What's Working in Adult Education Outreach

This webinar highlighted practical, easy-to-implement ways programs are using mobile-first communication to connect with learners, improve participation, and save staff time. Transcript below.

Brittany Lawson [00:10-31:10]: Hey, everybody! Welcome to our webinar! I'm going to go ahead and wait for some more people to join. I just opened this up, so we'll give it a couple minutes to let everybody get into the webinar room. And then we'll get started. Special thanks to Megan for running things in the background for us. As you guys are entering, it'd be awesome if you can use the chat to tell us what organization you're with and where you are from. All right, I just dropped my information in the chat, so if you could do the same, that'd be great. We'll see where people are all hailing from today. I am currently in Central Illinois, in East Peoria. Yeah, and like Megan said in the chat too, if you have any questions throughout the webinar, feel free to drop them in the chat. At the very end, we'll have a Q&A, and we'll field those questions. There's also going to be some interaction with this as far as kind of testing out the tool, so have your cell phones on you so that you can scan some QR codes. Andrea from Tampa. I bet it's real nice in Tampa right now. It's only 66 where I'm at, but it's still beautiful. I'm not complaining. There's no snow, so I'm happy. Hey, Michelle! All right. And Shay from Indiana. Hey, Shay. Okay, we've got some more people that are joining, but I'm sure they will check the chat and introduce themselves as they come in. Again, ask any questions that you might have in the chat, and I'll answer them at the end. But I'll go ahead and get started here and share my screen, because there'll be a lot to see and learn. What we're discussing today is what's working in adult education as far as outreach goes. I actually have an adult education background. My previous line of work was in adult education. I was in the admissions office and also recruiting within high schools, so talking to high school seniors about their options after graduation. I'm very familiar with what it's like to engage and interact with younger folks who are high school age and exploring college and beyond, but also adults who have a lot that they're balancing while continuing their education. I understand what some of the struggles are like. I was in that industry for 5-plus years. I went recently to the COABE conference, and it was fabulous. A lot of you I believe I met there, or reconnected there because we've known each other in the past. Again, it was another fantastic COABE, and I'll discuss some of my findings from conversations I had there today in this webinar as well. I'm gonna go ahead and share my screen, and we'll get started here.

Brittany Lawson [31:11-58:42]: One of the things I heard a lot at COABE was that organizations are struggling with outreach. Event attendance is low, students are difficult to reach, and staff feel overwhelmed trying to communicate with everybody. Communication gaps are a huge part of all of this. One way you can help get over those obstacles is through text messaging. Being able to send those quick reminders, get a headcount for who's showing up for an event, and send a link that says, “Hey, here's what you need to bring to your new student orientation.” Texting can help bridge that gap. If they’re not answering their call, that doesn’t mean they won’t answer your text. Even if they’re really busy, they’re going to see it come through, and they can respond “yes,” “got it,” or even just like it. That acknowledgment is still communication. With a system like ours and text messaging, you can help staff feel less overwhelmed by automating some messages. Especially when it comes to new students, there are probably questions that are asked no matter what program they’re in or what time of year they’re starting. You can automate those messages. Have them scheduled out based on when they join your list. That helps streamline the outreach process and saves time and energy.

Today we’re going to talk about text messaging and mobile web apps. Texting is huge. Everybody’s texting these days. Back in the day, it used to be email. Texts have a 98% open rate and are usually read within 3 minutes, while email only has around a 16% open rate. With text messaging, you can make your communication more targeted. You can have specific lists you’re reaching out to, making outreach more efficient and engaging. It can increase event attendance, program participation, and student retention. Even just sending a quick text to students who missed class saying, “Hey, it’s Brittany at XYZ Program. Noticed you were gone yesterday. Everything okay?” goes a long way. On their end, it feels personal, but you actually sent it to multiple students at once.

Adult learners often need a little extra support because they’ve got so much going on. Texting adds convenience. Instead of copying and pasting messages individually, you can send one message to multiple people instantly. You can also send links. If you have more information than can fit into a text, you can include a link to a mobile web app page. For example: “Don’t forget new student orientation is Friday at 4:30 p.m. Click here for more info.” They open the link and get all the details they need without navigating a confusing website.

Our mobile web apps look and feel like a native app from an app store, but they’re web-based. Users access them through a QR code or link. They can include resources, flyers, videos, surveys, polls, and more. One client had around 80 different phone numbers so teachers could each have their own communication line with students. Each teacher also had their own page within the mobile web app for lessons, videos, quizzes, and reminders.

