Hanover Research’s non-matriculant data analysis helped SUNY Old Westbury learn why some students declined, and how to boost application and admission rates.
Hanover Research’s non-matriculant data analysis helped SUNY Old Westbury learn why some students declined, and how to boost application and admission rates.
The State University of New York at Old Westbury (SUNY OW) challenges its student body to “Own your Future,” through academic excellence, intercultural connections, and a commitment to building a better world. In 2023, the leadership at SUNY OW committed to improve its student enrollment, engagement, and inclusion efforts. As a result, they turned to a strategic partnership with Hanover Research to refine their approach to engaging with prospective students in New York.
After noticing declining enrollment patterns, Dr. Bryan Terry, Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing, and Lisandra Ramos, Special Assistant to the President, Administration & Initiatives, wanted to understand what factors led non-matriculant students to choose a different path. However, like many higher education administrations, they ran into capacity challenges when considering how to gather, socialize, and make sense of their student data about enrollment decisions. They needed a partner to provide a custom analysis to better understand the choices and needs of students the university was not serving.
“Without Hanover, we wouldn’t be able to do this work. We were short-staffed, and we needed a partner. Hanover experts were the best partners for us then and continue to be great partners now.”
—Lisandra Ramos, Special Assistant to the President, Administration & Initiatives
With support from Terry and Ramos, Hanover’s data experts crafted a custom dashboard to gather and analyze data that reveals where SUNY OW applicants ultimately chose to enroll between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023. Using data from National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), they investigated non-matriculant enrollment data at U.S. two-year and four-year institutions, data on those who didn’t enroll anywhere, student demographic details, and information about competitor institutions. From this comprehensive dataset, Hanover’s team built an interactive tool tailored to SUNY OW’s needs that campus leaders could use to investigate which students they were losing, to whom, and why.
In March 2024, Hanover also presented a fresh set of key findings and recommendations to the university with insights focused on how to increase yield across various student sub-groups, demographics, and university departments.
For example, 39 non-matriculants interested in sociology in 2022–23 ended up enrolling at a nearby institution for criminal justice. The Hanover team recommended that SUNY OW revisit the messaging of its sociology and criminal justice programs to highlight their advantages compared to neighboring institutions to retain more applicants.
“Because of Hanover’s analyses, we’ve been able to find unique ways to support undocumented students and students with potentially compromised statuses by showcasing the right signals and signage that let them know that they are safe, welcome, and supported at SUNY Old Westbury.”
—Lisandra Ramos, Special Assistant to the President, Administration & Initiatives
The breadth of the data analysis has empowered SUNY OW leaders to refine their enrollment and engagement strategies, with a more nuanced understanding of the student market and SUNY OW’s institutional standing. As a result, some of the targeted changes they are implementing include:
Looking forward, SUNY OW leadership will continue to make strategic decisions to strengthen its competitive edge, tailor its marketing strategies, and respond to the academic and support needs of more prospective students, particularly across the most vulnerable sub-groups. The university’s ongoing partnership with Hanover will ensure that campus leaders keep data at the forefront when working to solve institutional challenges.
“In part because of Hanover’s analyses, we are already seeing significant gains in terms of applications and admits. Overall applications are up 15.3% over last year at this time and admits are up 6.8%. In Criminology, applications are up 34.4% and admits are up 26.9%.”
—Bryan Terry, Vice President for Enrollment and Cheryl Wilson, Dean of Arts and Sciences
The percentage of non-matriculant students who enrolled elsewhere within one year of declining admission
The percentage of enrolled undocumented students
The percentage of enrolled Hispanic/Latinx students
Total student enrollment
Research plays a crucial role in enrollment management, learn more with our guide, 5 Ways to Enhance Strategic Enrollment Management with Data.
State University of New York at Old Westbury
Public undergraduate college
Old Westbury, New York
Gather and analyze non-matriculant data to increase undergraduate enrollment yield