Category: Enrollment

What High School Students Really Think About College
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: colleges struggle to connect with their most important audience—students. Fresh data RNL’s research studies show a big disconnect between what higher education offers and what students need. A new report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education is waving red flags about dropping enrollment numbers and workforce gaps if colleges can’t step up their game and prove their worth.

But what’s going on here?

Show me the money: The cost crisis

Here’s what keeps students up at night: money. Nearly all (93%) of prospective students are stressing about college costs (RNL & Halda, 2024). Let that sink in—we’re talking about almost every student thinking about college.

The money story gets even more complicated:
- 82% say they might not even apply because they’re worried about costs (RNL & ZeeMee, 2024)
- 73% aren’t sure if their family can foot the bill (RNL & Halda, 2024)
- Many don’t even try for financial aid because they assume they won’t qualify (RNL, Ardeo & Halda, 2024)
“Is it worth it?”—The million-dollar question

Students aren’t just worried about paying for college—they’re questioning whether it’s worth the investment. The stats tell us:
- 60% wonder if college is worth the time, money, and effort
- Only 63% see a job offer after graduation as their main goal
- Half of students think they can make good money without a degree
  (RNL & Halda, 2024)
Lost in the college maze

In 2024, you’d think finding college info would be easy. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Check this out:
- 72% say applying to college is just too hard (RNL, Ardeo & Halda, 2024)
- 63% can’t figure out how to choose the right school (RNL & ZeeMee, 2024)
- 53% don’t know where to get help with college planning
- 51% are stuck at square one, not knowing where to start
  (RNL & Halda, 2024)
Transforming the college experience: A blueprint for change

The days of one-size-fits-all higher education are over. How can offer what students need?

1. Simplify the journey

Colleges must strip away the bureaucracy that scares away promising students. This means:
- Creating a streamlined, user-friendly application process
- Building intuitive websites that guide rather than confuse
- Offering clear, step-by-step roadmaps to enrollment
- Providing personalized application support based on each student’s background and needs
2. Talk money from day one

No more financial surprises or hidden costs. Colleges should:
- Present total costs upfront, including living expenses and materials
- Break down financial aid options in clear, everyday language
- Show concrete examples of return on investment
- Create customized financial planning tools that account for individual circumstances
3. Show Real Results

Students deserve to see the real impact of their investment:
- Share detailed job placement data by major and career path
- Report actual salary ranges for recent graduates
- Feature diverse alumni success stories across different fields
- Match potential career outcomes to students’ individual interests and goals
3. Innovate the Learning Experience

Education shouldn’t be rigid. Modern colleges must:
- Design flexible learning paths that fit different lifestyles
- Develop focused credential programs for specific career goals
- Create clear pathways from certificates to full degrees
- Offer personalized learning tracks based on student strengths and career objectives
The future of higher education isn’t just about making things easier—it’s about making them work better for each individual student. Colleges that embrace these changes won’t just survive; they’ll thrive by truly serving their students’ needs.

The future of higher education: A student-first revolution

Let’s be honest: the old college playbook isn’t cutting it anymore. Students are drowning in debt, juggling full-time jobs with classes, and questioning whether a degree is worth the sacrifice. They’re not asking for less rigor—they’re asking for a system that acknowledges their reality.

The WICHE report plainly states, “Demography need not be destiny.” But this isn’t just about numbers.
- It’s about Darla raising two kids while pursuing her nursing degree.
- It’s about Javier, the first in his family to consider college and has no roadmap to follow.
- It’s about Sophia working two jobs just to afford textbooks.
- It’s about Tyler, a baseball standout from rural Iowa whose guidance counselor is stretched too thin to help him navigate the recruiting process his parents never experienced.
- It’s about Emma, whose well-meaning parents have taken over her college search entirely, leaving her silent and stressed about expressing her own dreams.
These students aren’t looking for handouts. They’re looking for:
- A system that respects their time and responsibilities
- Clear paths that connect their education to real careers
- Flexible options that don’t force them to choose between life and learning
- Proof that their investment will pay off in tangible ways
The colleges that will thrive aren’t the ones with the fanciest buildings or the most prestigious names. They’re the ones who dare to ask: “What do our students need to succeed?”

Because here’s the truth: higher education isn’t just about preserving institutions. It’s about transforming lives. And right now, too many bright, capable students are being left behind by a system that wasn’t built for them.

The future belongs to colleges brave enough to change. Not just with fancy words and mission statements but with real, student-centered solutions that make education accessible, achievable, and worth every dollar and hour invested.

Reports cited in this blog—available for free download
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January 21, 2025
Why Personalization in College Planning Matters More Than Ever
College planning has become far more complex than filling out forms and writing essays. RNL’s research reveals a striking truth: Today’s students are overwhelmed, skeptical, and craving personalized guidance more than ever before.

The modern student’s dilemma

Picture this: Seven out of ten high school students find navigating the college application process challenging. They’re not just intimidated by the paperwork—they’re questioning the entire value proposition of higher education. Half believe they can build a successful career without a college degree, while 60 percent wrestle with whether college is worth their time and money.

These aren’t just statistics. They represent real students sitting at kitchen tables across the country, staring at their laptops, trying to make one of the most significant decisions of their lives.

The financial reality check

Money talks, and it’s speaking louder than ever in college planning. The numbers tell a sobering story: over 90 percent of high school juniors and seniors find financing their education somewhere between “somewhat difficult” and “very difficult.” Even more telling, 60 percent of juniors and 65 percent of seniors will immediately cross a college off their list based on the sticker price alone.

But here’s where it gets interesting: Financial aid and scholarships have become the primary hook for attracting students, with 81 percent of juniors and 78 percent of seniors ranking them as crucial factors in college choice. This isn’t just about affordability—it’s about perceived value and accessibility.

The shifting sands of student priority

What catches a student’s attention these days? The research shows a clear hierarchy:
- Financial aid and scholarships (63%)
- Athletic programs (47%) if they are interested in playing sports at the college level
- Academic programs (43%)
- Career placement (38%)
But getting students interested is only half the battle. Our study reveals a fascinating pattern of why initial interest fades. Cost remains the primary deal-breaker, with 57 percent of students citing it as why they lose interest in a school. However, other factors like program availability (37%) and admission concerns (24%) play significant roles, too.