Everything is drag-and-drop and updates in real time. You don’t need an IT team or coding knowledge. There’s also a ton of reporting and metrics. You can see which pages people are viewing, what time of day they’re most active, and who clicked links in text messages. One of the big obstacles I heard at COABE was that many organizations are using Google Voice or personal cell phones for texting students. The problem is there’s no visibility or reporting for supervisors. With our system, there’s reporting so supervisors can review conversations and monitor engagement.

Communication has changed a lot over the years. Back then, phone calls were the thing and everybody answered them. Today, people ignore phone calls because of scammers. Emails are hard to find because inboxes are overloaded. QR codes used to be uncommon, but after COVID, everyone became familiar with them. Smartphones are now the primary means of communication and learning. People are more willing to use their personal devices for job seeking, education, and communication. Adult education often talks about “meeting people where they are,” and today, they’re on their phones.

What I’d like to do now is test some of this out. We’re going to do a text messaging activity. Pretend you’re a potential adult ed student at a career fair. You meet XYZ Program at a booth, and you want more information. You scan the QR code with your camera app, click the bubble that pops up, and send the pre-filled text message. Once you send it, you’ll receive an automatic reply with a link to a sample mobile web app you can explore.

You’ll also receive a few more text messages through a drip sequence. This is a great feature for things like new student orientation or career fair follow-up. You can automatically send messages based on when someone joins a list. Maybe they receive a welcome text on day one, a “How are things going?” message on day two, and a survey or graduation congratulations later on. The possibilities are endless.

When you click the link in the text message, it takes you to a sample mobile web app. It acts as a one-stop shop for potential students. There’s an About Us section, Programs and Courses, Admissions, Student Resources, and more. Everything is branded with your colors, fonts, and content.

Our next activity is a poll. We’re going to use another QR code that takes you to a hidden page in the mobile web app. Hidden pages are great for surveys or post-graduation feedback forms. Go ahead and answer the poll questions. The first question is: “How would you rank your attendance for events?” One of the big things I heard at COABE was that attendance is lacking. Organizations are struggling to get people to show up for open houses, orientations, and classes.

The second question is: “What is your primary way of engaging with off-campus students?” A lot of programs have hybrid or remote students, so how are you reaching those students?

The third question is: “What do staff struggle with the most when engaging with students?” Maybe students aren’t responding. Maybe managing the caseload is overwhelming, or perhaps better resources are needed.

Looking at the poll results, most people ranked event attendance as “okay, some show up.” Do you think attendance would improve if you could send more reminders through text messaging rather than just email or social media? A lot of schools at COABE said they rely heavily on social media, but not everybody uses social media, and platforms like Facebook are becoming less popular with some audiences. Texting and mobile web apps are not meant to replace what you’re already doing — they’re meant to enhance it.

For off-campus engagement, I’m glad to see many of you are using texting. Calling is still important, but it can take a lot of time.

As for staff struggles, many of you said students don’t respond or staff don’t have enough time. Even if students don’t respond, you can still gain insight with reporting. If you send a text with a link, you can see whether they clicked it. You can also see if a message failed to deliver because the phone number changed or was disconnected. That happens a lot in adult education.

Thanks for answering the poll questions. We’re going to move into Q&A now. Feel free to drop any questions into the chat. I also offer demonstrations of our platform. I’m happy to have more in-depth conversations about the challenges you’re facing and ways our tools can help.

Gloria mentioned working with justice-impacted youth and adults who change their phone numbers a lot and face challenges like housing instability. That absolutely makes sense. With reporting, at least you can see if a number is disconnected and avoid continuing to send messages that aren’t being received. Then you can try another form of outreach like email, a backup phone number, or an emergency contact.

And yes, when people are dealing with major life issues like housing, education may not be their top priority in the moment. But staying in touch through occasional text messages can go a long way. Sending something simple like, “Hey, we’ve been missing you. I know you’ve got a lot going on. We’ve got another program starting in six weeks if you’re interested,” can help maintain that relationship until they’re ready to re-engage.

I’m going to go to this last slide here. It has my contact information and another QR code that links directly to my calendar so you can schedule time to talk further. We can discuss the challenges you’re facing, examples from other clients, and ways our tools can help. I can show you the backend of the system, how the text messaging and mobile web apps work, and get you pricing and a proposal.

Great information. Thanks for sharing. You’re welcome, Patty. Again, Megan has been recording for us, so she’ll send the slides out after we’re done. Thank you all so much for being here. Good luck as you continue preparing for upcoming programs and helping students succeed. You’re all doing great work. All right, that wraps everything up. Thank you, guys! Have a great day!

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