Consulting Services

The Gowan Group Consultants will guide you towards filling your vacant seats and create school solvency, resilient against any economic downturn that may affect your enrollment. Gowan Group's Enrollment Management Formula differs from traditional admissions practices. Educational professionals have witnessed a paradigm shift from traditional admissions practices. Gowan is deeply invested in helping Independent Schools swiftly move toward our innovative Strategic Thinking & Enrollment Management Model. The Gowan Group is unparalleled in our industry because our results are proven. Partnering with The Gowan Group will attract prospective students and families to fill enrollment vacancies.

DEMOGRAPHIC STUDies

By gathering pertinent data on your community’s surrounding towns, we learn which outside communities are your preferred target audience and can begin to market specifically with regards to population, income, employment and life-style. This can become critical when a limited budget is in place. We use patented data collection software, which has been reported as second to none in the business.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Audits

As former independent school leaders, we know each school ethos is unique. Through comprehensive, key-informant interview sessions with faculty, students, and parents we will learn first-hand what makes your school special. By gathering and studying different school documents, we will analyze the data, understand your school’s mission and begin to live your story. After hosting important interviews and several weeks of study, we will deliver a comprehensive report based on our findings, which include recommendations for improved, more effective and efficient marketing and communications. 

ADMISSIONs AUDITs

The key to running an efficient and effective admissions office is ensuring that the five cornerstones of enrollment management are in sync. We are referring to: retention, recruitment, financial assistance, marketing and communication. Gowan Group will spend several days on your campus holding in-depth conversations, performing analyses, collecting and studying data and auditing your systems for effectiveness. We lead Independent Schools in a distinct paradigm shift.  Schools should consciously move away from the traditional approach of admissions to a more strategic approach of Enrollment Management.

COMPHREHENSIVE TOPICAL SURVEys

As researchers and strategists we thrive on pertinent data, and we know schools are rapidly becoming more data-driven. Gowan Group will develop a topical survey for your school that will collect the necessary data for your staff to make critical decisions. Whether topics are based on communication, parental satisfaction, strategic planning concepts or ideas for the future growth of the school, Gowan Group ensures professionalism, confidentiality and experience. Our methods of data collection and analysis are time-tested and our experience is unparalleled.

ADMISSIONs TRAININGs

Admission offices can seek out ongoing training from Gowan Group and learn how to make the shift from the traditional manner of filling seats to the strategic manner of managing your school’s enrollment and possibly moving towards solvency. We will spend several days training the school’s admission team in strategic methods and will include our unique follow up process.

Communications Plans

Strong and pointed communication is essential to both recruitment and retention. Once a thorough Communications Audit is completed, we guide schools on messaging, format, print and digital media, including video and photography. Our approach is comprehensive, personal and powerful. 

Marketing Content

In conjunction with our marketing plans, often schools require written content for a myriad of venues: website, view books, tag lines, value statements, and mission statements. Gowan Group will help you draft a plan to continuously pique the interest of prospective families. Choosing the right content to market requires strategic thinking and planning. Gowan Group will explain how to market content that positively and accurately reflects your school.

Graphic Design Content

The culminating step to proper research and messaging is communicating a school’s message to the community. Through graphic design and publication, Gowan Group captures a school’s value and showcases it to the community in an innovative and eye catching manner. Gowan Group shows a school how to use simple online platforms to design engaging content that reflects your brand. Gowan Group Consultants will train a school's staff to use graphic design templates to publish across social media channels, a school website, blog posts, e-Newsletters, and advertisements.

Video & Photography Publications

Both video and photography offer a creative element to a school’s communications plan and bring its mission to life. The newest equipment on the market, including our drone capability and creative talent behind the lens, will ensure top quality digital communication.

Strategic Enrollment Management model

Over the last ten years enrollment has become the number one concern for Heads of Schools. It is an inclusive term that includes the following areas of school life: recruitment, retention, marketing, communications and research/strategy. With more comprehensive experience than any firm of our kind, Gowan Group guides schools towards discovering and implementing proper and personal enrollment management strategies.

HEAD OF SCHOOL searches AND ADMINISTRATIVE SEARCHEs

The consultants at Gowan Group have hired hundreds of Top Independent School Leaders: Heads of School, School Admission Directors, School Advancement Directors, Deans, and Division Heads. As former heads of school ourselves, we know how important these hires are to a school. As a boutique firm, Gowan Group works closely with each school throughout the entire process to ensure the best match between school and candidate.

Strategic Thinking

A valuable element of proper governance is ensuring a school has a strategic plan in place at all times. Whether it is a brand new directive or an updated version, schools need proper strategic thinking at the helm. With Gowan Group’s newly developed, innovative strategic thinking model, trustees and administrative teams will have the proper guidance to lead your school.

IMAGE/Positioning REPORTs

In order to learn if you are presenting to your target audience correctly, it is critical to assess how the outside world views your school. Your day-to-day audience knows you well and embraces the ethos of your community. Does the outside community feel the same way? How do town leaders feel about your school? What about alumni and competitor schools? How do prospective families feel as they first arrive on your campus and go through the interview process? How is your image perceived online? A comprehensive image report will provide valuable feedback for longevity and self-sufficiency in marketing your school to prospective families.

Branding

Creating a brand for a school is personal. Its focus is learning what differentiates a school from its competition, highlighting strengths and showcasing its value. Gowan Group works closely with schools bringing their mission to life through branding and transforming their enrollment.

Governance Retreats

Whether it is an exercise in strategic thinking, rewriting a mission statement or a periodic review of proper governance, Gowan Group’s team can lead a trustee team through a thoughtful approach to board training.

STUDENT PLACEMENT

Gowan Placement is the culmination of almost three decades of leading an integral process of student placement in independent schools. Gowan Placement is built on four pillars of strength: 1) Partnerships with families and schools, 2) Personalized approach, 3) Attention to detail, and 4) Communication. 

 The decision about which school your son or daughter will attend after leaving their current school is an important one. We offer a comprehensive placement service to assist you with that decision making process, as well as, to guide you through the various stages of the process in a thorough and personalized manner.