The power of late-stage decisions

The most surprising finding is this: 66 percent of students discover and become interested in new colleges during their senior year, and 89 percent apply to these late-discovered schools. This challenges the conventional wisdom about early outreach being the only path to enrollment success.

The personalization imperative

Today’s students aren’t just looking for information—they’re looking for recognition. They expect colleges to:
- Provide program-specific details tailored to their interests
- Deliver accurate, personalized responses to their questions
- Acknowledge their unique situations and backgrounds
- Communicate in culturally relevant ways
- Use their names (yes, it matters)
- Recognize and respect their diverse identities
Making it personal: The path forward

For colleges and universities, the message is clear: Generic, one-size-fits-all recruitment approaches no longer cut it. The future lies in personalized admissions counseling, tailored communication campaigns, and customized campus experiences. But most importantly, institutions need to address students’ financial concerns head-on with transparent, customized information about costs, aid, and scholarships.

The bottom line

The college planning landscape has evolved beyond recognition. Today’s students are savvier, more skeptical, and more demanding than ever. They’re not just looking for a college—they’re looking for one that understands them, values them, and can demonstrate why their investment will pay off.

The opportunity is enormous for institutions willing to embrace this new reality and invest in personalization. After all, in a world where 72 percent of students find applying to college difficult, being the institution that makes it easier, more precise, and more personal isn’t just good service—it’s a competitive advantage.

The future of college recruitment isn’t about reaching more students; it’s about reaching each student in the way that matters most to them.

Learn more about what research says about personalization

Join me and presenters from our partners Halda for our webinar, The Importance of Personalization in College Planning: From Interest to Application. We will cover trends that may surprise you, insights that can help you increase engagement with students, and actionable strategies you can use.

Register now to hear more about what the latest research tells us about personalization with students.
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January 17, 2025
Making Higher Education More Affordable: The Role of Financial Aid Strategies
Key Takeaways:
- Financial aid optimization transforms financial resource allocation into a strategic enrollment tool, aligning affordability for students with institutional goals.
- By leveraging real-time data and tools like Liaison Othot, institutions can craft tailored financial aid strategies that address individual student needs and enrollment strategies.
- Optimization enables proactive adjustments to financial aid strategies, ensuring accessibility while supporting student retention and institutional sustainability.
- Strategic financial aid leveraging balances affordability for students with long-term enrollment and revenue objectives.
The rising costs of higher education and fear of long-term debt have left many prospective students and their families questioning whether they can afford to pursue their academic dreams. For institutions, this presents a dual challenge: attracting diverse students and ensuring enrollment goals align with their mission. An effective and aligned financial aid optimization strategy offers a powerful tool to meet a campus’s enrollment goals. By combining institutional funds with federal and state resources effectively, colleges and universities can increase access and affordability in higher education while achieving broader enrollment objectives.

From offering enough aid to make tuition manageable to continuously refining financial aid strategies based on real-time information, optimizing plays a pivotal role in strategic enrollment management (SEM). It transforms financial aid awarding from a static process into a dynamic tool that not only attracts and enrolls students but also supports their retention by effectively meeting their financial needs.

What Is Financial Aid Optimization?

Financial aid optimization transforms the allocation of financial resources into a critical enrollment tool. By aligning the overall enrollment leveraging strategy—regularly and in real-time at the individual level—optimization allows campuses to address student affordability needs in a unique and tailored way.

At its core, optimization is a dynamic, data-informed process. Institutions develop annual plans for allocating financial aid (leveraging), basing decisions on previous cycles’ successes and challenges. Unlike traditional static leveraging models, modern optimization approaches incorporate continuous adjustments informed by real-time data. This lets colleges and universities respond proactively to shifting enrollment trends and keeps their financial aid strategies effective throughout the year.

How to Make Higher Education More Affordable and Accessible

More accessible higher education starts with understanding the financial challenges students face. For many undergraduates, the cost of tuition, housing, books, and other expenses can make college seem out of reach, even with federal and state aid. For example, a student from a low-income household may find that even the maximum Pell Grant award leaves a significant financial gap. Similarly, a middle-income family might struggle to cover tuition despite not qualifying for significant need-based aid.

Financial aid leveraging allows institutions to tackle these challenges head-on by creating tailored aid packages that remove financial barriers for students. This approach relies on a mix of need-based and merit-based strategies, often informed by tools like FAFSA data and predictive analytics.

One of the key advantages of financial aid optimization is its flexibility. Institutions can use data to fine-tune aid offerings based on unique student needs and behaviors. For instance, Liaison’s Othot platform, a cloud-based predictive and prescriptive analytics tool designed specifically for higher ed, can analyze factors such as a student’s location, academic profile, and campus engagement to build aid packages thatneeds. This granularity ensures that the financial aid awarding strategy not only meets the affordability threshold for students also aligns with the overall enrollment strategy being employed on the campus. An aligned optimization approach ensures that the affordability component is integrated into the strategy for specifically targeted cohorts or students, maximizing the likelihood of their enrollment.

Optimization also lets institutions adapt aid policies for entire cohorts or demographic groups. For example, schools can address rising inflation in high school GPAs by recalibrating merit-based awards to prioritize equity and maintain fairness in their financial aid distribution. This adaptability keeps aid plans relevant as the dynamics of higher education continue to shift. By relying on data and continuously streamlining their financial aid models, institutions can make higher education more attainable for all students while maximizing their impact.

The Strategic Impact of Financial Aid Optimization

Financial aid optimization goes beyond simply helping students cover tuition—it’s about achieving a delicate balance between affordability for students and sustainability for institutions. By carefully crafting aid packages that meet the financial needs of students without overextending institutional resources, colleges and universities can enhance their enrollment efforts while maintaining financial health.

