This blog was kindly authored by Melissa Bowden, Senior Content Writer and Editor at Kortext.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept in higher education. It’s here, and it’s already transforming the way institutions are delivering learning.
At Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, an exciting new pilot is underway: a VLE-integrated AI assistant developed in collaboration with Kortext, Microsoft and Instructure. This initiative is more than a technology trial; it’s a strategic step towards realising Oxford’s ambitious AI vision.
Starting the transformation journey
The University of Oxford is a complex, devolved organisation with 26,500 students and 16,500 staff. The potential applications of AI across this ecosystem are vast – from accelerating research and processing data to enhancing student engagement and streamlining staff workflows. But with so many possibilities, the question is: where do you start?
For Mark Bramwell, Chief Digital & Information Officer at Saïd Business School and Director of Strategic Digital Partnerships at the University of Oxford, one answer lies in the VLE. Integrating an AI assistant into their Canvas instance is a practical first step in a broader digital transformation strategy focused on agility, data and world-leading innovation.
As Mark explains:
AI will be core to our future. We need to equip our faculty, researchers, students and staff with the latest technologies – not just to make them more efficient today, but to also ensure they’re fully prepared with essential skills they’ll need in the workplace.
The power of partnership
Saïd Business School has been working in collaboration with Kortext, Microsoft and Instructure on the Canvas-integrated AI assistant pilot as part of its existing partnership.
When establishing the pilot, there were three non-negotiables for Bramwell. The AI assistant must be seamlessly integrated into a student’s learning journey, use a ring-fenced secure data environment, and be interoperable with existing technologies at Oxford.
With Canvas as the delivery platform, the AI assistant is available to students and faculty within their existing learning environment. All data is stored safely within the university’s domain and tenancy, complying with regulatory requirements. Finally, the pilot builds on Oxford’s long-standing strategic partnership with Microsoft as a natural evolution of its digital ecosystem.
The pilot will span 1,200 students across all degree programmes, alongside faculty and instructional designers. For Bramwell, this project is:
an exciting extension of our digital strategy and AI activities, leveraging the synergies that exist between our three tech collaborators.
Data-driven insights for smarter course design
It’s early days, but the pilot’s outcomes are greatly and positively anticipated. For Bramwell, one of the most beneficial aspects is the AI assistant’s ability to capture granular engagement data.
Which content are students interacting with? Where are they disengaging? These insights can inform continuous improvement in course design and content strategy, enabling faculty to create responsive programmes relevant to student needs. They can also accelerate course development, with staff expertise complemented by AI-enabled tools and recommendations.
Competitive advantage in a global market
Higher education is an increasingly competitive sector, both in the UK and globally. Within this context, one of Saïd Business School’s ambitions is clear: to extend its reach through online learning and deliver an experience that reflects the name, brand and value of the University of Oxford.
For Bramwell, personalised learning, enriched by data and analytics, is central to that differentiation.
Our job is to make every learner better equipped for the world and the future of work than when they joined us.
If we can do that, we’re doing our job.
Looking ahead: the future of AI-enabled education
The vision doesn’t stop there. Bramwell imagines a future where AI supports a student from ‘cradle to grave’, guiding their learning at every stage of their life.
The possibilities are endless,but must be delivered within responsible, ethical frameworks.
He also sees possibilities for global accessibility: ‘giving us the opportunity to take Oxford to learners, geographies and regions that may not have previously been possible’.
By replicating faculty expertise globally, AI can help make education more inclusive and impactful than ever before.
What happens next?
The pilot’s impact will be measured through engagement metrics, content interaction and tangible efficiency gains for both students, instructional designers and faculty. Examples here might include learners using the AI assistant to summarise reading materials and save time, or staff asking the AI assistant for content recommendations to make the student experience more engaging.
Bramwell is confident this is just the beginning. The next phase of AI-enabled learning at Oxford could involve developing truly personalised learning experiences, where learners construct and consume courses on their own terms – anytime, anywhere.
A message for higher education leaders
For other institutions, Bramwell offers a clear message:
Don’t let governance and risk paralyse innovation. Experiment, innovate and play – but do it safely. Architect your approach within secure frameworks so you can learn without compromising data or trust.
This is a pivotal moment for higher education. AI isn’t a future trend, it’s a present reality. The question now is whether institutions will embrace it proactively or be left behind.
Kortext is a HEPI Partner. Mark Bramwell is speaking at Kortext LIVE on 11 February 2026 in London. Join Mark at this free event to hear more about the pilot’s progress, the long-term vision, and why Kortext was selected as a key project partner. Find out more and secure your seat here.
Creating consistency between classrooms and ensuring curriculum alignment school-wide can be challenging, even in the smallest of districts. Every educator teaches–and grades–differently based on their experience and preferences, and too often, they’re forced into a solution that no longer respects their autonomy or acknowledges their strengths.
When Superior Public Schools (SPS), a district of 450 students in rural Nebraska, defined standards-referenced curriculum as a priority of our continuous improvement plan, bringing teachers in as partners on the transition was essential to our success. Through their support, strategic relationships with outside partners, and meaningful data and reporting, the pathway from curriculum design to classroom action was a smooth one for teachers, school leaders, and students alike.
Facing the challenge of a new curriculum
For years, teachers in SPS were working autonomously in the classroom. Without a district-wide curriculum in place, they used textbooks to guide their instruction and designed lesson plans around what they valued as important. In addition, grading was performed on a normative curve that compared a student’s performance against the performance of their peers rather than in relation to a mastery of content.
As other educators have discovered, the traditional approach to teaching may be effective for some students, but is inequitable overall when preparing all students for their next step, whether moving on to more complex material or preparing for the grade ahead. Kids were falling through the cracks, and existing opportunity gaps only began to grow.
SPS set out to help our students by instituting standards-referenced instruction at both the elementary and secondary levels, allowing us to better identify each child’s progress toward set learning standards and deliver immediate feedback and intervention services to keep them on the path toward success.
Take it slow and start with collaboration
From day one, school leaders understood the transition to the new curriculum needed to be intentional and collaborative.
Rather than demand immediate buy-in from teachers, administrators and the curriculum team dedicated the time to help them understand the value of a new learning process. Together, we took a deep dive into traditional education practices, identifying which set students up for success and which actually detoured their progress. Recognizing that everyone–teachers included–learns in different ways, administrators also provided educators with a wide range of resources, such as book studies, podcasts, and articles, to help them grow professionally.
In addition, SPS partnered with the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices across all content areas, schools, and grade levels. On-site CLI coaches worked directly with teachers to interpret standards and incorporate their unique teaching styles into new instructional strategies, helping to ensure the new curriculum translated seamlessly into daily classroom practice.
