“Stay in your lane.”

You hear this expression when a person or group steps outside their area of expertise. But everyone has a lane in enrollment management at private and independent schools! It takes more than the admissions office to navigate family experiences. Other school community members, including nurses, can contribute during various cycle stages.

We recently partnered with Independent School Management (ISM) to discuss the role nurses can take during enrollment management. This blog will explore how nurses can build relationships with parents and meet their needs during the enrollment process.

Understanding the Admission Funnel

The admission funnel is the child’s journey to becoming a student. Here are the stages of this process:

• Inquiry
• Visit
• Application
• Evaluation
• Acceptance
• Enrollment
• Matriculation

Where do nurses fit into this funnel?

The admission and health offices can collaborate to determine where nurses can be most effective. Bringing in other offices gives families information at different intervals from various voices and includes more perspectives.

Understanding the Enrollment Management Cycle

Enrollment management ensures your school’s promise matches the delivery. Every experience should draw families closer to your culture and values. How can nurses participate?

School Promise

Let’s start with your school’s promise. Enrollment management directors say families seek out nurses during the evaluation process. This interest has increased lately, likely because of COVID-19, but admissions directors believe the desire will continue in the future.

Nurses should be available to discuss vaccinations, food allergies, and other health issues during the parent evaluation. It’s important to be prepared for these conversations so school nurses know their school’s plan and are ready to respond to parents with care and confidence.

Mission Delivery

Your school’s mission delivery involves four stages:

• Experience
• Assessment
• Contract renewal
• Re-enrollment

Experience is the stage where the school’s promise becomes a reality. A survey by the Medical Advisory Health and Wellness Organization (MAHWO) showed care and concern from faculty and staff was the number one reason families chose a school. Other primary factors included atmosphere/culture, quality of faculty and leadership, and safety and security.

Nurses shine in experience delivery! The health office makes a strong contribution by anticipating needs, mitigating obstacles, and taking a personalized approach to the family experience.

Culture and Values

If your school delivers on its promise, your families experience your culture, embrace your values, and integrate into your community. Each department’s efforts, including the health office, play a key role in ensuring your school reaches this goal.

Parents will advocate for your school and tell everyone about their positive experience. They will take pride in your institution, commit to a long-term relationship, and create new enrollment opportunities by making referrals.

Opportunities to Promote School Community

Education is a partnership where parents and the school work together. This collaboration focuses on what’s best for all students. Parents seek to understand, support, and reinforce the school’s mission and values, and partner with the school to provide the best support possible for their children.

There are many opportunities for the health office to promote a strong community

• Increase predictability by keeping health forms consistent each year. This simplification helps parents know what information they need to provide.
• Support parents by being available to answer questions and address concerns.
• Use information from health forms to provide personalized care.
• Strengthen connections with new families by checking on health form submissions.

Practical Applications and Priorities

How can nurses optimize their enrollment management lanes?

First, they must be a part of decisions that affect health services. They should find a way into these discussions if they’re not on leadership teams.

Next, nurses should build relationships with students, parents, and administration. This lane is the most organic path for nurses to influence enrollment. Getting out of the office and into conversations shows care and develops trust.

Finally, nurses can use their electronic health record system of record to its fullest potential to streamline communication across departments as well as communicate with parents and meet the entire school community’s needs.

How Magnus Health Can Help

Magnus Health helps nurses communicate with families and support the enrollment process.

Our research shows the majority of schools have less than 90% parent compliance with form submissions by the first day of school. This gap presents challenges, including students’ inability to take part in certain activities.

Schools using Magnus Health have up to 98% compliance by the first day of school!

Our simple, online student form submission ensures high compliance. Plus, automated email reminders keep parents up-to-date on approaching deadlines and other important school information. Discover how our student health record software can help your school stay connected with your parents and students.