For example, reallocating funds for strategic distribution among students could result in higher net tuition revenue (NTR) without sacrificing enrollment numbers. This demonstrates how strategic adjustments can yield significant results when financial aid decisions are guided by data, tailored to meet institutional priorities, and aligned to overall enrollment strategies.

Retention and persistence are critical factors to consider when determining how to optimize financial aid. An effective leveraging model doesn’t stop at enrollment and the conclusion of a successful first year—it considers the long-term success of students. By analyzing which cohorts are more likely to persist and graduate, institutions can refine their aid offerings to improve outcomes for all students. This approach ensures that financial aid strategies not only attract students but also support their success throughout their academic journey.

Aligning Financial Aid With Student Success and Institutional Goals

Financial aid optimization is a powerful way to make higher education more accessible while helping institutions achieve their objectives. By combining institutional, federal, and state resources with data-driven optimization tools, colleges and universities can craft aid strategies that address affordability, bolster student retention, and maximize their impact.

Institutions looking to enhance their financial aid and enrollment can benefit from Liaison’s suite of solutions, including Othot. Whether your team is just beginning to explore financial aid leveraging or has years of experience, Liaison’s tools provide the flexibility and insights needed to meet your unique goals. From devising an initial plan to optimizing existing processes, our solutions are designed to assist schools at every stage of their journey. Contact us today to learn more.
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January 16, 2025
Moving Beyond New Year’s Resolutions to Embrace a Multi-Year Enrollment Strategy
Developing New Year’s resolutions for personal growth is something many of us do. Unfortunately, it is often a set-it and forget-it process that is simply reupped the following year. When done correctly, however, creating a resolution that is developed as a sustained, long-term strategy—and that is regularly returned to and adjusted as needed—seems to be the best way to meet our personal goals.

As enrollment managers, we all have pursued the first approach in our professional lives by evaluating last year’s successes and failures annually, making a few tweaks, and then seeing how it all works out again the following year. The truth of the matter is that this approach was relatively sustainable for a time. Simply buying more names, adjusting the aid-leveraging model annually, or a developing a wider marketing plan often could drive greater enrollments—mostly because those tactics generally were designed to “add more fuel to the fire.” As long as the applications continued to grow, annual tweaks could help to maintain the core enrollments as well as improve on the margins for many institutions.

The Need for More Effective Strategic Enrollment Strategies

Unfortunately, outside of key private and public flagship institutions, headwinds have developed over the past decade that are affecting higher education enrollments in significant ways. Ultimately, they may lead to campus closures for some, and to campus financial distress for many. As outlined in a paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, “Predicting College Closures and Financial Distress,” those pressures include:
- Post-pandemic enrollment challenges from traditional students (decreasing 15% from 2010-2021).
- Changes among adult learners (“The number of adult students over the age of 25 has fallen by nearly half since the Great Recession”).
- Growing competition.
- A lack of public support for higher education nationally.
The combination of all these factors has brought about the need for enrollment managers to develop a wider multi-year strategy that includes tools with the ability to enable deeper, more highly data-informed fine tuning throughout any given cycle. A one-size-fits-all approach to creating a nuanced strategy can no longer work in an environment of shrinking applications and increased competition.

Liaison’s Partnership Philosophy

Liaison is uniquely positioned to assist with higher education institutions in a true partnership. With the technology, services, and consultative approach that we provide our partners throughout the nation, we can assist in developing a comprehensive enrollment approach unique to your campus—ranging from single-point to full-enrollment planning solutions that are uniquely tailored to your unique needs. Liaison’s partnership philosophy, technology solutions, and industry knowledge and insights can not only help strengthen your enrollment planning and goals for this year but also set you up for long-term enrollment success.

Craig Cornell is the Vice President for Enrollment Strategy at Liaison. In that capacity, he oversees a team of enrollment strategists and brings best practices, consultation, and data trends to campuses across the country in all things enrollment management. Craig also serves as the dedicated resource to NASH (National Association of Higher Education Systems) and works closely with the higher education system that Liaison supports. Before joining Liaison in 2023, Craig served for over 30 years in multiple higher education executive enrollment management positions. During his tenure, the campuses he served often received national recognition for enrollment growth, effective financial aid leveraging, marketing enhancements, and innovative enrollment strategies.
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January 10, 2025
How Admissions and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate
Fostering Interdepartmental Collaboration to Drive a More Effective and Engaging Student Journey

Achieving success in your higher education marketing strategy requires seamless collaboration between your admissions and marketing teams to create a connected, consistent student journey experience. When these teams align, they move beyond their isolated efforts and build a unified strategy that not only captures students’ attention but also drives meaningful engagement and enrollments.

Admissions teams gain critical, real-time insights from their conversations with prospective students, and marketing teams transform those insights into strategies and assets that resonate with the right audiences. By sharing their insights, both teams can better inform campaigns, conversations, and touchpoints, ensuring every interaction feels intentional, relevant, and student-centered.

However, this alignment doesn’t happen by chance. It requires deliberate collaboration, thoughtful planning, and the strategic use of data at every stage. From discovery interviews and customer relationship management (CRM) data analysis to shared campaign development, each step in the process plays a vital role in delivering a cohesive, engaging experience that guides prospective students from curiosity to commitment.

The Importance and Benefits of Collaboration Between Admissions and Marketing Teams

In an increasingly competitive higher ed landscape, having admissions and marketing teams that collaborate and communicate with each other regularly can make a meaningful difference in the experience that an institution delivers to prospective students, while optimizing its marketing efforts for maximum impact.

When admissions and marketing operate in silos, the cohesion breaks down. Collaboration prevents these gaps, ensuring every message, from the first ad to the final admissions call, feels aligned and purposeful.

Creating a Unified Message

Students don’t distinguish between “admissions” and “marketing” — they only see the institution. That’s why a unified message is so crucial to every higher education marketing strategy. A consistent and unified message — whether it’s delivered through ads, emails, website visits, or conversations with admissions personnel — builds trust, strengthens the brand, and guides prospective students smoothly through their decision-making journey.

