Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
technology When prospective students send questions to b-school admissions offices via Web-based forms, most would expect a response within 48 hours. However, many are often left waiting, according to InsideTrack, a firm based in San Francisco, California. InsideTrack offers phone-based coaching and mentoring to help prospective students choose the right college. In 2010 and 2011, the company asked ���secret shoppers��� to pose as potential students with questions about applying to business school. The shoppers approached admissions offices at 68 U.S. business schools across all categories���traditional and online, for-profit and nonprofit, private and public���and asked questions via direct e-mail, through Web sites, and by phone. Seventy-three percent of public b-schools failed to respond to Web inquiries within ten days, while 32 percent of private schools failed to do so. Only 13 percent of for-profits did not respond to Web queries within ten days. Fifty-three percent of public schools and 58 percent of private schools failed to respond to Admissions Officers Go to Google According to Kaplan Test Prep���s 2012 survey of college admissions officers, more applicants��� chances for admission are being jeopardized by imprudent online activity. The percentage of admissions officers checking Google and Facebook as part of the applicant review process has changed very little. Twenty-seven percent reported checking Google, compared to 20 percent in 2011, while 26 percent reported checking Facebook in both years. However, the percentage who reported finding information that negatively impacted an applicant���s chances of acceptance nearly tripled���from 12 percent in 2011 to 35 percent in 2012. The incriminating content? Everything from essay plagiarism to offensive language in blogs to alcohol consumption in photos. When Kaplan began tracking this trend in 2008, only one in 10 admissions officers reported that they checked applicants��� online activities. 62 January/February 2013 BizEd phone messages within ten days, compared to 40 percent of for-profits. The only area where for-profits did not respond the fastest? E-mail. Sixty percent of for-profits failed to respond to e-mailed questions within ten days, compared to 45 percent of private schools and 25 percent of public schools. Secret shoppers also reported on the quality of information they received once connections were made. ���Many admissions offices failed to help students understand the personal and financial commitment they were making,��� says David Jarrat, InsideTrack���s vice president of marketing. ���Some schools enrolled students in online programs only to discover later that those students didn���t own computers.��� Jarrat points to three schools that scored high points with secret shoppers: n An admissions officer at Washington State University in Pullman spent 30 minutes explaining the GMAT and offering study tips. n Admissions personnel at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, offered to connect the caller to faculty members to discuss courses and degree options. n Admissions representatives at for-profit Capella University were graduates of the MBA program who could provide information about the program from firsthand experience. Overall, for-profits made the best impression with secret shoppers. When asked to use a ten-point scale to rate their likelihood of selecting a program based on their experience with admissions, the secret shoppers gave for-profits an average rating of 7.47. They rated public and private schools at 4.80 and 6.66 respectively. ���For-profits are customer-centric by nature. The notion of timely, accurate response and good customer service is built into their DNA,��� says Jarrat. ���Most higher education institutions are just now beginning to think that way.��� Scott G r i esse l/G etty I mages B-School Admissions Leave Students Waiting