A sign reading "The Florida State University" sits in front of a fountain and red brick campus building.
Case Study

Florida State University

30%

students recruited from outside of Florida

Florida State University

Founded in 1851, Florida State University is the oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida. With its main campus in Tallahassee, the school has over 45,000students from every Florida county and 130countries and currently offers 283 degree programs.

FSU College of Social Work

One of the nation's leading institutions for social work education, Florida Statewas the first in the world to offer an accredited online Master's in Social Work. The MSW is ranked as one of the top graduate programs in social work by U.S. News and World Report (No.33).

The Opportunity

In a growing and increasingly competitive online MSW landscape, FSU's College of Social Work realized that being one of the best and most experienced online programs in the nation wouldn't be enough to remain competitive if fewer prospective students were finding the program. They needed additional resources and expertise in marketing, recruitment, and student support to achieve enrollment growth and expand geographic reach beyond their home state.

  • The first fully online MSW degree fully accredited by the CSWE -launched Fall 2002
  • Program faced pressure as competition intensified
  • Limited marketing and recruitment capability to overcome resourcing of for-profit institutions

The Solution

Establishing a partnership with Keypath in 2016 provided FSU's College of Social Workwith marketing, recruitment, and student support resources and expertise to facilitate national program growth.

  • Refined and redeployed program messaging strategy
  • Launched national digital marketing and recruitment campaign
  • Provided dedicated recruitment and student success support

The Results

The partnership between Keypath and FSU's College of Social Work has significantly impacted enrollment growth for the MSW and extended the program's reach beyond their home state.

  • Enrollment has grown 200% since the partnership began
    • ~700 online students enrolled
    • 30% of students from outside of Florida
  • Averaging 360 new students per year
  • 3,200+ new student applications
Program Supported
Master of Social Work (MSW)
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“What stood out about Keypath was that they asked the questions that only people familiar with academics would understand to ask. They really took time to listen to what was important to us and crafted a solution that was tailored to what we needed as a college. I would say that the relationship has exceeded the expectations that I have for it.”

Craig Stanley III, Ph.D.. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, FSU College of Social Work