To bring standards-referenced curriculum to life with meaningful insights and reporting, SPS integrated the Otus platform into our Student Information System. By collecting and analyzing data in a concise manner, teachers could measure student performance against specific learning targets, determining if content needed to be re-taught to the whole class or if specific students required one-on-one guidance.
With the support of our teachers, SPS was able to launch the new curriculum and assessment writing process district-wide, reaching students in pre-K through 12th grade. However, standards-reference grading was a slower process, starting with one subject area at a time at the elementary level. Teachers who were initially uncomfortable with the new grading system were able to see the benefits firsthand, allowing them to ease into the transition rather than jump in headfirst.
Empowering educators, inspiring students
By uniting curriculum and data, SPS has set a stronger foundation of success for every student. Progress is no longer measured by compliance but by a true mastery of classroom concepts.
Teachers have become intentional with their lesson plans, ensuring that classroom content is directly linked to the curriculum. The framework also gives them actionable insights to better identify the skills students have mastered and the content areas where they need extra support. Teachers can adjust instruction as needed, better communicate with parents on their students’ progress, and connect struggling students to intervention services.
Principals also look at student progress from a building level, identifying commonalities across multiple grades. For instance, if different grade levels struggle with geometry concepts, we can revisit the curriculum to see where improvements should be made. Conversely, we can better determine if SPS needs to increase the rigor in one grade to better prepare students for the next grade level.
While the road toward standards-referenced curriculum had its challenges, the destination was worth the journey for everyone at SPS. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, 84 percent of K-5 students were at or above the 41st percentile in math, and 79 percent were at or above the 41st percentile in reading based on NWEA MAP results. In addition, teachers now have a complete picture of every student to track individual progress toward academic standards, and students receive the feedback, support, and insights that inspire them to become active participants in their learning.
Tricia Kuhlmann and Jodi Fierstein, Superior Public Schools
Tricia Kuhlmann is the Curriculum Director and Jodi Fierstein is the Elementary Principal and Director of Special Services at Superior Public Schools in Superior, NE.
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In today’s highly competitive education landscape, schools at every level, from K–12 academies to public universities, must embrace modern, digital-first marketing strategies to attract and retain students. The era of relying solely on word-of-mouth or physical brochures is long gone. Today’s families and prospective students are browsing school websites, scrolling through social media, and watching virtual campus tours before they fill out an inquiry form or attend an open house.
To stay relevant and competitive in 2025 and beyond, schools need to meet their audiences where they are: online. That means showing up with targeted, compelling content and a clearly articulated value proposition. This is especially true for private and independent institutions, where high tuition fees and rising parental expectations demand a more persuasive, proactive approach to enrollment marketing.
So, how can your school stand out in an increasingly crowded space?
In this article, we break down 10 of the most effective marketing strategies for schools, with a strong emphasis on digital tactics. From strengthening your web presence to leveraging alumni stories and optimizing for SEO, these proven approaches help build awareness, trust, and engagement. Each strategy includes real-world examples from schools and colleges around the world to inspire your next campaign.
Whether you’re marketing a small language institute or a large university, these strategies are adaptable to your goals and designed to drive results.
Struggling with enrollment and retention?
Our innovative marketing strategies can help you generate more leads.
1. Understand Your Audience and Craft Your Message
A strong school marketing strategy begins with clarity: who exactly are you trying to reach, and what do they need to hear from you? Whether you’re a K–12 school or a higher ed institution, knowing your audience inside and out is essential. That means digging deeper than just age or location. Consider their priorities, concerns, motivations, and communication preferences.
Creating audience personas helps bring these insights to life. Is your ideal family looking for academic rigor, a supportive community, or flexible scheduling? Are your prospective students career changers seeking fast-track credentials, or teens drawn to innovation and student life? When you define who you’re speaking to, you can tailor your messaging to resonate and avoid generic outreach that falls flat.
Your next step is to articulate your school’s unique value proposition. What makes you different? Highlight that core message consistently across all channels. For some schools, it might be small class sizes and a nurturing environment. For others, it could be career outcomes, cutting-edge labs, or global learning opportunities.
Finally, data can deepen your understanding of your audience. Track behavior, segment leads, and personalize your outreach accordingly. The more relevant your message, the more likely it is to convert.
Example:Oregon State University (OSU). OSU’s enrollment team uses a CRM (Slate) to segment prospective students by factors like academic interests, intended majors, and geographic location. This lets OSU deliver tailored messages to each audience segment. For example, sharing engineering content with STEM-interested prospects or inviting nearby students to local events. By defining clear audience personas and emphasizing OSU’s unique offerings (like its “Beaver Nation” community and research opportunities) in communications, OSU ensures its outreach resonates more and converts better than one-size-fits-all marketing.
In a nutshell, how do you create a marketing strategy for a school? A strong school marketing strategy starts by defining your goals and audience, then clarifying your unique value proposition. Choose the right channels: website, SEO, social media, email, events, etc., all while keeping messaging consistent. Implement your plan, track performance with analytics, and adjust as needed to improve enrollment results.
2. Turn Your Website into a Top-Performing Recruiter
Your school’s website is more than just a digital brochure. It’s your hardest-working recruiter, available 24/7. In most cases, it’s the first real impression you make on prospective students and their families. If it’s outdated, hard to navigate, or slow to load, visitors may bounce before they ever reach your inquiry form. On the other hand, a fast, intuitive, and compelling site can drive real results: inquiries, campus visit bookings, and applications.
To make your website enrollment-friendly, focus on these key areas:
Navigation and user experience: Make it easy for visitors to find what matters most: admissions, tuition, programs, and deadlines, within one or two clicks. Prioritize clarity and mobile optimization, since the majority of users now browse on their phones.
Engaging content: Use vibrant photos, student stories, and program highlights to showcase your school’s personality and value. Don’t just state facts; tell stories that build emotional connection.
Clear CTAs: Every page should lead users to the next step, whether it’s “Book a Tour” or “Start Your Application.” Make buttons visible, and forms short and intuitive.
SEO and visibility: Build search-friendly content using keywords like “STEM high school Toronto” or “MBA in Montreal.” This boosts your visibility when families search online.
Example:South Seattle College. This college launched a fully redesigned, mobile-responsive website to serve as a “24/7 digital front door” for prospective students. The new site features simplified navigation (with intuitive menus and audience-specific landing pages), fast load times, and engaging content like student stories and virtual tour videos. Key information: admissions steps, programs, costs etc., is now accessible within one or two clicks. After the revamp, South Seattle College saw improved user engagement and more inquiries, validating that an optimized website can effectively guide visitors from interest to application.