Building a Powerful Feedback Loop

When admissions and marketing teams stay in consistent communication, they create a powerful feedback loop that strengthens the institution’s messaging and better serves its prospective students.

Admissions teams are on the front lines, having daily conversations with students and hearing their motivations, hesitations, and questions firsthand. These interactions provide invaluable qualitative insights that can flow back into marketing assets and strategies.

For example, if students frequently ask about program outcomes — such as what they can do with a certain degree — marketing can develop targeted blog content, alumni video spotlights, or landing page updates showcasing career opportunities, industry connections, and success stories related to the degree. Additionally, if there are common points of confusion that come up in students’ conversations with admissions staff, marketing materials can be created that clearly and directly address these issues.

By tapping into this feedback loop, both teams can make meaningful, real-time adjustments that align the institution’s messaging with students’ priorities, enhance engagement, and drive better outcomes.

Empowering Teams With Critical Insights and Knowledge

Both admissions and marketing teams bring something unique and valuable to the table when it comes to understanding the institution’s brand, its offerings, and its students. While there are areas of overlap, each team also has its own distinct focal points that allow it to provide useful details the other team can benefit from, creating a richer and more comprehensive appreciation of how each team can best serve the institution’s students.

Practical Ways to Collaborate

Now that we’ve established the importance of collaboration, let’s take a look at some practical ways to bring this strategy to life.

Coordinate and Share Learnings During a Discovery Process

The first step is discovery, the phase where both admissions and marketing teams collaborate to analyze and uncover insights that will make their work more accurate, impactful, and aligned. The discovery process includes in-depth conversations with key university stakeholders; audits of existing school resources, marketing collateral, and program materials; and market research and competitive analysis to understand the institution’s positioning and audience needs.

Each team adds unique value to the process. Admissions teams gather information about program-specific details, students’ motivations, and nuances that resonate during enrollment conversations, while marketing teams analyze the institution’s competitive positioning, audience behaviors, and key differentiators. By sharing and coordinating these efforts upfront, teams can reduce redundancies, ensure alignment, and create a more cohesive strategy that delivers consistent, tailored messaging.

Here are some tactics that can help in coordinating and consolidating discovery efforts:
- Shared discovery templates
  
  Create standardized templates for interviews, audits, and insight summaries to ensure consistency in how findings are gathered and shared across teams.
- Discovery check-ins
  
  Ensure there are opportunities to check in and share progressive findings or learnings with the other team. This not only helps ensure that what is being communicated or uncovered by each team is consistent and in alignment. It also provides each team with valuable information that will help guide deeper conversations or elicit important questions that can be addressed sooner.
- Centralized insight repository
  
  Use a shared platform (e.g., Asana, Google Docs, or Notion) to compile key findings, data points, and interview notes in one place.
- Joint stakeholder interviews and meetings
  
  Conduct some discovery interviews with stakeholders (e.g., marketing, program directors, faculty, students) jointly. This ensures both teams hear the same information and gain aligned insights.
  
  For separate interviews, share questions between teams beforehand to ensure all interviews are exploring complementary areas.
Schedule Ongoing Check-Ins With Teams

Consistent communication is critical for collaboration. Regular monthly or quarterly meetings that include both admissions and marketing staff create space for sharing insights, identifying trends, and closing messaging gaps.

Admissions teams can spotlight common motivations, pain points, and areas of confusion among students, so marketing teams can update campaigns to address these themes in real time. These sessions ensure all higher education marketing strategies stay aligned and adaptive, making the student experience feel more cohesive.

Leverage CRM Data

Every interaction with a student leaves a breadcrumb trail of data. By tapping into call notes and CRM system data, admissions and marketing teams can track students’ questions, motivations, and hesitations.

Analyzing this data can reveal trends that marketing can address through website updates, FAQs, and ad campaigns. Sharing actionable summaries allows admissions teams to prepare for upcoming conversations and marketing teams to preemptively answer students’ concerns, creating a more seamless experience for prospects.

Share and Understand Key Resources

Developing key marketing resources, such as a Strategic Marketing Guide (SMG), and sharing them across teams can help keep admissions and marketing teams’ collaboration efforts on track.

An SMG isn’t just a document — it’s the framework that ensures every team is aligned in understanding the key components of the institution’s brand, story, and students. Personas, unique value propositions (UVPs), brand stories and positioning, and messaging frameworks outlined in an SMG help admissions and marketing teams speak the same language and tell a shared story.

Connect Your Admissions and Marketing Teams Through Collaboration With Archer

At Archer Education, we don’t just build marketing strategies — we build lasting capabilities. Our approach goes beyond campaign launches and lead generation to focus on sustainable online infrastructure that empowers universities to thrive long after our work is done. From aligning admissions and marketing teams to developing data-driven messaging frameworks, we act as a true partner in developing custom higher education marketing strategies that work.

Our collaboration is designed to transfer knowledge, not just deliver results. We equip your teams with the tools, training, and insights they need to operate with confidence, ensuring your institution isn’t reliant on outside support to maintain momentum. The result is a marketing engine that runs smoothly long after Archer’s involvement has ended, empowering your teams to lead with agility in an ever-changing higher education landscape.

Contact us today to learn more.

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January 10, 2025
The Evolution of the Traditional Admissions Funnel: Adapting to a New Era

The traditional admissions funnel has long served as a trusty blueprint for ushering prospective students from initial interest to enrollment. But times, they are a-changin’. Technological leaps, shifting student expectations, and newfangled marketing strategies have all conspired to transform this once-straightforward model. So, let’s dive into how the admissions funnel has evolved and what these changes spell out for colleges and universities.

From Linear to Non-Linear Journeys

Gone are the days of the straight-line path from prospect to enrollment. The old funnel—prospect, inquiry, application, admission, acceptance, enrollment—was neat and tidy. Today, the student journey is a lot more like a hopscotch game. Prospective students zigzag through stages, start an application, go back to gathering info, and flip-flop on decisions multiple times before finally enrolling. This behavior calls for admissions teams to be nimble and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice.

