools App tool allows universities to nurture prospective students, target those who are on the fence, and predict student likelihood to enroll. It also builds community before students ever arrive on campus in order to ease the transition to college and keep students connected to each other and the university.

Schools App encourages George Mason to have a more cohesive, and collective communications experience between the university and prospective students. Boyce explains, “Schools App allows us to break down the silos associated with student communications. Now, each of the different offices on campus can communicate with students simultaneously, in the same space. Additionally, if a student wants to talk to another student, they have a way to do that. Traditional communications concepts within admissions just didn’t work that way.”

Results: Students using TargetX Schools App are four times more likely to enroll at George Mason

The outcomes for George Mason are impressive.

“Students who join Schools App are about four times more likely to enroll at George Mason than students who don’t use the application,” says Boyce. “For example, 60 percent of students from outside of Virginia (who we yield at a much lower rate) who joined Schools App enrolled at Mason Only 4 percent of students who didn’t join the app did so. We think that speaks volumes.”

One of the reasons why Schools App has been so successful at George Mason is because it allows staff to more efficiently identify, target, and engage with students.

“This product makes my team more efficient because of things like Schools App keyword alerts. Now, we can actually dive into conversations with students based on something that they’ve said. Just one singular keyword, such as ‘scholarships’ or the phrase ‘I’m from California’ can help staff members identify which students to engage with and how. For example, a student having the conversation that ‘she would love to attend our school but doesn’t have enough scholarship dollars’ can be targeted to see if there is a solution.”