3. Meet Students Where They Scroll: Social Media Engagement
If you’re wondering how to effectively reach today’s students, social media is your answer. Teenagers, young adults, and even their parents spend hours every day scrolling through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. That’s why a modern marketing strategy for schools must go beyond occasional polished posts. It also requires consistent, authentic, and engaging content that brings your school community to life online.
Social media allows prospective students to virtually experience your school before they set foot on campus. They can witness student life, explore your values, and interact with your team through comments and DMs. It’s a space where schools can showcase achievements, run virtual events, answer questions, and create lasting impressions, all within the platforms students already use. Social media engagement fosters emotional connection, builds trust, and nudges prospective students closer to applying.
Here are some proven tactics to strengthen your social media presence:
Student Takeovers: Give students the reins of your Instagram or TikTok for a day to showcase a “real life” perspective of your campus.
Interactive Campaigns: Launch challenges, quizzes, or hashtag contests to generate user content and boost engagement.
Alumni & Academic Outcomes: Share stories of success to inspire and build credibility with prospective students and their families.
Paid Targeted Ads: Reach niche audiences with specific messaging using Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok ad campaigns.
Responsive Community Management: Monitor comments and messages daily. Prompt, friendly responses go a long way in reinforcing your school’s reputation.
Above all, be authentic. Today’s students crave realness. A spontaneous student dorm tour recorded on a phone often outperforms a high-production video. Showcasing your campus culture in a way that’s natural and not overly scripted can drive stronger connections and higher conversions.
Example:Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA). This college-prep boarding school brings campus life directly to student prospects through interactive social media campaigns. On Instagram, R-MA runs “Takeover Tuesday” events where a student cadet literally “takes over” the school’s Story for the day, posting candid glimpses of classes, dorm life, and activities. This unfiltered, student-eye view generates high engagement from peers. R-MA also leverages LinkedIn to celebrate outcomes with a recent post that 100% of its senior class earned college acceptances and over $15 million in scholarships. By showcasing real student experiences and achievements on the platforms teens (and their parents) already use, R-MA humanizes its brand and builds trust.
4. Bring Your Campus to Their Couch: Virtual Tours and Online Events
For many families, a campus visit is a pivotal moment in the school decision process. It’s their chance to imagine themselves in your hallways, dorms, and classrooms. But not every prospective student can visit in person, whether due to distance, cost, or scheduling. This is where virtual tours and online events come into play, offering an immersive, flexible way to connect with your audience.
Virtual campus tours can now offer interactive 360° experiences that let students “walk” the grounds from their laptop or phone. These tours help build familiarity and emotional connection, especially for international or out-of-state students who might otherwise never see your campus. To boost engagement, add clickable info points, video testimonials, or even voiceover guides.
Online events like virtual open houses or themed webinars allow families to meet admissions teams, ask questions, and hear directly from current students, all from home. They not only replicate key elements of in-person experiences but also allow for on-demand access after the event.
Example:Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). ENMU launched an upgraded 360° virtual tour that lets prospective students explore the campus from anywhere in the world. This immersive tour includes interactive 360° views of key locations (from dorms to labs), pop-up info points with photos/videos of traditions, and even student-narrated segments sharing personal stories. A voiceover guide leads viewers through the experience, making it feel like an actual guided tour. ENMU’s chancellor noted the virtual tour “makes a potential student feel like they are on campus” and has become invaluable for out-of-state and international recruits. The tour’s engaging features (clickable videos, student testimonials embedded at certain stops) have driven higher web engagement and helped ENMU widen its reach beyond those able to visit in person.
5. Let Video Tell Your Story: Content Marketing That Connects
There’s a reason platforms like YouTube, Instagram Reels, and TikTok dominate attention spans. Video provides an immersive, emotional, and memorable experience. For schools trying to reach prospective students and families, video marketing is one of the most powerful tools available. Whether it’s showcasing campus energy, highlighting academic strengths, or sharing personal student journeys, video content brings your story to life in a way text and photos simply can’t.
To make the most of this format, consider these video types:
Campus Tour Highlights: Condense your full tour into a 2–3 minute walkthrough with student narration. Post it on your homepage and YouTube channel for first-time visitors.
Student Testimonials and Success Stories: Capture authentic, unscripted interviews with students or alumni. These peer voices create trust and make your school’s impact tangible.
Faculty and Program Spotlights: Let your passionate educators shine. A quick feature on a robotics project or an art studio session can attract students with similar interests.
Event Recaps: Turn school events into fast-paced highlight reels for Instagram and Facebook. It shows your community is vibrant and active.
Explainer Videos: Break down complex topics, like admissions or financial aid, into short, helpful animations or on-camera guides.
Authenticity beats polish. Videos filmed on smartphones by students or “vlog ambassadors” can feel more relatable than professional productions. Consistent content, especially when optimized with keywords on YouTube, also improves discoverability in search.
Example: Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS, Canada). AAPS relies heavily on short-form video content to showcase student life and outcomes viscerally. The college regularly produces “Student Success Story” videos – for example, a 2-minute clip of an alum describing how AAPS training led to their new career in clinical research. It also shares behind-the-scenes footage of lab sessions and student projects on its YouTube channel and Instagram. These authentic clips (often featuring actual students and instructors) put a human face on AAPS’s programs and build credibility.
In short, video marketing allows your school to connect emotionally and visually with prospective students, meeting them where they already spend time. If you want to advertise in a way that engages and inspires, video is essential.
6. Be There 24/7 with Smart Chatbots and Live Chat
Imagine a student browsing your website at midnight, wondering, “Does this college offer scholarships for international students?” If no one’s there to answer, that potential lead might bounce and never return. This is where chatbots and live chat tools step in, transforming your website into a 24/7 support hub.
Modern AI-powered chatbots go far beyond basic FAQ responses. They’re now capable of delivering personalized answers based on user input, guiding visitors to the right pages, and capturing lead information in real time. In fact, some bots can handle up to 80% of standard inquiries, freeing your admissions team to focus on complex cases or high-touch prospects.
Schools use chatbots to address questions about tuition, program options, campus life, deadlines, and more. Better still, if a query goes beyond the bot’s programming, it can prompt a human follow-up, keeping the conversation going instead of losing the lead.
Live chat is another powerful layer. Having staff available during business hours to chat in real time, whether on your site or via Messenger, feels like having a front-desk greeter online. Quick answers build trust and reduce friction in the inquiry process.
Example:Arlington Central School District (New York). This K–12 district rolled out an AI virtual assistant named “AlwaysOn – Admiral Al” across all its school websites to ensure families can get information anytime. The friendly chatbot (branded with the high school’s mascot) offers 24/7 multilingual support, answering common questions about programs, enrollment procedures, event schedules, and more in English or Spanish. If the question is too specific, “Admiral Al” even lets the user submit an email query right within the chat, guaranteeing a human follow-up by the next business day. The district implemented this tool to improve customer service for busy parents and saw immediate benefits – families could instantly find out, say, how to register a new student or the date of graduation, without calling the office.
