Chapman Elevates Admissions Success Through Unibuddy Student Connections

Challenge: Recreating authentic student-to-student connections digitally

Building an environment with ample social and academic opportunity is crucial for a thriving student community. Chapman University, a distinguished private research University located in sunny California, knew this would be key to their overall student success, and began looking for that missing piece.

Brendan Babish, Director of Admission Communication explains, “We’ve always put students at the forefront of our efforts. In the past, when we talked to students who had visited our campus, they consistently told us that the best part of their tour was the genuine conversations they had with other students. When we had to adapt to a virtual environment, it became clear that we couldn’t recreate that authentic experience through a website, email, or digital advertising. We needed a solution that was real and organic.”

Beyond connecting students, Babish and his team aimed to create a comprehensive strategy that would guide and support students throughout each stage of their journey. Their goal was to provide both prospective and incoming students with the personalized information and networking resources they needed to make a confident decision.

Solution: Nurturing leads via organic connections throughout the funnel

Having recognized the valuable benefits, Chapman adopted both Unibuddy Chat and Unbuddy Community into their admissions and recruitment strategy. Babish, a key player in this effort, expressed enthusiasm for Unibuddy’s concept, stating, “The idea behind Unibuddy was truly unique to us, and we finally found a solution that can organically bring our students together without having to be in-person.” In addition, Babish highlighted the user-friendly nature, “Unibuddy made it easy for my team and our students to understand and navigate the platform, it only took a couple of weeks to get everything set-up.”

Babish took a collaborative approach, working across departments to ensure effective integration of Unibuddy within all marketing efforts. This ensured that students were always aware of Unibuddy and it would be easily accessible. “Having previously worked in the marketing department, I understand the significance of admissions and marketing working together and devising a cohesive approach. When it came to Unibuddy, our focus was on strategic touchpoints, lead nurture, and providing robust student support, knowing that pipeline and conversion would then take care of itself.”

Result: Positive student sentiment and confidence to enroll at Chapman

Babish and his team bring a distinctive approach to gauging tools like Unibuddy. Their focus is on understanding students, their needs, preferences, and how they like to connect. These insights are then integrated into the broader context of admissions and recruitment. “We like to take a look under the hood, and prioritize quality over quantity,” Babish shares. “We judge the individual touchpoints and how those are performing versus setting strict quantitative goals, due to the many variables involved.” 

The team will look at metrics such as the number of questions asked, successful conversations, students’ sentiment towards Chapman and their peers, engagement with content, conversation topics, and community growth. “Unibuddy has become an essential platform for connecting students and keeping them well-informed. They’re confidently building friendships, asking important questions and engaging further within the conversion funnel. It’s everything we could have hoped for.” An interesting point from Babish, is the importance of students who have conversations and decide not to move forward with Chapman, as it offers valuable insights into their decision-making process; aiding them in finding the best-fit students.

Overall, the admissions team defines success based on genuine interactions and the value students gain from these connections. As Babish puts it, “When you dive into the conversations between potential and current students, you uncover their undeniable value. We have students submitting applications and expressing interest in Chapman after engaging with our Unibuddy ambassadors. These types of peer-to-peer connections don’t happen organically anywhere else.”