How to be ready before enrollment season arrives

For an education provider, going digital usually comes to mind at the end of an enrollment-season week when the phones couldn't keep up. Yet how well those weeks go depends on preparation done months earlier. Whether you run a language school, a coding course, an art studio, a tutoring center or a vocational training institute, parents and students ask similar questions when deciding, and they expect fast, consistent answers.

What do parents and students look at when deciding?

Education decisions, especially when children are involved, are built on trust. The questions on a parent's mind when they visit your site are usually these:

• Which programs are there, who are they suitable for, and how many weeks or months do they last?
• How many students are in a class, and on which days and at what times are the lessons?
• Who are the teachers, and what experience do they have?
• Is the institution officially licensed, and what are the address and transport options?
• Is it possible to attend a trial lesson or a placement test?

Whether or not you show prices on the site is up to you; but clearly stating the program length, lesson times and class size significantly reduces the repeat questions that come in by phone.

Be measured with success announcements. In Türkiye, the promotion of private education institutions is also regulated by Ministry of National Education legislation; misleading or unverifiable success claims can cause problems. Success posts that include a student's name and photo also require separate permission.

Set up the pre-enrollment flow before the season starts

What gets lost most during enrollment season are prospects who showed interest but were never called back. A form is filled in, lands in an inbox and is forgotten in the rush. A simple pre-enrollment flow prevents this:

1. The prospect or parent fills in a short form, choosing a program and a convenient day.
2. An automatic confirmation message is sent, saying when they'll be called.
3. The request lands in a list the advisory team can see; who called and what was discussed is recorded.
4. An appointment is given for a trial lesson or placement test, with a reminder the day before.
5. Once enrollment is complete, the prospect moves from the prospect list to the student list.

This flow doesn't require a big system. A small custom software module or a properly set-up prospect tracking screen is enough for most institutions.

Advertising budget during enrollment season

Demand in education is seasonal: term starts, summer schools, exam periods. Concentrating your advertising budget on these periods is more efficient than spreading it evenly across the year. Ads should go straight to the pre-enrollment form or the relevant program page; ads that point to the home page are often wasted. We describe campaign setup on our digital advertising page.

Communication with parents decides whether students stay

Once a student enrolls, the most important job is making sure they stay for the next term too. How well informed the parent feels plays a big role here. Messages such as absence notifications, homework or progress notes and parent meeting reminders should be sent regularly and simply.

The point to watch here is sending messages through an institutional channel. WhatsApp groups set up from teachers' personal phones expose parents' numbers to everyone and cause communication to break down when a teacher leaves. If you plan to use mobile notifications, take a look at our article on notification strategy for the right balance of frequency and content.

Children's data and student photos

Education providers often process the data of people under 18. In that case, informing parents and, where necessary, obtaining their permission is essential. In practice, keep these in mind:

• The enrollment form should include a privacy notice, written in language parents can understand.
• Before student photos and videos are shared on the site or on social media, separate, explicit and revocable permission should be obtained from the parent.
• Health information (such as allergies or chronic conditions) should be kept where only the necessary people can access it.
• Student lists and grade information should not circulate in shared files.

Checklist

• Are program length, lesson times and class sizes stated on the site?
• Is the pre-enrollment form short and easy to use on mobile?
• Is it clear who will respond to each pre-enrollment request?
• Are trial lesson appointments followed by reminders?
• Do ads go to the relevant program page?
• Does parent communication run through an institutional channel?
• Is separate permission obtained for sharing student photos?

How we do it at Globya

We start working with education providers by discussing your enrollment calendar. As your single point of contact, we set up the site, the pre-enrollment flow, parent communication and the advertising plan so that everything is ready before the season begins. Data protection requirements under KVKK (Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law) are never left out, and there is no extra charge. For our industry-specific approach, see our education and courses page.

Frequently asked questions