Best Practices

Your website is the hub of your program. Without it, attracting and registering students would be a lot harder. A secure website doesn’t just keep your program running, it also protects your students and your program’s reputation. Are you wondering, how do I secure my website and information? Fortunately, you don’t have to be an expert in website security to safeguard your site against bad actors. All you have to do is follow a few website security best practices.

When students register for classes, you take on a responsibility. They entrust you with their personally identifiable information. At very least, the student’s name and contact information will be stored in your online registration system. Most likely you’ll have payment information as well. 

In short, there’s really no way to support learners without collecting some sensitive data. That’s why you should discuss these six best practices with your web host to make sure your website stays as secure as possible.

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You have a course that’s underperforming. Maybe your whole program isn’t quite reaching its registration goals. Are learners not interested, or might the schedule be to blame? Inconvenient class scheduling can prevent even the most interested student from enrolling.

Most of the advice on class scheduling is written for colleges and universities. It assumes that students have to take certain classes and are enrolled either full or part time. But enrichment, arts and culture, and adult education programs manage course schedules, too. 

Enrichment students are different. Most take classes for fun or personal development. If class sessions are inconvenient or hard to access, they just won’t attend. So, you need to attract learners by offering classes on days and times that work for them. Not sure how to optimize your class schedule for non-traditional students? We’ll show you how.

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You may not think of LinkedIn as a place to find students. It’s probably more familiar as a platform to search for jobs or hire a new employee. But, it’s also filled with professionals and job seekers.  

Both groups are often eager to learn so they can advance their careers. In short, they’re ideal candidates for adult education programs. But how can LinkedIn be used for your adult education program? Making LinkedIn part of your online presence can connect you with these motivated learners. 

Colleges and universities already use LinkedIn to find students. Many with great success. There’s no reason your adult ed program can’t follow their lead. Even if you’re not a LinkedIn pro, this post will show you how to find students on LinkedIn.

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You think you might want to try Instagram for education marketing. You’re wondering if and how Instagram can be used for education. You’ve heard that higher education programs are using it. Maybe it will work for community ed, community colleges, arts organizations, camps, and informal education programs like yours, too? There’s just one problem. You don’t really understand how Instagram works.

Maybe you have a personal account, but you’re no Instagram guru. You follow a few big names and wonder how they do it. The good news is, you don’t need a digital marketing agency or pricey influencer to promote your program on Instagram.

This article will give you the basics you need to get started on the platform. We’ll show you how to set up your Instagram account. Then we’ll tell you what to share and offer tips on finding your target audience.

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If you want to improve learner satisfaction and build the community around your program, student groups on Facebook are a good place to start. Not only do they offer a social forum, they also give you a direct line to what students are thinking and talking about. Whether you’re teaching theater or offering Certified Nursing Assistant training, groups can offer students a more positive experience.

You’re probably already using Facebook for some of your social media marketing. That means you have a business page for your program. Starting a group is an easy next step. But before we show you how to use Facebook groups for students, let’s take a closer look at why you should. 

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You know your program needs to be on social media. Apparently, that’s where course marketing is happening these days. But you’re not a professional social media marketer and it often feels like you’re posting into the void.

Social media metrics can help you track your social media impact to see what’s working. They can also give you the insight you need to make smart decisions about what, where, and how to post.  

Are you wondering how would you measure the right social media metrics? We’ll show you the metrics that matter for course marketing. For each one, we’ll talk about what it is and how to track it. Plus we’ll show you how to troubleshoot if you notice your metrics aren’t where you’d like them to be.

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Sometimes you have to cancel a class. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s one you’re almost certain to face at some point. Maybe the instructor got sick or the weather isn’t cooperating. Sometimes enrollment for the class is low and you can’t justify holding the session. Whatever the reason, you want to cancel the class without upsetting students who have already enrolled. 

You might worry that disappointed students will seek out classes elsewhere. They might think your program is not dependable and hesitate to register again. You can minimize the impact of class cancelations by applying the four tips in this post. Plus, we’ve included a class canceled email template to help you write that tricky message. 

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You’ve heard people talking about TikTok. Maybe you’ve seen TikTok videos shared on other social media platforms. You might even be on the platform yourself. It seems like just about everyone is these days. From pre-teens offering each other dance challenges to colleges and universities employing TikTok influencers, everyone seems to be finding their niche on TikTok. All this has you wondering: Should your community education program use TikTok? 

Would TikTok help you promote your classes, attract more students, or reach a wider audience? It might. But as with any form of social media, you need a good understanding of the platform and a solid strategy before you try to use TikTok for education programs.

Think of this blog post as a crash course in TikTok. We’ll explore what it is, how you might use it to promote your programs, and what you need to thrive on TikTok. Let’s get started. 

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The internet connects us to people and businesses all over the world. But we also use it to find things in our own community. You might type in “burgers near me” to find a new burger restaurant or use voice commands to find a gas station when you’re in an unfamiliar part of town. Whatever you’re looking for, near me searches have become a common way to find it.

So why haven’t you already optimized your course catalog to help your classes show up in near me searches? 

If you’ve never considered location based search, or if you have, but weren’t sure where to start, this post is for you. We’ll walk you through why and how to optimize for near me searches so more local students find your classes.

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Deciding to remove a class from your course catalog is never easy. You’ve invested time and money to develop it. You may have an instructor or board members who have adopted it as a pet project. Former students may even speak fondly of it. Yet all of those reasons may not outweigh the practical considerations. 

Every course you offer demands time and resources. Holding on to an underperforming course can stunt program growth and negatively impact how students perceive your program. That’s a situation you just can’t afford.

If you’ve found this article, you’re probably thinking about cutting at least one course from your catalog. Before you make your decisions, we have five questions you should consider.

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