The Digital Revolution

The rise of digital tech has turned the admissions process on its head. Now, online platforms, social media, and virtual tours are the main highways for students discovering and engaging with colleges. Virtual events, webinars, and interactive content are must-haves to grab the attention of today’s digital-savvy students. To keep up, institutions need to master digital marketing and create a seamless online experience.

Personalization and Data Analytics

Today’s students expect nothing less than personalized communication and experiences. With advanced data analytics, colleges can track student interactions and preferences, tailoring their outreach and engagement efforts. This means sending targeted messages, recommending specific programs, and offering personalized content that hits home with individual students. Such a personalized approach strengthens connections and boosts conversion rates.

Increased Emphasis on Early Engagement

Early engagement is now a cornerstone of the modern admissions funnel. Building relationships with prospective students well before the application stage is critical. This involves nurturing leads through meaningful interactions from as early as middle school. Colleges are investing in long-term outreach programs, summer camps, and pre-college initiatives to establish and maintain connections throughout the student journey.

Focus on the Student Experience

The student experience has become a pivotal factor in the admissions process. Prospective students are seeking more than academic offerings; they want institutions that align with their values, offer a supportive community, and provide opportunities for personal growth. Colleges need to showcase their unique campus cultures, highlight student success stories, and emphasize holistic support services to attract and retain students.

Adapting to Changing Demographics

Demographic shifts, like increasing diversity and the rise of non-traditional students, demand that colleges adapt their recruitment strategies. Institutions are developing more wide-ranging marketing campaigns and creating pathways for adult learners, transfer students, and international applicants. Understanding and addressing the unique needs of these diverse populations is crucial for staying competitive in today’s landscape.

There you have it—the modern admissions funnel is a dynamic, digital, and personalized journey. Colleges and universities that embrace these changes and adapt their strategies will be the ones that thrive in this new era.

We do NOT recruit and retain students when they understand us (the institution). We recruit and retain when students see we understand who they are.

Mondy Brewer, Ph.D., brings over 30 years of diverse experience in higher education, having held key leadership positions in admissions, marketing communications, and student success. He has also served as an Assistant Professor of Leadership in Business. In addition to his consulting work specializing in enrollment management, he currently serves as AVP – Enrollment Strategy at Liaison. Dr. Brewer holds a Doctorate in Leadership with a focus on higher education administration. His doctoral research explored the engagement of first-generation college students, offering insights into the institutional support mechanisms that promote their success.

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January 3, 2025
How to Recruit Undergraduate Students Who Persist
Key Takeaways:
- Today’s undergraduate enrollment and recruitment strategies should be data informed and personalized, prioritizing quality over quantity.
- “Flipping the funnel” shifts the focus from mass marketing to building meaningful, tailored connections with students, ensuring better matches and higher retention rates.
- Student personas and data analytics enable institutions to craft targeted messaging that resonates with individual student goals.
- Liaison’s tools empower colleges to use predictive analytics, real-time engagement, and tailored outreach to attract and retain students who are well-suited to their programs.
For today’s higher education institutions, attracting the right students is more important than reaching a high volume of applicants. Traditional enrollment models that rely on casting a wide net and filtering through broad pools of applicants are no longer enough. Colleges and universities must instead adopt data-informed, personalized strategies that focus on quality over quantity.

Liaison’s suite of advanced tools makes this possible, offering data-focused insights, real-time engagement capabilities, and tailored outreach options. This approach not only streamlines recruitment but also ensures a stronger match between students and their chosen programs, leading to higher yield and retention rates and ultimately providing a more fulfilling educational journey.

Flipping the Funnel: Moving From Volume to Value

Historically, institutions have used a “funnel” approach to undergraduate admissions and recruitment, beginning with a large pool of prospective students and narrowing the field. But with today’s intensified competition, this model is proving less effective. Rather than expanding the top of the funnel by acquiring more student names, “flipping the funnel” is a strategic approach that begins with the end goal in mind: enrolling and retaining the students who will thrive at your institution.

Flipping the funnel shifts the focus from raw numbers to meaningful connections. Instead of mass marketing, this approach encourages institutions to recruit based on the distinct needs, goals, and interests of each student cohort. Just as each program or field has unique strengths, each student brings unique aspirations and potential. This customized outreach means that a prospective engineering student, for instance, might receive information about hands-on lab opportunities, while a fine arts student sees highlights of campus studios and faculty profiles. Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing and CRM solutions facilitate this tailored approach, allowing schools to reach specific audiences on digital platforms with messages that resonate with individual student interests.

Building Student Personas to Enhance Targeting

Understanding how to recruit undergraduate studentswho are likely to succeed and remain engaged throughout their academic journey requires a clear understanding of those students. Creating detailed student personas—representations of ideal applicants based on real data—lets institutions tailor their outreach with pinpoint accuracy. For example, Liaison’s CRM solutions facilitate this process by analyzing key data points such as academic background, geographic location, and behavioral insights, helping teams identify the students most likely to flourish and stay enrolled.

With clear student personas in mind, institutions can deliver customized messaging that aligns with students’ priorities. For example, a prospective first-generation student may be most interested in affordability and support services, while a STEM-oriented applicant might respond better to information about research facilities and career pathways. Crafting communications based on these personas enhances engagement and strengthens student bonds from the beginning. By sending recruitment messages that truly speak to students’ goals, institutions foster a sense of belonging, which in turn improves retention and satisfaction rates.

Utilizing Data Analytics for Personalized Interactions

Data analytics has become an essential tool for individualizing outreach to connect with the right students with the right message at the right time. Real-time data enables institutions to track student responses, identify prospective students’ preferences, and adapt strategies based on what works best. Liaison’s AI solutions are designed for this agile approach, allowing institutions to monitor interactions and adjust their recruitment efforts dynamically throughout the enrollment cycle.

With predictive and prescriptive analytics, schools can employ advanced tactics like retargeting, which reconnects with students who may have previously shown interest but haven’t yet committed. By capturing students’ attention during “micro-moments” as they browse social media or search online, institutions can stay relevant and timely in their communications. This data-informed approach—using Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing and digital services—increases enrollment numbers and forms trust with students by providing content that aligns with their journeys. The result? Stronger engagement and a greater likelihood of success.

