It sounds like you use open and close ended questions to get information from your students and that's a great approach, Moises. How do your students typically respond to these questions?
These are great questions, Jim. It looks like you use a good mix of both open and closed questions. This is a great approach because it allows you to get information about the student and what's important to him/her and clarify any information that seems unclear or vague.
Did I catch you at a good time? Do you have a few minutes to talk?
Is the information you're requesting for you or someone else?
Did an employer refer you to our school?
Tell me about your previous educational background.
Tell me about your current situation.
How is your job/situation working for you?
What would you like to change about your employment situation?
Are you looking for career training to advance in your current job?
Do you know anyone working in this career? If so, what do they do/have that interst you?
What made you decide to request more information today or now?
I see you're using a combination of both open and closed ended questions, Carolyn. This approach is helpful in getting key information about your student and beginning to explore what's going on in the student's world. How do you find these questions work for you?
Open ended questions allow me to learn more about the potential student. It allows them to be the one talking. The more time the potential student is talking the more I'm identifying what their wants and needs are. Closed questions allow me to potentially clarify something they may have stated or allow me to move to the next question or step in the telephone outline.
Great observations, Carolyn. It sounds like you make good use of a combination of open and closed questions. Keep up the good work.
How did you hear about the school?
depending on they answer i will ask the next question. If they heard it from a friend or a current student, I will follow up with? So how did your friend like the school? That will tell me a lot. I will build from there. I will ask them if they have a music background? Are they currently employed?this will tell me their schedule, and I will follow with if they want to come in and take a tour?
This is a good place to start, Carlos. Based on your response, it sounds like you've created a conversation "flow chart" of sorts that helps you gather pertinent information. How might you adapt your questions for the student who doesn't provide information or answers to your questions?
Hello,
For me one thing that is helpful is asking where they are from and engaging in conversation about their place in the world.
Because I work with out of state students it seems to be a good ice breaker and introduction in building rapport.
Can you tell me a little bit about your academic background.
Tell me a little bit about your academic goals and how they fit into your future.
What are you looking for in a university?
Why are you wanting to transfer from your current program?
I try to stick with open ended questions because it encourages the prospect to talk more.
What got you interested in (Program of Interest)?
Why do you feel like now is the right time to go back to school?
What would getting a degree change in your life?
Have you taken classes at a college or university in the past?
Tell me about your previous college experience.
What are your goals for your college education?
What are you looking for in a college?
what struck the interest in the program/school?
Are they employed yes/no and if so what's their schedule like?
How long have they thought about a career change?
How soon are they looking to make a change?
Inquiring about the individuals dream and passion and how getting the degree or certificate may help them to move closer to that goal.
I ask every new prospect "will this be your first college experience?" By asking it this way it is focused yet very open ended. It gives them ample room to answer with fears, hopes, as well as possible transfer credits. I can get clues for potential objections to overcome, clarify potential information errors, etc. I get life stories out of this question that helps me understand their motivation for going back to school now.
From that point I can provide helpful information directed at their specific needs. I then ask more specific questions based on what they've told me so far.
Another question I like to ask is "what do you plan to do with your degree?"
This opens the conversation to future goals and gives me a clue to their current/real motivation. I can clarify which program would best match their goals, or I can confirm the "fit" of the one they expressed interest in. If they are vague I probe for motivation. "why a degree, why now, etc. . . "
Thanks for sharing your questions, Madelin. It sounds like you like to use a mix of open and closed questions, which is a great approach to gather information about your student as well as move them forward in a decision process.
Nanette,
What a great place to start! Think about it, how many of us get the opportunity to really talk about and explain our goals and dreams to another individual? What a special opportunity for you to have as an admissions rep! Keep up the good work.
It looks like you're able to get a great deal of information from this one question, Elizabeth. Questions are a really powerful tool to elicit information and help in moving your process forward. I'm curious, how would you respond to a student who simply answered the question with a yes or no?
Elizabeth,
I see that you utilize open ended questions to truly get a feel for what it is your student wants to accomplish. These questions help you to gather a lot of information for sure! I also sense that you work to get specific details from your students as well. One suggestion I have is to perhaps "tweak" why questions. In many cases, questions that begin with the word "why" can cause our students (or another person) to feel defensive. The word why tends to imply a judgment or a need to defend our thoughts and beliefs. Knowing that you are working to build that rapport and develop a level of trust with your student, tweaking those questions to begin with a "what" or "how" may get you the same information without the chance of breaking rapport.