To make your chatbot successful, keep it friendly and transparent (let users know it’s a virtual assistant), program it with up-to-date FAQs, and offer a handoff to a real person when needed. For international recruitment, consider a multilingual bot to expand your global accessibility.
Ultimately, integrating chatbot and live chat tools into your school’s marketing strategy ensures you never miss a lead because of timing. Today’s students expect immediate answers. With the right tools, your school can be ready.
7. Leverage Testimonials and Reviews (Let Your Community Do the Talking)
Word-of-mouth has long been a trusted marketing strategy for schools, and in today’s digital world, it has taken on new forms, testimonials, reviews, and social proof. These are powerful tools that lend credibility to your school’s messaging by showing that real families and students have had positive experiences.
Start by gathering testimonials from students and parents. A few genuine quotes or short videos can build trust quickly. Display these across your website, especially on admissions pages and brochures. A heartfelt statement like, “After enrolling here, my daughter blossomed academically and socially,” resonates more than polished ad copy.
In parallel, encourage online reviews on platforms like Google or Facebook. Higher ratings improve visibility and ease prospective families’ doubts. Politely prompt current families to share feedback after positive experiences, such as school events or parent meetings.
Social media also plays a role. Repost authentic student or alumni praise, and consider launching hashtags to gather testimonials organically.
Example:Discovery Community College (Canada). This career college amplifies positive word-of-mouth by actively sharing student reviews on social media. For example, Discovery CC monitors its Google Reviews, and when a 5-star review comes in, the marketing team creates an Instagram post thanking the student by name and highlighting their feedback. One such post reads: “Thank you for your wonderful Google review, Jessi! We’re glad you had an amazing experience training to be a health care assistant!” – accompanied by a screenshot of the review. By publicly celebrating real student voices, the college not only boosts morale but also provides authentic social proof to prospective students scrolling by.
Letting your community advocate for you builds trust faster than any ad campaign, and it costs nothing.
8. Nurture Leads with Email Marketing and Personal Touches
What is the best marketing for independent schools? Independent schools succeed with targeted, budget-friendly inbound marketing. The best approach is a strong online presence: a content-rich, search-optimized website, active social media that highlights student life, and helpful emails or blogs that build trust. These tactics attract the right families and strengthen community engagement.
Once an inquiry is made, the follow-up becomes mission-critical. One of the most effective marketing strategies for schools includes consistent, personalized nurturing, especially through email and SMS.
Email remains a powerful tool when tailored. Instead of generic blasts, use segmentation to send relevant content. For instance, a prospect interested in Nursing should receive a series featuring faculty profiles, student success in healthcare, and clinical placement details. Someone focused on Athletics? Highlight sports facilities, team achievements, and balancing academics with sports.
Drip campaigns work best: Day 1, a welcome email; Day 3, value-focused content; Day 7, a testimonial or event invite. Marketing automation tools like HubSpot or Mailchimp make this scalable and adaptive based on user behavior.
Complement email with timely SMS reminders for events or deadlines. Use sparingly for impact.
Finally, add a personal touch. A call or handwritten note after a campus visit or audition can leave a lasting impression. These gestures build trust and demonstrate care, key ingredients in a family’s final decision. Effective nurturing turns interest into action and inquiries into enrollments.
Example:University of South Carolina (USC). USC’s admissions team adds a decidedly personal touch to lead nurturing by picking up the phone to congratulate admitted students. These informal chats help admitted students feel valued and give them a chance to voice any concerns. USC also involves faculty and current students in the follow-up process; for instance, an admitted engineering major might get an email or call from an engineering professor or student ambassador.
9. Host Events (On-Campus and Virtual) That Educate and Inspire
Hosting well-crafted events is one of the most effective ways to turn interest into enrollment. On-campus events like open houses and shadow days allow families to experience your community firsthand. Keep them interactive, offer student-led tours, informal chats with faculty, and performances to showcase school spirit. These real-world interactions make your school more memorable.
Virtual events also carry weight, especially for international or out-of-town prospects. Live webinars, themed Q&A panels, and online workshops let families connect from anywhere. Consider sessions like “How to Write a Great Application Essay” or alumni panels sharing career outcomes.
Each event is also a content opportunity. Record webinars, collect quotes, and share visuals across your channels. Personalized follow-ups (“Thanks for attending, here’s what’s next”) help nurture those leads further.
Example:University of North Texas (UNT). UNT offers an array of admissions events designed to welcome and inform prospective students, including both in-person programs and online sessions. One flagship initiative is the UNT Admissions Webinar Series – live virtual information sessions “designed just for students who haven’t applied yet.” These free webinars walk attendees through what makes UNT unique, tips on the application process, and key deadlines, all from the comfort of home. Admissions counselors appear on camera to answer questions in real time, so participants leave with personalized info and confidence about next steps. For those who can visit campus, UNT also hosts large open-house events like “UNT Preview,” a conference-style open day with academic fairs, tours, and even an on-site Application Station where students can apply and get the fee waived.
10. Showcase Outcomes and Alumni Success (Paint the Long-Term Picture)
When families invest in an education, whether paying private tuition or college fees, they want proof that it leads to success. That’s why one of the most compelling marketing strategies for schools is to showcase outcomes. You’re not just selling a school experience; you’re selling what it makes possible.
For K–12 and college-prep institutions, highlight metrics like college acceptance rates and scholarship totals. Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), for example, proudly advertises a 100% college acceptance rate and over $15 million in scholarship offers for its 2025 graduates. That kind of evidence quickly signals ROI to prospective families.
Example:Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA). R-MA prominently advertises its student outcomes to give families confidence in the long-term ROI of its program. For example, the academy proudly announced that 100% of its Class of 2025 earned college acceptances, collectively securing over $15 million in scholarships and 18 appointments to prestigious U.S. Service Academies. This kind of outcome data is highlighted on R-MA’s website and social media, signaling to prospective parents that an R-MA education leads to tangible success. The school also regularly publishes lists of colleges and universities its graduates attend (Ivies, top public universities, military academies, etc.), and shares alumni spotlights – like profiles of graduates who have become pilots, doctors, or entrepreneurs. By showcasing these results, R-MA helps future students (and their parents) visualize their own potential trajectory and trust that the tuition investment will pay off in opportunities.
Vocational or language schools should spotlight relevant results: job placement rates, certifications earned, or skill development gains.
