Unibuddy launches Neighborhood to maximise retention

Unibuddy Neighborhood is designed to supply potential college students an “official, secure house” to speak with different college students of their cohort, type friendships and “construct affinity for faculties and universities” earlier than they make their closing examine selections.

The platform, hosted on a cell app, is “persevering with on the journey of peer-to-peer, however from a unique angle”, Unibuddy co-founder and CEO Diego Fanara informed The PIE.

“We began peer-to-peer by creating that bridge between potential college students and present college students. Then we noticed that, as college students progressed nearer to enrolment they usually have been [clear] on really which establishment and topic they wished to affix, the peer they wanted was much less the present college students, it was the peer that was on the identical journey as them,” he defined.

Together with permitting potential college students to attach with like-minded college students forward of enrolling, the “mutually helpful answer” seeks to help universities to create a group as early as doable put up acceptance which is able to in flip assist to retain college students till enrolment.

Establishments have participated in a beta-run pilot during the last three to 5 months, which has seen them leverage the product to “create that sense of belonging”, and transfer them by the funnel to enrolment.

It’s seen good traction up to now, Unibuddy famous, because it rolls the product out worldwide.

Indiana College Bloomington’s use of Unibuddy Neighborhood noticed the 83-member robust “Future Hoosiers 2022 – India” group trade lots of of messages within the lead-up to arriving on campus.

“It helps recruitment, admissions, and advertising groups convert and retain college students by making them really feel at house earlier than they even arrive on campus”

“Unibuddy responded to our request for a product that will permit us to unite all of our college students by a brand new medium in a means that encourages a way of belonging on the proper second of their journey,” IU director of Worldwide Partnerships Seth Walker mentioned.

“Pupil-to-student connections have been a key a part of our technique since we adopted Unibuddy, and now we will put potential college students in dialog with one another to present them a novel and genuine form of peer assist.”

“We’ve created a mutually helpful answer in Unibuddy Neighborhood,” Fanara added.

“The product helps college students fulfil the fundamental psychological want for belonging by human connection. Concurrently, it helps recruitment, admissions, and advertising groups convert and retain college students by making them really feel at house earlier than they even arrive on campus.”