Stop-out recovery that brings former students back.
Campaigns that get stopped-out students to take the next step again: reapply, sort out aid and re-enroll, with new campaigns measured against a holdout.
The way back looks harder than it is.
We mapped 15 target actions for a former student’s return, from reapplying to registering. Several of them run through campus offices.
- Cost
- Confidence
- Belonging
- Logistics
of stopped-out students knew academic advising was available to them.
Tyton Partners, Listening to Learners, 2024At Johnston Community College, cost turned out to be the main obstacle, so the campaign shifted to tuition support, payment plans and aid. 200 students set up tuition payment plans.
Read the case studyStop-out recovery
Bring back students who left over something fixable.
Students usually stop out over something fixable: a balance, an aid gap, a schedule. We reframe the return as a fresh start and make each step back small.
- 1Re-apply or re-enroll
- 2Complete the FAFSA or find aid
- 3Meet an advisor
- 4Reconnect with campus
- 5Register for classesGoal
Getting students moving again.
Stop-out recovery is about getting someone who stopped their education, for whatever reason, to take the next step again. We make the way back small and clear, one step at a time.
Recent stop-outs
Students who left in the last few terms. Goal: registration for the next one.
Students who left years ago
Credits on file and a reason to return. Partners have reached back to Fall 2019, and Santa Barbara City College more than eight years.
Admitted, never registered
Applicants who never made it to class, like the stalled students Pima and Santa Barbara City College brought back.
- 1
Send us a list
Stopped-out students, from last term or years back, or applicants who never registered, and the goal: re-enrollment.
- 2
We map where students stall
The target actions between that list and re-enrollment, and why students stop at each one: cost, confidence, belonging, logistics.
- 3
We build the GuidePosts
Creative for each step, made for your students in your brand and your institution’s voice.
- 4
We reach students across five channels
Social media, streaming TV, email, SMS and direct mail, timed to the step each student is on and to your deadlines.
- 5
We measure against a holdout
5% of the list hears nothing from us. You see conversion and engagement as it runs, and the lift once it reaches significance.
Former students who could come back?
Start with one list of stop-outs. We’ll make the way back small and clear, and show you who re-enrolls.
One playbook across every stage.
Motimatic powers marketing across the entire student journey, from first impression to graduation. One platform, one strategy: behavioral science-driven messaging, delivered at the right moment to move each student forward, with impact measured through rigorous holdout testing.
- Streaming TV
- Social media
- Display
- Social media
- Paid search
- Display
- Remarketing
- Social media
- Streaming TV
- SMS
- Direct mail
Some students step off the path. Stop-out recovery brings them back to it.
- Before the list New audiences
- AwarenessImpressions, video views and interest
- Streaming TV
- Social media
- Display
- RFI generationNew lead form fills
- Social media
- Paid search
- Display
- Remarketing
- On your list Through the Motimatic platform
- Every student can be reached across five channels
- Social media
- Streaming TV
- SMS
- Direct mail
- YieldApplications, deposits and day one
- RetentionAdvisor meetings and next-term registration
Some students step off the path. Stop-out recovery brings them back to it.
- 5You’re hereStop-out recoveryRe-applications and re-enrollment
- Graduation
- Social mediaIn-feed and video ads that reframe the return as a fresh start.
- Streaming TVSpots served to the households on your list.
- EmailStep-by-step sequences: reapply, sort out aid, meet an advisor, register.
- SMSShort texts timed to the deadlines that decide a return: FAFSA, reapplication, registration.
- Direct mailPostcards for stop-outs who’ve gone quiet online, timed to your reapplication and registration dates.
Left after a hard semester last spring. Her credits are still on file.
Dana, one hard semester doesn’t erase the credits you earned. Pick up where you left off this fall. Your advisor can map the rest in one call.
Former students who came back.
Results from partner stop-out campaigns. Each links to its case study.
Students who had disengaged but were eligible to return came back for the fall term, at 15x ROI.
Read the case studyPart of Pima’s 10th straight semester of enrollment growth: headcount up more than 7%, past the 5% goal.
Read the case study205 reapplied and 200 set up tuition payment plans. The campaign returned 3x ROI.
Read the case studyWe don’t guarantee results. How we measure
Questions about stop-out recovery
Who counts as a stop-out?
A student who left before finishing and hasn’t re-enrolled, including adult learners who left years ago. Partners reach back years: Johnston Community College to Fall 2019, College of Coastal Georgia to Fall 2020, and Santa Barbara City College more than eight years.
What brings them back?
Messages reframe the return as a fresh start, then walk students through reapplying, aid, an advisor meeting and registration. More in our guide to adult learner reengagement.
Which channels do you use for stop-outs?
Social media, streaming TV, email, SMS and direct mail. Every former student on your list can be reached across five channels, timed to their next step back.
How do you measure stop-out recovery?
New campaigns hold out a random 5% of your list, and the same students stay out the whole time. When the result reaches significance, you see the lift against your own holdout. How we measure.
Keep reading on stop-outs
All resources
Start with one list.
Pick one list of stopped-out students and one goal: re-enrollment. We run it against a 5% holdout and show you the lift.