Don’t just rely on stats. Share alumni stories that reflect diverse paths: scientists, entrepreneurs, activists, artists. Feature them on your blog or social channels, and invite them to participate in webinars or info sessions.
On your website, dedicate a section to “Success After Graduation,” including employer logos, testimonials, or infographics. And use social media to celebrate alumni news. These stories build credibility, trust, and vision, which help future students imagine their path through your school.
Turning Strategy into Enrollment Success
In today’s dynamic and competitive education landscape, schools can no longer rely on traditional tactics or word-of-mouth alone. To thrive, they need a strategic, student-centric marketing approach that speaks to modern families across digital platforms. The ten strategies outlined in this article, from optimizing your website and leveraging social media to showcasing alumni outcomes, offer a blueprint for schools to increase visibility, build trust, and convert interest into enrollment.
Whether you’re a K–12 academy, career college, language school, or university, the key is to meet prospective students where they are, communicate your unique value clearly, and guide them confidently through their decision-making journey. When implemented with authenticity and consistency, these strategies not only help fill seats, they strengthen your school’s brand and foster lasting relationships with students and families. In short, great marketing helps the right students find their right-fit school.
Struggling with enrollment and retention?
Our innovative marketing strategies can help you generate more leads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How do you create a marketing strategy for a school?
Answer: A strong school marketing strategy starts by defining your goals and audience, then clarifying your unique value proposition. Choose the right channels: website, SEO, social media, email, events, etc., all while keeping messaging consistent. Implement your plan, track performance with analytics, and adjust as needed to improve enrollment results.
Question: What is the best marketing for independent schools?
Answer: Independent schools succeed with targeted, budget-friendly inbound marketing. The best approach is a strong online presence: a content-rich, search-optimized website, active social media that highlights student life, and helpful emails or blogs that build trust. These tactics attract the right families and strengthen community engagement.
Some families enrolled in the Idaho Home Learning Academy public virtual charter school used state funding to pay for virtual reality headsets, hoverboards, hunting equipment, video games and video game controllers, paddleboards, smart watches, admission tickets to water parks and subscriptions to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, according to a new state watchdog report released Tuesday.
OPE released the evaluation report after multiple Idaho legislators signed a March 5 letter requesting the office study the Idaho Home Learning Academy’s finances, expenditures, policies, contracts and student achievement results.
The Idaho Home Learning Academy, or IHLA for short, is a rapidly growing public virtual charter school authorized by the small, rural Oneida School District.
There were about 7,600 online students enrolled at Idaho Home Learning Academy during the 2024-25 school year, many of which do not live within the traditional geographic boundaries of the Oneida School District.
New report raises questions about how supplemental learning funds are used by some families
As part of Idaho Home Learning Academy’s contract, its education service providers administer supplemental learning funds of $1,700 to $1,800 per student to families enrolled in IHLA that were paid for by Idaho taxpayer dollars, the report found. The money is intended to help pay families for education expenses, and the OPE evaluators found that the largest share of the funds were spent on technology expenses, such as computers, printers and internet access. Other significant sources of supplemental learning fund expenses went for physical education activities and performing arts expenses, the OPE report found.
However, OPE evaluators found that some families used their share of funding for tuition and fees at private schools and programs. Some families also used their funds for noneducational board games, kitchen items like BBQ tongs, cosmetics, a home theater projector screen, video games, Nintendo Switch controllers, a Meta Quest virtual reality headset, movie DVDs, weapons, sights lasers, shooting targets, remote controlled cars, hoverboards, action figures, smartwatches, water park tickets and the cost of registering website domain names, the OPE report found.
Families with students enrolled at Idaho Home Learning Academy are able to access the funds though both direct ordering programs and reimbursements. The OPE report found that Idaho Home Learning Academy’s three service providers (Braintree, Home Ed and Harmony) spent about $12.5 million providing supplemental learning funds for IHLA families during the 2024-25 school year. Service providers said that some families did not spend any or all of their supplemental learning funds, and the money was retained by the service providers, not returned back to the state or school district, the OPE report found.
Idaho governor, superintendent of public instruction respond to OPE report’s findings
Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the report’s findings “troubling” in a letter released with the report Tuesday.
“We also have an obligation to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Little wrote. “The OPE report on IHLA is troubling, especially as it pertains to supplemental learning fund expenses, academic performance, supplemental curriculum and the funding formula that enables virtual programs to receive more funding than brick-and-mortar public schools. The OPE report reveals that statutory safeguards are insufficient, oversight is inconsistent and accountability measures have not kept pace with the fast expansion of the IHLA program.”
The OPE evaluation report findings come at a time when every dollar of state funding in Idaho is being stretched further amid a revenue shortfall. All state agencies outside of the K-12 public school system are implementing 3% mid-year budget holdbacks, and the state budget is projected to end fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027 in a budget deficit, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said the report raised concerns for her as well.
“(The OPE report) also raises important questions about whether direct and indirect payments to families are a proper and legal use of funds appropriated for public schools,” Critchfield wrote in a Nov. 26 letter to OPE leadership.
The OPE evaluation report found that limited oversight and accountability create uncertainty about how supplemental learning funds paid for with state taxpayer dollars are used and whether students’ curriculum choices align with state standards and transparency requirements.
Idaho state laws and administrative rules do not specifically allow or prohibit the use of supplemental learning funds, the OPE report found. That finding was one of several “policy gray areas” that the OPE evaluation report documented.
Little concluded his letter by saying he is ready to work with the Idaho Legislature, the Idaho State Department of Education and the Idaho State Board of Education to restore meaningful accountability for the use of taxpayer dollars.
“I have carefully reviewed the recommendations provided in this report and strongly encourage the Legislature to address the loopholes in state statute,” Little wrote.
Oneida School District superintendent stresses Idaho Home Learning Academy did not break state law
In response to the OPE report, Oneida School District Superintendent Dallan Rupp, who is also a member of the Idaho Home Learning Academy School board, emphasized that the report did not find that IHLA was guilty of any misconduct.
“Importantly, the OPE report did not identify any misconduct at IHLA,” Rupp said during a meeting Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. “This outcome underscores the effectiveness of Oneida School District’s oversight and reflects IHLA’s consistent compliance with Idaho’s laws, statutes, rules, regulations and procedures, as well as its cooperative relationship with the Idaho State Department of Education. We remain fully committed to operating within all established guidelines, just as we have in the past.”
Idaho Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said it was beside the point that the school didn’t break any laws.
“I’m extremely concerned,” Ruchti said during Tuesday’s meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. “This is public money – public taxpayer money – and we have an obligation to make sure that it’s spent appropriately and with oversight. And so, yes, it may not have violated any statutory requirements at this point. But what I’m saying is that what I saw in that presentation caused me serious concerns about how IHLA and other online teaching institutions are able to spend public dollars in a way that was not intended.”
