Lynchburg College is a small, private liberal arts institution serving students from diverse geographic regions with a wide range of academic performance (high school GPAs ranging from 2.5 to 4.0). Because of this diversity, Lynchburg College has made it a campuswide priority to understand the needs of incoming students and connect them to the resources they need to succeed.

When I conduct workshops with college marketing and recruiting staff on the topic of e-mail marketing in higher education, I often lead with this question: “What’s the single most important job of an e-mail message?”

Frequent responses include “to get new students,” “to inform,” or “to get someone to apply.” More often than not, folks in the room are surprised when I share my answer: The most important role of an e-mail message is to get someone to click out of it as soon as possible.

As I present the findings from the latest E-Expectations research with clients and colleagues, one of the areas that generates the most discussion is the apparent interest prospective students show in using Webcams and other tools to have live conversations with current students, faculty, and admissions representatives.