Data Infused Strategies for Student Recruitment : A Focus on Data-Backed Decision Making

Extracting and getting meaningful information from the data is crucial in today’s world when the generation and availability of data has become faster than ever before. You probably have heard that while data may be independent from information, information can never be independent of data. Therefore, data analytics has become essential means of transforming raw data into actionable information. The need for effective decision-making process and particular marketing strategies in the process of foreign students’ recruitment prompts the University student recruiting team to create an easily accessible and comprehensive database from where all necessary information relating to the issue under consideration can be retrieved and analyzed. Thus, the present research supports the adoption of dynamic dashboards as a way of developing the university’s branding and marketing strategies when employing a data-focused methodology. Metrics for the created visualizations will be identified in the form of key performance indicators (KPIs) and will be based on the data extracted from the students’ application files. It includes Data Extraction, Data Cleansing, Data Anonymization, Data Transformation, Data Integration, Data Loading, Data Visualization and Data Forecasting as part of study approach. They will help in evaluating the previous data and in using the future information without further alteration of the whole structure. Furthermore, the research will help the study of trends and estimates through the use of artificial intelligence or machine learning models, which will help in developing the necessary answers on future trends and outcomes. The general objective of this thesis is to enhance the university’s strategies for acquiring more students through advancing data analytics to provide for more rational approaches to decision making