Idaho watchdog report found most online virtual teachers were part-time employees
OPE also found that most Idaho Home Learning Academy teachers were part-time, unlike traditional schools, and the Idaho Home Learning Academy spends much less on salaries and benefits than it receives from the state’s salary apportionment formula.
The report found IHLA was able to use the savings it realized in state funding provided to pay for staff salaries and health benefits to instead use at IHLA’s discretion or to pay its education service providers.
The OPE report found that most of IHLA’s teachers are part-time employees and do not provide full-time direct instruction to students. Instead, the report found that Idaho Home Learning Academy’s kindergarten through eighth grade instructional model relied heavily on parent-directed learning and that IHLA teachers typically offered feedback and oversight instead of direct instruction.
According to the report, IHLA reported $46.3 million in total expenditures from state funds during the 2024-25 school year. While traditional brick-and-mortar public schools’ largest expenditures are for staff salaries and benefits, the report found that only 36% of IHLA’s expenditures went to staff. A larger portion – 45% of IHLA’s total expenditures, or $20.6 million – went to paying education service providers.
The OPE report also found that Idaho Home Learning Academy’s students lagged behind statewide averages for scores on Idaho Standards Achievement Test, or ISAT. The OPE report found 42% of IHLA students were proficient in English language arts during the 2024-25 school year, compared to the statewide average of 52% of Idaho students.
The report also found just 25% of IHLA students were proficient in math during the 2024-25 school year, compared to the Idaho statewide average of 43%.
However, the OPE report highlighted that some IHLA families interviewed for the report said they do not believe statewide standardized tests are a good measure of student learning. The report also noted that many Idaho Home Learning Academy families identified themselves as homeschoolers and said they were using IHLA by choice because they were unhappy with the quality of education in traditional brick-and-mortar schools or felt that their child’s educational needs were not being met by more traditional public schools.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: [email protected].
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Many high school seniors are now focusing on what they will do once they graduate – or how they don’t at all know what is to come.
Families trying to guide and support these students at the juncture of a major life transition likely also feel nervous about the open-ended possibilities, from starting at a standard four-year college to not attending college at all.
Here are four tips to help make deciding what comes after high school a little easier for everyone involved:
1. Shadow someone with a job you might want
I have worked with many college students who are interested in a particular career path, but are not familiar with the job’s day-to-day workings.
A parent, teacher or another adult in this student’s life could connect them with someone they shadow at work, even for a day, so the student can better understand what the job entails.
High school students may also find that interviewing someone who works in a particular field is another helpful way to narrow down career path options, or finalize their college decisions.
Full-time students can pay anywhere from about US$4,000 for in-state tuition at a public state school per semester to just shy of $50,000 per semester at a private college or university. The average annual cost of tuition alone at a public college or university in 2025 is $10,340, while the average cost of a private school is $39,307.
Tuition continues to rise, though the rate of growth has slowed in the past few years.
About 56% of 2024 college graduates had taken out loans to pay for college.
Concerns about affording college often come up with clients who are deciding on whether or not to get a degree. Research has shown that financial stress and debt load are leading to an increase in students dropping out of college.
It can be helpful for some students to look at tuition costs and project what their monthly student loan payments would be like after graduation, given the expected salary range in particular careers. Financial planning could also help students consider the benefits and drawbacks of public, private, community colleges or vocational schools.
Even with planning, there is no guarantee that students will be able to get a job in their desired field, or quickly earn what they hope to make. No matter how prepared students might be, they should recognize that there are still factors outside their control.
3. Normalize other kinds of schools
I have found that some students feel they should go to a four-year college right after they graduate because it is what their families expect. Some students and parents see a four-year college as more prestigious than a two-year program, and believe it is more valuable in terms of long-term career growth.
That isn’t the right fit for everyone, though.
Enrollment at trade-focused schools increased almost 20% from the spring of 2020 through 2025, and now comprises 19.4% of public two-year college enrollment.
Going to a trade school or seeking a two-year associate’s degree can put students on a direct path to get a job in a technical area, such as becoming a registered nurse or electrician.
But there are also reasons for students to think carefully about trade schools.
Still, it is important for students to consider which path is personally best for them.
Research has shown that job satisfaction has a positive impact on mental health, and having a longer history with a career field leads to higher levels of job satisfaction.
4. Consider a gap year before shutting down the idea
One strategy that high school graduates have used in recent years is taking a year off between high school and college in order to better determine what is the right fit for a student. Approximately 2% to 3% of high school graduates take a gap year – typically before going on to enroll in college.
Some young people may travel during a gap year, volunteer, or get a job in their hometown.
Whatever the reason students take gap years, I have seen that the time off can be beneficial in certain situations. Taking a year off before starting college has also been shown to lead to better academic performance in college.
As someone who’s dedicated my career to advancing the Science of Reading movement, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to help every child become a strong, fluent reader. We’ve made incredible strides in shifting the conversation toward evidence-based instruction, but I know we’re at a critical inflection point. While we–obviously–continue our work helping schools and districts adopt SOR, there’s an issue that stands in the way of real, sustained, progress: the staffing crisis and leadership churn that are leaving our educators overwhelmed and skeptical toward “change.” Without addressing these deeper structural issues, we risk stalling the momentum we’ve worked so hard to build.
The hidden costs of constant turnover
The data on teacher and leader turnover is bleak, and I’ve seen how it undermines the long-term commitment needed for any meaningful change. Consider this: Roughly 1 in 6 teachers won’t return to the same classroom next year, and nearly half of new teachers leave within their first five years. This constant churn is a massive financial burden on districts, costing an estimated $20,000 per teacher to recruit, hire, and onboard. But the real cost is the human one. Every time a new leader or teacher steps in, the hard-won progress on a literacy initiative can be jeopardized.
I’ve watched districts spend years building momentum for the Science of Reading, providing extensive training and resources, only to see a new superintendent or principal arrive with a new set of priorities. This “leader wobble” can pull the rug out from under an initiative mid-stream. It’s especially frustrating when a new leader decides a program has had “plenty of professional learning” without taking the time to audit its impact. This lack of continuity completely disrupts the 3-5 years it takes for an initiative to truly take hold, especially because new teachers often arrive with a knowledge gap, as only about one-quarter of teacher preparation programs teach the Science of Reading. We can’t build on a foundation that’s constantly shifting.
Overwhelmed by “initiative fatigue”
I know what it feels like to have too much on your plate. Teachers, already juggling countless instructional materials, often see each new program not as a solution but as one more thing to learn, implement, and manage. Instead of excitement, there’s skepticism–this is initiative fatigue, and it can stall real progress. I’ve seen it firsthand; one large district I worked with rolled out new reading, math, and phonics resources all at once.