Transforming Enrollment With Data-Informed Precision

In higher education, student recruitment requires a thoughtful, data-centered approach that emphasizes quality over quantity and personalization over generalization. By leveraging tools like Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing, TargetX, Outcomes, Search, and Othot, institutions can move beyond traditional methods and create recruitment strategies that attract students who are well-suited to their programs. By creating tailored recruitment strategies aligned to student cohort needs, you inspire students with a stronger sense of belonging and deeper engagement throughout the enrollment cycle. That, in turn, drives long-term success on your campus.

To discover how Liaison’s technology solutions can transform your recruitment practices, reach out to us today. Our team is ready to help you implement data-backed, individualized outreach strategies that benefit your institution and future students alike. Contact us for a demo or a consultation to see how Liaison’s tools can elevate your enrollment efforts!

About the Author

Craig Cornell is the Vice President for Enrollment Strategy at Liaison. In that capacity, he oversees a team of enrollment strategists and brings best practices, consultation, and data trends to campuses across the country in all things enrollment management. Craig also serves as the dedicated resource to NASH (National Association of Higher Education Systems) and works closely with the higher education system that Liaison supports. Before joining Liaison in 2023, Craig served for over 30 years in multiple higher education executive enrollment management positions. During his tenure, the campuses he served often received national recognition for enrollment growth, effective financial aid leveraging, marketing enhancements, and innovative enrollment strategies.
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January 2, 2025
How Community Colleges Can Simplify the Student Enrollment Process
Key Takeaways:
- Community colleges play a vital role in addressing enrollment barriers, offering tailored support to first-generation and working students.
- Proactive strategies, such as early communication, community outreach, and wraparound services like food assistance and mental health support, help students navigate challenges and stay engaged.
- Leveraging technology like CRM systems and AI tools simplifies the student enrollment process and enhances conversion rates.
- Measuring success through metrics such as conversion rates, re-enrollment, and first-semester engagement lets colleges refine their strategies and better support student persistence and retention.
The enrollment journey at community colleges can be far from straightforward, as many students face barriers beyond academics—from concerns over affordability to balancing family and work responsibilities and navigating financial aid. For example, nearly 75% of public two-year college students work while enrolled, including 46% working full time, and two-thirds of people enrolled in community colleges are first-generation students, who often do not receive the guidance and support that other students might receive from within their support systems.

Community colleges are uniquely positioned to open doors for these students who might otherwise never step foot into higher education. By breaking down enrollment barriers, fostering early communication, and utilizing technology, community colleges can create an enrollment experience that meets students where they are. In turn, they can build pathways that lead to success, one student at a time.

Identifying Enrollment Barriers

For students new to the world of higher education, the student enrollment process can feel daunting. While community colleges are open-access institutions, this does not always translate to an easy path. Many students come from communities where attending college is not the norm, and some face resistance from family members or struggle with time constraints due to family responsibilities. Financial aid is also a common sticking point. Some students worry about taking on debt, while others have families unwilling to fill out the FAFSA due to privacy concerns, which adds to the complexity of obtaining financial assistance.

Community colleges that proactively identify these barriers can uncover solutions tailored to each student’s situation. For instance, understanding the unique financial, familial, or community pressures facing students can inform how colleges offer support. Identifying opportunities to become more transparent, such as having standardized institutional aid packages that allow students to see how much aid they would receive, exemplifies this shift toward recognizing and removing institutional barriers. By locating obstacles early, colleges can guide students more effectively throughout the enrollment process, keeping them on track and engaged.

Strategies for Eliminating Barriers in the Student Enrollment Process

Addressing these challenges often requires creative solutions that reach beyond academic support. A critical strategy lies in educating students—and, when possible, their communities—on the value of a college education. Many students find themselves questioning the worth of a degree, particularly in communities where traditional college education may be seen as unnecessary. To address this, some colleges have begun integrating community outreach programs that outline the tangible benefits of a college education, from career advancement to personal growth. Tracking college enrollment trends also offers insight into where additional guidance might be needed, ensuring that community colleges can adapt and refine their programs.

Community colleges can better aid students by offering wraparound services, such as food assistance, mental health counseling, transportation services, and financial literacy courses. Food insecurity, for example, is a widespread problem affecting 23% of community college students. Liaison’s IMPACT Grant, which champions initiatives such as on-campus food pantries, is an excellent example of how colleges can tackle this barrier head-on. By promoting awareness of available resources, colleges make sure students know where to find the support they need, allowing them to focus on their studies rather than their next meal or car troubles.

Free community college programs, now offered in 36 states, also alleviate the financial strain of pursuing a credential by removing student debt as a barrier to entry. As more colleges promote these programs, the cost of higher education becomes less intimidating, particularly for first-generation and low-income students who might otherwise forgo college due to cost concerns.

The Critical Role of Early Communication

Community colleges often enter the higher education conversation with prospective students later than four-year institutions, missing critical opportunities to provide guidance. While some universities engage students as early as their freshman year of high school, community colleges might not start outreach until a student’s senior year. This timing can make a significant difference: earlier communication lets students weigh all their options without feeling pressured by high tuition at traditional four-year colleges. It also opens up time to explore scholarships, grants, and other options.

Reaching students sooner can reduce enrollment anxiety, allowing them to explore programs that align with their financial needs and career goals. By actively promoting programs and resources through social media, local events, and high school partnerships, community colleges can position themselves as accessible, affordable, and valuable options for higher education.

Leveraging Technology to Support Enrollment Journeys

Innovative technology, such as CRM systems and AI-driven tools, plays a transformative role in simplifying the enrollment process. Liaison’s TargetX and Outcomes CRMs, for example, provide tailored platforms for managing student engagement and application processing. With tools for omnichannel marketing, application management, and progress tracking, these platforms allow students to communicate with advisors and gain clear guidance throughout the admissions process. As a result, institutions are able to improve conversion rates and enroll more best-fit students.

