Signal Vine slides for NPEA 2016

1. Txt4Success: Using Text Messages
to Engage Low-Income Students
Alex Bartz, Summer Search
Miranda Palter, Signal Vine
Haley Trost, Signal Vine

2. ‣ Gain a better understanding of the power of text
messaging as a tool to promote college access and
success
‣ Learn how to implement effective text messaging
campaigns and content to engage students and
encourage them to act
‣ Gain insight from students’ and practitioners’ initial
feedback in utilizing and implementing texting
LEARNING OUTCOMES

3. THE ROAD TO AND THROUGH
COLLEGE IS FULL OF
COMPLEX
INFORMATION

4. COMMUNICATION IS
CHANGING

5. STUDENTS
DON’T READ
EMAIL

6. SOCIAL
MEDIA
IS
FRAGMENTED
AND

7. 90%+ OF STUDENTS TEXT

8. CAPTIVATE
TEXT MESSAGES:

9. CAPTIVATE
SIMPLIFY
TEXT MESSAGES:

10. CAPTIVATE
SIMPLIFY
INTERACT
TEXT MESSAGES:

11. CAPTIVATE
SIMPLIFY
INTERACT
NUDGE
TEXT MESSAGES:

12. TEXTING
WORKS
Summer Nudging: Can Personalized Text
Messages and Peer Mentor Outreach
Increase College Going Among Low-
Income High School Graduates?
Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An
Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal
and College Persistence
Summer Melt: Supporting Low-Income
Students Through the Transition to College
Prompting Active Choice Among High-Risk
Borrowers: Evidence from a Student Loan
Counseling Experiment
Castleman & Page, January 2014
Castleman & Page, December 2014
Castleman & Page, October 2014
Barr, Bird, & Castleman, January 2016

13. 11% increase
in matriculation
20% increase
in persistence
OUTCOMES IN COLLEGE ACCESS & SUCCESS
50
60
70
80
No Texts Texts Texts w/o
Defined
College Plans
Impact on College Enrollment

14. S U M M E R S E A R C H
S U M M E R S E A R C H :
H E L P I N G YO U N G P E O P L E S O A R
APRIL 2016
1

15. S U M M E R S E A R C H
BEGIN. BELIEVE. BECOME.
Summer Search offers a life-changing program for low-
income students that transforms what they believe is
possible for themselves.
2

16. S U M M E R S E A R C H
OUR REACH
A national youth development nonprofit, Summer Search
helps students develop the skills and character traits they
need to become college educated leaders who give back to
their families and communities.
3

17. S U M M E R S E A R C H
OUR APPROACH
4

18. S U M M E R S E A R C H
OUR IMPACT
5

19. S U M M E R S E A R C H
OUR RESULTS
6
5,700
S i n c e o u r i n c e p t i o n w e h a v e
i n v e s t e d i n
s t u d e n t s n a t i o n a l l y a n d
c u rre n t l y s e rv e
a b o u t 3 ,4 0 0 s t u d e n t s p e r y e a r.
98%
o f o u r s t u d e n t s
gra d u a t e f ro m
h i g h s c h o o l .
89%
o f o u r gra d u a t i n g
s e n i o rs m a t ri c u l a t e
t o c o l l e ge
71%
o f c o l l e ge s t u d e n t s
gra d u a t e d w i t h a
B a c h e l o r’ s d e gre e

20. S U M M E R S E A R C H
WHY THE TEXTING PILOT?
7
Launched in response to interest and momentum from the
network to integrate texting into our service delivery model.
Two challenges we aim to address through pilot:
1. Declining student engagement for students during re-entry after
their summer experience.
2. Declining student engagement during senior year, particularly
during summer where disengagement can lead to failure to
matriculate to the student's intended college.
The pilot also aims to increase time spent on insight mentoring.

21. S U M M E R S E A R C H
TEXTING PILOT OVERVIEW
From October 2015 to October 2017, North Bay juniors and seniors
receive actionable personalized messages twice per month that help
them complete logistical steps as they prepare for second summer
experiences and college.
Goals:
1. Increase student engagement toward programmatic involvement
reaching various milestones.
2. Increase students’ timely follow-through on critical steps toward
their summer experience and college matriculation.
3. Free-up mentors to spend more time focused on insight
mentoring.
8

22. S U M M E R S E A R C H
PILOT DETAILS: PLANNING
Research
platforms
Participate in
trainings
Learn from
early adopters
Learn from
other
organizational
users
Secure buy-in
& funding
9