To prevent this, we need to follow the principle of “pull weeds to plant flowers.” Being critical, informed consumers of resources means choosing flowers (materials) that are:
• Supported by high-quality, third-party research • Aligned across all tiers of instruction • Versatile enough to meet varied student needs • Teacher-friendly, with clear guidance and instructional dialogue • Culturally relevant, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of students
Now, even when a resource meets these standards, adoption shouldn’t be additive. Teachers can’t layer new tools on top of old ones. To see real change, old resources must be replaced with better ones. Educators need solutions that provide a unified, research-backed framework across all tiers, giving teachers clarity, support, and a path to sustainable student progress.
Building a stable environment for sustained change
So, how do we create the stable environment needed to support our educators? It starts with leadership that is in it for the long game. We need to mitigate turnover by using data to understand why teachers are leaving and then acting on that feedback. Strengthening mentorship, clarifying career pathways, and improving school culture are all crucial steps.
Beyond just retaining staff, leaders must foster a culture of sustained commitment. It’s not enough to have a few “islands of excellence” where a handful of teachers are getting great results.
We need system-wide adoption. This requires strong leaders to balance support and accountability. I’ve seen how collaborative teams, engaged in problem-solving and data-based decision-making, can transform a school. When teachers see students as “our students” and not just “my students,” shared ownership grows.
A leader’s job is to protect and sustain this vision, making sure the essential supports–like collaborative planning time, ongoing professional development, and in-classroom coaching–are in place. But sustaining change goes beyond daily management; it requires building deep capacity so the work continues even if leadership shifts. This means hiring, training, and retaining strong educators, investing in future leaders, and ensuring committed advocates are part of the implementation team. It also requires creating a detailed, actionable roadmap, with budgets clearly allocated and accountability measures established, so that any initiative isn’t just a short-term priority but a long-term promise. By embedding these structures, leaders can secure continuity, maintain momentum, and ensure that every step forward in literacy translates into lasting gains for students.
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Some school boards have recently rejected their districts’ school closure plans at a time when declining student enrollment continues to plague district budgets nationwide. As districts push for closures amid the dwindling enrollment numbers and budget deficits, board members say they need more time to consider plans that would cause major disruptions to their communities.
In Pennsylvania, for instance, 6 of 9 board members at Pittsburgh Public Schools voted on Nov. 25 against the district’s proposal to close nine schools by the end of the 2027-28 school year. The vote came a day after the school board held a three-hour public hearing on the possible closures with a majority of speakers denouncing the district’s plan, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
Gene Walker, the board’s president, said during a Nov. 25 meeting that “in the short-term” he would vote against the closures after hearing public feedback on the issue. Walker added that he thinks the board will need more time to decide on closures, especially as several new board members were set to be sworn in the coming days.
“It’s my personal opinion that we are not in a space where we can properly support the superintendent and his team in this work,” Walker said.
The district recommended the school closures as it faces a projected budget deficit of nearly $11.4 million for the 2025-26 school year. Pittsburgh Public Schools also expects its total expenditures to continue to outpace its total revenue in the coming years. If the district closed the nine schools, Pittsburgh Public School administrators said it could have also saved nearly $103 million by 2031.
The district’s enrollment has steadily decreased over the past five years, dipping from 19,159 students to 17,937 between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 school years. Two decades ago, the number of enrolled students was much higher at 32,529, according to the Allegheny Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters said in a Wednesday statement to K-12 Dive that he does not fully agree with the “path” the district’s school board is on right now, but he respects its decision and is committed to finding a “responsible, equitable path forward” with board members.
“Without action, we remain a system unable to deliver the consistent academic and enrichment opportunities our children deserve — one where access too often depends on the building a student attends,” Walters said. “At the same time, our financial stability continues to decline as we stretch limited resources across too many buildings.”
Elsewhere, the school board for Alaska’s Anchorage School District rejected plans on Nov. 18 to close two elementary schools. In a board recap post, the district noted that it’s already had to close five schools since 2015 due to lowering student enrollment. While Anchorage School District has the capacity to serve 50,000 students, only 42,000 are currently enrolled, according to the district.
In Wisconsin, theEau Claire Area School Districtsaid in November that it was no longer considering a proposal to consolidate several elementary schools, according to WEAU 13 News.
The district said on its website that it was planning to consolidate the schools as it continues to see elementary enrollment decline because of lower birthrates and demographic shifts.That planning process began earlier this year. An October report from the district’s Superintendent Mike Johnson shows student enrollment has dropped from 10,267 to 9,910 students between the 2017-18 and 2025-26 school years.
Still, Johnson told WEAU 13 News that the enrollment challenges aren’t going away. “For next year, our second largest class in the district is our 5th grade class,” Johnson said. “If the trends occur the way they have been, when those students exit and go to middle school, we’ll be down 110 students.”
The changed course for Eau Claire Area School District came after families organized to push back against the proposed consolidation plans through a “Save Our Neighborhood Schools” campaign.
Under the district’s proposal, the campaign said the closing of a neighborhood school means children would be “split across multiple elementary schools,” families could no longer access a walkable, community school, and property values would drop because without “the appeal of top-tier schools.”
‘A consequence of not confronting the reality’
Closing underenrolled schools “is a deeply painful decision,” said Thomas Dee, a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. These schools, in many ways, are “the fabric of communities who often have a kind of focal identity” around these places, he said.
But when underenrolled schools are kept open, Dee said that comes at a higher cost to the district and ultimately to students. By keeping under-capacity schools open, districts have to spend extra money per student to keep the buildings operating, he added. Those additional costs can then translate into less financial resources for other things students benefit from and need districtwide, such as school transportation, diverse course offerings, or smaller class sizes.
“Closing a school is highly visible and painful, but watching needed instructional supports disappear, or watching class sizes grow, watching fewer hours from a school nurse, all of that is less visible but can be a consequence of not confronting the reality,” Dee said.
It’s important that districts choosing to forego closures amid declining enrollment understand those difficult tradeoffs, and that it’s likely this enrollment challenge isn’t going away, he said.
Dee added that school districts could run the risk of a state takeover if they can’t get a hold of their finances. In the case of a state takeover, communities would no longer have agency over how their local schools run, he said.
“The only way to release that tension is for communities to increase their own property taxes or for states to increase aid through higher sales and income taxes,” Dee said.
When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, needed a new elementary building, we faced a choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be.
Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them. At the same time, Southern Adventist University–on whose land the school sat–needed the property for expansion.
Rather than cling to the past, we saw an opportunity. We could design a new, future-focused environment on our middle school campus–one that reflected how students learn today and how they will need to learn tomorrow.