AI-powered chatbots, now integrated into these CRMs, also assist students in navigating questions and concerns in real-time. This technology offers immediate, practical support that keeps students on track toward enrollment and reduces logistical barriers.

Measuring Enrollment Success

To understand the impact of their enrollment strategies, community colleges must look at specific metrics that reflect student progress and satisfaction. Identifying conversion rates at each enrollment stage offers insight into where students might drop off and allows administrators to refine support systems accordingly. Once students are on campus, tracking their first-semester engagement—particularly through the crucial first four weeks—can highlight early challenges and help colleges design interventions to boost retention as well as persistence after the first year.

Examining re-enrollment rates from semester to semester is another key indicator of success. Demonstrating steady improvements in these areas reflects well on the effectiveness of a school’s holistic support and technology. Such data can also indicate how effectively institutions are offsetting the rate of community college enrollment decline, a pressing issue for those seeking to sustain their missions.

Community colleges serve as the best opportunity to access higher education for many students. By removing enrollment barriers, actively communicating early and often, and leveraging technology to simplify the admissions process, community colleges can create pathways that lead students to fulfilling educational journeys. The more colleges embrace these strategies, the more efficient and successful the enrollment journey becomes for all students, leading to an increasingly inclusive and accessible higher education landscape.

Liaison is committed to helping community colleges streamline admissions and improve student outcomes. Contact us today to learn more about our products and services.
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December 19, 2024
Online Learners: Generational Influences on Expectations and Satisfaction
Earlier this year, I was interested to read RNL’s Generations of Online Learners report, which was produced by cross-tabbing our national survey of (largely) prospective online students by the three primary student generations. There has been greater awareness in recent years of the influence of generational differences in higher education, and this made me interested to explore the perceptions of students by age within our National Online Learners dataset.

These data reflect the responses to the RNL Priorities Survey for Online Learners (PSOL) over the past three academic years (fall 2021 through spring 2024), which now reflects a fully post-pandemic point of view. The total data represents 101,925 student records from 153 institutions. The PSOL asks students to indicate a level of importance and a level of satisfaction on a variety of experiences associated with their online study.

While the standard age categories used in the PSOL don’t exactly line up with the generational parameters, we can get close with these designations:

Age Indicator Generational Designation

19-24 Gen Z

25-34 Millennial (One)

35-44 Millennial (Two)

45 -54 GenX

Tuition paid is a worthwhile investment

One of the high priority items on the PSOL is the perception of “Tuition paid is a worthwhile investment.”

Tuition paid is a worthwhile investment.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Importance* 86% 89% 91% 92%

Satisfaction** 62% 67% 71% 76%

*% of students who indicated the item was important/very important
**% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

While this item is just 6 percent less important to Gen Z students than it is to Gen Xers, Gen Z students are 14 percent less satisfied than the Gen Xers. The older the student, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their tuition investment. What this says to online programs is you may need to more intentionally build the case for the investment of time and resources when you are recruiting and looking to retain Gen Z students (the primary “traditional age” student cohort) than you may need to be when recruiting (and seeking to retain) either Millennials or Gen X online students.

Items of less importance to Gen Z/more important to Gen X

Three other items stand out as being much less important to Gen Z students than they are to Gen X students:
- This institution has a good reputation.
- Factor to enroll: Reputation of the institution
- Source of information: Catalog (online)
Each of these items saw at least 10 percent less importance among Gen Z online students when compared with Gen X.

This could be considered in the reverse: these items are actually more important to older students than they are younger students. If you are an online program that is specifically looking to recruit online learners who are older, you may want to emphasize your overall reputation and include reliable resources that speak to the quality of the education you are providing.

These Gen X ratings may be (at least in part) due to a lack of exposure that this generation had to online learning options when they were younger; they may need more evidence that online learning is an acceptable way to get a degree. In addition, older online students may be more accustomed to reviewing catalogs and expecting to see a complete catalog as an online resource as they are determining their program and direction for course work.

Conversely, the relative lack of concern that Gen Z students give to issues of reputation (likely as a placeholder for “quality” of the program) is likely an indicator of their comfort with the online modality – which for them does not represent something experimental or new. Particularly after the pandemic (and their exposure to online or remote learning) they may not have loved those experiences, but they did become quite comfortable with them.

Five areas where Gen Z students are much less satisfied than Gen X

There were a number of factors for which Gen Z online students indicated satisfaction levels which are 10 percent or more lower than among Gen X online students.

Faculty provide timely feedback about student progress.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Satisfaction* 66% 71% 73% 76%

*% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

The quality of instruction is excellent.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Satisfaction* 65% 70% 72% 76%

*% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

Adequate financial aid is available.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Satisfaction* 59% 66% 68% 70%

*% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

I receive timely information on the availability of financial aid.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Satisfaction* 64% 72% 74% 74%

*% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

This institution responds quickly when I request information.

Gen Z Millennial (One) Millennial (Two) Gen X

Satisfaction* 68 % 76 % 78 % 80 %

*% of students who indicated they were satisfied/very satisfied with this item

These data make it clear that the youngest online students are clearly less satisfied with their experience than are older generations. Note that all respondents are in fully online programs and are not reflecting any of the “emergency remote learning” that occurred during the pandemic – a period that precedes the data collection window. Having said this, these younger students may be more ready to be critical of fully online learning due to possible pandemic-era remote learning experiences. Alternatively, their lifelong exposure to all things online may just make them have higher expectations of their online programs than older students. As we have documented elsewhere, their expectations may be informed by the many other highly personalized and speedy online interactions they have in other spheres of their lives.

The results reflected here provide an opportunity for online programs to consider the student populations they are targeting for recruitment purposes and how they can best retain them through to completion of the program – and thereby maximize their student success outcomes. Targeted initiatives and communication related to these priority areas for younger students may best serve institutions with achieving their goals, recognizing that students in different age groups have different perceptions and perspectives that they bring with them to the higher education experience.