23. S U M M E R S E A R C H
PILOT DETAILS: COMMUNICATION
• Animated Video
• FAQ
• Newsletter Update
10

24. S U M M E R S E A R C H
PILOT DETAILS: IMPLEMENTATION
• North Bay Students from Class of 2016
and Class of 2017
• One local site staff responding to all ~80
students, devoting about 90 minutes to
respond with each scheduled message.
• Printed reports to share at staff
meetings and platform data entered into
student data base.
11

25. S U M M E R S E A R C H
PILOT DETAILS: EVALUATION
The evaluation measures the impact of the texting platform on:
1. Student engagement, satisfaction and outcomes.
2. Staff satisfaction.
3. Time spent on insight mentoring.
12
Pilot Year 1
• Implementation
• Feasibility
Pilot Year 2
• Student
engagement
• Student
outcomes

26. S U M M E R S E A R C H
PRELIMINARY RESULTS: ENGAGEMENT
13
87 students enrolled
8 students opted out
84% engagement
56% high engagement
69% avg response rate

27. S U M M E R S E A R C H
MESSAGES PROMPT STUDENT ACTION
14

28. S U M M E R S E A R C H
MESSAGES HELP TRACK STUDENT PROGRESS
15

29. S U M M E R S E A R C H
MESSAGES ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION
16

30. S U M M E R S E A R C H
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Geni / Summer Search Class of 2016
17

31. S U M M E R S E A R C H
KEY LESSONS LEARNED
1. Place key stakeholders at the center.
2. Iterate and adopt plans based on what you learn.
3. Build a system to collect and disseminate student
information.
4. Students are responsive to the text messages.
18

32. SCALE
TIME
PRIVACY
OVERSIGHT
METRICS

33. Hi [First_Name], this is [Advisor]. Have you signed up
yet for orientation at [College]? Make sure you do this
by [Orientation_Date]. Register here!
[College_Webpage]
SCALE COMMUNICATIONS WITH MESSAGE PROGRAMS

34. Hi Sara, this is Dave.
PERSONALIZATION
RELEVANCE
TIMELINESS/URGENCY
CALL TO ACTION
SAVE TIME WITH DATA-DRIVEN MESSAGING

35. Hi Sara, this is Dave. Have you
signed up yet for orientation at The
College of New Jersey?
PERSONALIZATION
RELEVANCE
TIMELINESS/URGENCY
CALL TO ACTION
SAVE TIME WITH DATA-DRIVEN MESSAGING

36. Hi Sara, this is Dave. Have you
signed up yet for orientation at The
College of New Jersey? Make sure
you do this by 9/1/2016.
PERSONALIZATION
RELEVANCE
TIMELINESS/URGENCY
CALL TO ACTION
SAVE TIME WITH DATA-DRIVEN MESSAGING

37. Hi Sara, this is Dave. Have you
signed up yet for orientation at The
College of New Jersey? Make sure
you do this by 9/1/2016. Register
here! www.tcnj.pages.tcnj.edu
PERSONALIZATION
RELEVANCE
TIMELINESS/URGENCY
CALL TO ACTION
SAVE TIME WITH DATA-DRIVEN MESSAGING

38. SAVE TIME WITH DATA-DRIVEN MESSAGING
Hi Sara, this is Dave. Have you
signed up yet for orientation at The
College of New Jersey?
Yes No
Make sure you do this by 9/1/2016.
Register here!
www.tcnj.pages.tcnj.edu
Great! Your orientation date is
9/1/2016. For more information
about what to bring, check out
www.tcnj.pages.tcnj.edu

39. ENSURE PRIVATE INTERACTIONS
Student Phone ViewPlatform View
Dave
Dave

40. OVERSEE COMMUNICATIONS
IN A MULTI-USER INBOX

41. CAPTURE METRICS IN A DASHBOARD

42. SIGNAL VINE IS AND IS NOT
One-Way Alerts
Mass Texting
Mobile Marketing
Downloaded
Two-Way Engagement
Personalized & Relevant
Education-Focused
Native SMS

43. INCREASING
CONNECTIONS

44. IMPROVING
OUTCOMES

45. QUESTIONS?

46. MIRANDA PALTER
Signal Vine, LLC
miranda@signalvine.com
(310) 985-1335
HALEY TROST
Signal Vine, LLC
haley@signalvine.com
(240) 672-4267
ALEX BARTZ
Summer Search
abartz@summersearch.org
(614) 499-2653