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The modern higher education enrollment market presents a new set of challenges for colleges and universities of all types and sizes. Institutions can no longer survive simply by generating a large volume of inquiries to fill their classes. Today’s prospective students are seeking a seamless journey from initial interest all the way through to employment. […]
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With all the doom and gloom messaging about the “demographic cliff” over the past several years, you may have missed the fact that we are on the precipice of Gen Alpha replacing Gen Z as the primary audience for higher education marketing. With birth dates of 2010 and later, the first cohort of Gen Alpha […]
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Crisis events happen in every organization, from a building’s structural concern to a data breach to an employee who says something offensive online. How we handle those things in the moment is a different blog post. I want to focus on preparing for potential crisis events through proactive, cohesive messaging. Not through tabletop exercises or crisis training. I’m talking about preparing for the […]
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Expansion Brings Added Opportunity & Increased Competition The U.S. Department of Education is expanding Pell Grant access to include high-need students enrolled in workforce development programs starting July 1, 2026. Advocates for college access are praising this addition, and for good reason. Improving access for low-income adults to pursue career advancement through industry-based studies and credentials is a significant benefit […]
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Virginia’s Community College System (VCCS) received a Bronze Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for the “Find Your Answer” campaign, a statewide initiative developed in partnership with The Hodges Partnership and AccessU. The Bronze Anvil recognizes outstanding tactical public relations programs that deliver exceptional return on investment. Among national competitors in […]
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Your marketing strategy needs both. AI is not the first major disruptor to upend the world of marketing. Mobile phones changed how we designed for web. Social media changed how we engage with our audiences. Search changed how those audiences find us. AI adds another shift, but it’s one that’s changing everything all at once. Design, communications, distribution, and search. And we don’t have […]
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That isn’t a typo. Fall 2027 recruitment starts now, and the idea that there are only five things you, as an admissions and enrollment leader, need to focus on in May is laughable. But we don’t have time for the complete list, so I’ve narrowed things down to five top priorities to keep on your […]
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Budget planning is underway, and the same search playbook from last year may not be enough. As institutions begin building the next incoming class, one question deserves serious attention: How broad is your enrollment strategy? For many institutions, the traditional student search road map is showing its limits. The way prospective students discover colleges has changed, and enrollment strategies need […]
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Imagine building a beautiful home, then never changing the air filters, checking the smoke alarms or locking the front door. Eventually, things will break — or worse, someone might walk right in. Your website works the same way. For business owners, marketers and anyone responsible for keeping a site running, it’s easy to treat maintenance […]
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It’s no secret that generative AI is improving at an alarming rate. In 2024, the easiest way to tell if a portrait was created with artificial intelligence was to look at the subject’s hands. If they looked wrong — too many fingers or bending unnaturally — you could be certain the image was a fake. […]
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“We would love to hire an outside agency to help with enrollment marketing, but we just can’t afford it.” — Nearly every enrollment leader, at some point I hear this often, and I understand it. In truth, I’m probably guilty of making similar comments during my time as an enrollment manager. Budgets are tight. Teams […]
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“A long December. And there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.” — Counting Crows The days are short, the deadlines are long and the holiday season has a way of stacking pressures faster than most of us can clear our desks. December is a month of competing demands, wrapping […]
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