Survey your students

The most relevant and useful data points that will maximize student success are always specific to each institution. For this reason, it is important that institutions (and in this case online programs) need to survey their own student population to identify areas of importance and satisfaction (and dissatisfaction). Once you have data for your own institution (or online program), you can isolate it by various demographics and then target your activities for subpopulations that may be less satisfied with their experience. The work you do to gather student feedback data, to explore it for insights and to use it to inform actions will have the greatest impact on student success.

Contact me if you would like to learn more about administering the Priorities Survey for Online Learners with your students.

I also invite you to download the 2024 National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report to learn more about the perceptions of students by class level in traditional and online programs
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December 17, 2024
Helping Families See the True Cost of College
When it comes to choosing a college, the sticker price can be a major turnoff. A significant 65% of prospective students and 67% of their families report ruling out institutions based solely on the advertised “sticker price”.

Source: 2024 Prospective Family Engagement Report

But what does this mean for colleges and universities, and how can they help families look beyond the sticker shock to understand the true affordability of a degree?

The rising tide of sticker shock

Sources: 2024 Prospective Family Engagement and 2022 Prospective Family Engagement reports

Ruling out colleges based on the sticker price is on the rise – and it’s happening fast. In just three years, the percentage of families eliminating schools from consideration due to high upfront costs has jumped from 58% in 2022 to 67% in 2024.

This suggests that concerns about affordability are increasingly driving the college planning process, with families taking a hard look at the bottom line before even exploring other factors. But is this sticker shock reaction always a rational response, or might colleges be losing out on applicants who could afford to attend with the help of financial aid?

The generational divide

Sources: 2024 Prospective Family Engagement and 2024 High School Students’ Perceptions of College Financing

A notable divide emerges when comparing the sticker shock responses of first-generation college students to their continuing-generation peers. A full 69% of first-generation students reported ruling out schools based on sticker price, compared to 64% of continuing-generation students.

This disparity is also reflected in families’ perceptions, with 68% of first-generation families eliminating schools due to cost versus 62% of continuing-generation families. This could suggest that first-generation students and families are less familiar with the intricacies of college financing and the crucial distinction between sticker and net price.

As a result, they may be more likely to focus on the daunting upfront cost without fully exploring the available aid options. How can colleges better reach, educate, and support these first-generation students about affordability to prevent them from ruling out institutions that could be a great fit financially and academically?

The role of family involvement

Source: 2024 High School Students’ Perceptions of College Financing

The level of family involvement in the college search process also plays a role in sticker shock decisions. Students with very involved parents were less likely to rule out colleges based on sticker price (63%), suggesting that parental guidance may help applicants look beyond the initial cost to consider the bigger financial picture.

But what about students with less involved parents? A striking 75% of students with uninvolved parents ruled out colleges based on sticker price. How can colleges step in to provide the necessary counseling and education about affordability for these applicants?

Loan anxiety and sticker shock: A shared concern for students and families

For both students and their families, concerns about loan debt play a significant role in the sticker shock equation. A striking 70% of students who expressed concerns about borrowing to finance their education were more likely to rule out colleges based on high prices. Families share this loan anxiety – 73% of families with loan concerns reported ruling out institutions based on sticker price. This underscores the need for colleges to address loan concerns head-on through transparent communication about financing options, debt management strategies, and a degree’s long-term return on investment.

Source: 2024 High School Students’ Perceptions of College Financing

By providing reassurance and resources, institutions can help applicants feel more comfortable with the financial commitment and less likely to rule out schools due to initial sticker shock. Importantly, 72% of students and 79% of families reported that their borrowing concerns were negatively impacting their college planning, suggesting that proactive support from institutions is crucial in mitigating loan anxiety and promoting a more holistic view of affordability.

The net price imperative

While sticker price can be a major deterrent, the actual net price of attendance paints a very different picture. Institutions must do a better job of clearly communicating net price information to prospective students and families.

This means highlighting available aid, scholarships, and financing options to demonstrate affordability. Tools like net price calculators can be powerful in helping applicants understand the true cost of attendance. But are these resources being effectively utilized and communicated to offset the sticker shock reaction?

To help families and students look beyond sticker shock, institutions can take the following steps:
1. Clearly communicate net price information: Highlight the difference between sticker price and net price on your website and in recruitment materials.
2. Provide transparent financing information: Break down the costs of attendance and explain financing options in clear, easy-to-understand language.
3. Offer user-friendly net price calculators: Help families estimate their actual out-of-pocket costs with interactive net price calculators.
4. Proactively counsel about aid: Don’t wait for families to ask – offer personalized financial aid counseling to prospective students.
5. Address loan anxiety: Provide resources and guidance to help students and families understand responsible borrowing and debt management.
6. Highlight value beyond price: Showcase the long-term value and outcomes of a degree from your institution to demonstrate the return on investment.
7. Partner with high schools: Collaborate with high school counselors to provide early education about college financing and affordability.
8. Target outreach to first-gen students and their families: Recognize that first-generation students may need additional support and education about the college financing process.
9. Follow up with sticker-shocked applicants: If a student expresses interest but seems deterred by the sticker price, proactively reach out with information about aid and affordability options.
10. Leverage video and AI to personalize the process: Use video content and artificial intelligence tools to provide personalized, interactive explanations of financial aid and affordability. AI-powered chatbots can offer 24/7 support to answer families’ financing questions, while personalized video messages can break down complex aid packages in an easy-to-digest format. By embracing these technologies, institutions can create a more engaging, self-service-oriented experience that empowers families to confidently navigate the affordability landscape.
The bottom line and more findings from our Perceptions report

The sticker shock phenomenon is a real and growing concern in college admissions. However, by understanding the factors that drive these decisions and taking proactive steps to educate families, colleges can help prospective students see beyond the advertised tuition rate to consider the true affordability of a degree. This requires a nuanced understanding of the college financing landscape and a commitment to clear, transparent communication. With the right approaches, institutions can attract diverse applicants who may have otherwise been deterred by sticker shock.

You can read more insights and findings in the 2024 High School Students’ Perceptions of College Financing report, co-sponsored by our partners Ardeo and Halda. This report captures data from a survey of more than 2,100 11th- and 12th-grade students. Read it now.
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December 17, 2024