Miss Porter’s School

Easier for Familes to Stay on Track During the Admissions Process

Miss Porter’s School, a boarding and day school for girls grades 9 through 12 in Farmington, Connecticut, understands the importance of a positive experience for families going through the admissions process. Liz Schmitt, the school’s chief enrollment and student affairs officer, explains the value of providing the personalized experience families expect with Blackbaud Enrollment Management System™.

“The access to a checklist of application materials provides families with a much needed sense of clarity, control, and confidence in the admission process,” Liz explains. “By logging in, families gain precise information regarding application requirements, the status of those items, and the application timeline. The real-time nature of the checklist has also cut down on the number of phone calls and emails devoted solely to checking the status of a physical file in the midst of a very busy season.”

Engaging with Prospective Families

Liz says, “It has been interesting to track the number of times a family logs into the Blackbaud Enrollment Management System. While we have not analyzed the data in great depth, there is certainly a correlation between the number of times a family logs in and their investment in attending our school. As a result, it has been critical for us to create an experience in the system that is representative of the kind of experience these families expect from us when on campus.”

One System. One Login. One Experience.

“In the same way that the admission office is the proverbial front door to—or first impression of—the school, Blackbaud Enrollment Management System is the platform experience by which all others are measured,” explains Liz. “The clarity, control, and confidence users experienced with Blackbaud Enrollment Management System is heightened by the Blackbaud Learning Management System. From a school perspective, by getting families acclimated to the enrollment system in the admission process, they seamlessly transition through the enrollment process to the learning management system with limited technological difficulty, fewer questions, and more attention to timeliness.”

Increased Efficiency for School and Family

Liz explains, “Filling out numerous forms that collect similar data can be tiresome and frustrating for families. With Blackbaud Enrollment Management System, families can focus their efforts on the more meaningful components of the application: student essays and the parent statement. The ability for a family to log in to update personal information also enables the school to have accurate mailing and contact information on a real-time basis.”