Cell phones are likely to present the single largest problematic issue phonathons will face in the coming years. Data integrity will be the primary concern of hundreds of institutions as they prepare for the future in a world of wireless-only households. It is projected that in just 3 short years, as many as 33% of all households will only have a cell phone as their means of telephone communication. To combat this and update demographic information, all instititutions will be challenged to improve the quality of their data. This posting takes a closer look at one of those methods programs can use to accomplish this objective.
The vast majority of colleges and universities have updated their emergency plans and protocol for handling on-campus issues in recent years. Many of these plans include a text message component instructing students how to respond to the events as they unfold. To accomplish this, institutions have requested and in some cases required students to provide an updated cell phone number upon registration for classes.
In most cases, these records can be transferred to the alumni database with little difficulty. So long as the development office offers the standard opt-out clause, as they do with all other alumni, these numbers can be included in the phonathon program. The 1991 telemarketing statutes that cover our industry do not exempt cell phones from solicitations, but do require standard do-not-call options to be provided upon request of the prospect. Provided that development offices comply, there is no reason these records should not be included in the phonathon program.
As an example of how successful using student emergency records can be for updating cell phone numbers, Spring Hill College was kind enough to share results from their most recent graduating class. The information below shows the number of cell phones they rolled over into their alumni database from their student emergency records.
SPRING HILL COLLEGE- 2008 Graduating Class
307 Graduates in 2008
188 Cell Phones Acquired from Student Emergency Records
61% of 2008 Graduating Class with Updated Cell Phone Demographic Information
Using student records to update alumni databases makes sense on a number of fronts. First, it helps alleviate the perennial problem of poor data quality in the recent graduates. Finding and keeping accurate demographic information on young alumni is challenging for any institution. And since most young alumni are likely to keep the same cell phone number due to number portability and convenience, development offices have an advantage today compared to what the results may have been just a few years ago. This adds an element of stability to what is traditionally the most volatile alumni group from a data accuracy standpoint.
The bottom line is this- development offices should do all they can to find and capture cell phones. Using student emergency records is a pragmatic and effective solution. Preparing now for what is almost certainly going to be the most daunting challenge phonathon has faced in a decade is smart management and vital for your program. Find and keep every cell phone number you can. It just may save your phonathon.
As always, your comments are welcome.
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