Putting students first
As both a teacher and someone who helped design our middle school, I approached the project with one condition: every design choice had to prioritize students and teachers. That philosophy shaped everything that followed.
My search for student-centered design partners led us to MiEN. What impressed me most was that they weren’t simply selling furniture. They were invested in research–constantly asking what classrooms need to evolve and then designing for that reality. Every piece we chose was intentional, not about aesthetics alone, but about how it could empower learners and teachers.
Spaces that do more
From the beginning, our vision emphasized flexibility, belonging, and joy. Every area needed to “do more,” adapting seamlessly to different uses throughout the day. To achieve this, we focused on designing spaces that could shift in purpose while still sparking curiosity and connection.
Community hubs reimagined: Our cafeteria and media center now transform into classrooms, performance stages, or meeting spaces with minimal effort, maximizing every square foot.
Interactive, sensory-rich design: An interactive wall panel with a ball run, sensory boards, and flexible seating encourages students to collaborate and explore beyond traditional instruction.
Learning everywhere: Even hallways and lobbies have become extensions of the classroom. With mobile whiteboards, soft seating, and movable tables, these spaces host tutoring sessions, small groups, and parent meetings.
Outdoor classrooms: Students gather at the campus creek for science lessons, spread out at outdoor tables that double as project workspaces, and find joy in spaces designed for both inquiry and play. Walking into the building, students immediately understood it was made for them. They take pride in exploring, rearranging furniture, and claiming ownership of their environment. That sense of belonging is priceless and drives real engagement in the learning.
Supporting teachers through change
For teachers accustomed to traditional layouts, the shift to flexible spaces required trust and support. At first, some colleagues wondered how the new design would fit with their routines. But once they began teaching in the space, the transformation was rapid. Within weeks, they were moving furniture to match their themes, discovering new instructional strategies, and finding creative ways to engage students.
The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t dictate a single method. Instead, it enables teachers to adapt the space to their vision. Watching colleagues gain confidence and joy in their teaching reinforced our original intent: create an environment that empowers educators as much as it excites students.
A partnership that mattered
No school leader undertakes a project like this alone. For us, partnership was everything. The team that supported our vision felt less like outside vendors and more like collaborators who shared our dream.
They weren’t just delivering products; they were helping us shape a culture. Their excitement matched ours at every step, and together, we turned ideas into realities that continue to inspire.
Immediate and lasting impact
The outcomes of the project were visible from day one. Students lit up as they explored the new features. Teachers discovered fresh energy in their classrooms. Parents, many of whom remembered the old building, were struck by how clearly the new design signaled a commitment to modern learning and to prioritizing their children’s futures.
Financially, the project was also a smart investment. Multi-purpose areas and durable, mobile furnishings mean that every dollar spent generates long-term value. And because the spaces were designed with flexibility in mind, they will remain relevant even as instructional practices evolve.
Looking ahead
The success of our elementary project has created momentum for what’s next. Collegedale is already planning high school renovations guided by the same student-first philosophy. The excitement is contagious, not just for our community but for how it models what schools can achieve when they align design with mission.
For me, this project was never just about furniture. It was about creating a culture where curiosity, creativity, and joy thrive every day. With the right partners and a clear vision, schools can build environments where students feel they belong and where teachers are empowered to do their best work.
As education leaders consider their own building projects, my advice is simple: design for the learners first. When students walk into a space and know, without a doubt, that it was built for them, everything else follows.
Beth Stone, Collegedale Academy
Beth Stone serves as a designer and visual arts teacher at Collegedale Academy in Chattanooga, TN.
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Two decades ago, Uncle Sam offered a helping hand for college graduates who desired careers that required advanced degrees by establishing a loan program known as Grad PLUS. That hand has now been withdrawn. Also known as Direct PLUS loans, this program allowed students to borrow beyond the $20,500 limit available through direct unsubsidized loans to cover their full cost of attendance. With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last summer, Grad PLUS loans will no longer be an option for prospective graduate students after July 2026.
The question of whether colleges and universities raise their tuition prices as the availability of federal aid increases has been a hotly debated topic for more than four decades, with contradictory findings. One recent study found that institutions increased their tuition prices after the creation of Grad PLUS, and determined that the funds did not increase access (or completion) for graduate education in general or for underrepresented groups in particular. These findings echo previous studies that also support a positive relationship between government aid and college prices. In contrast, other studies and analyses at the undergraduate level, as well as for graduate business, medical and law programs, have found little evidence of nonprofit institutions increasing tuition in relation to government subsidies. (The for-profit sector is another story.)
In any case, the elimination of Grad PLUS is a new reality that incoming graduate students will have to face. Now, students in master’s and doctoral programs will only be able to borrow up to $20,500 annually (with a maximum of $100,000). Students in professional degree programs, like law and medicine, will have a higher cap of $50,000 annually (up to $200,000 total). Additionally, the maximum amount students can borrow from the federal government for their undergraduate and graduate studies combined is $257,500. Students who borrow beyond any of these limits annually will have to turn to private loans to finance the remaining costs, which are less accessible for low-income students (who have less credit) and often come with higher interest rates.
The specific impact of these new limits on students is not yet known, but if we look at data for borrowers from previous years, we see potential impacts. In 2019–20, approximately 38 percent of all graduate borrowers borrowed beyond these caps, according to an analysis by Jobs for the Future. When disaggregated by degree type, 41 percent of graduate borrowers pursuing master’s degrees, 37 percent pursuing Ph.D. degrees and 25 percent pursuing professional degrees borrowed beyond the loan caps set by OBBBA.
A recent analysis published by American University’s Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center shows potential impacts not just by graduate degree type but also by specific field of study. For professional degrees (with the higher loan cap), more than half of borrowers for chiropractic, medicine, osteopathy and dentistry programs borrowed more than $200,000 for their degrees in recent years. Among the master’s programs reviewed, half or more of borrowers in programs including audiology/speech pathology, public health, nursing and school and mental health counseling, to name a few, borrowed beyond the new limits.
Based on these analyses, it is clear that many prospective graduate students will be impacted by the new loan caps, at least in the short term. The rationale for these loan caps is that graduate programs will lower their costs to make graduate education more affordable, although it is doubtful that colleges will decrease the costs of graduate programs within just a year. It should be noted that many students do not borrow at all to obtain their degrees. In 2019–20, approximately 40 percent of full-time domestic students enrolled in master’s degrees did not borrow.
For programs that attract students from high-income backgrounds (usually selective elite institutions), what incentive is there to decrease costs if enough students can pay out of pocket? For instance, between 2014 and 2019, medical school matriculants from high-income backgrounds (over $200,000) increased substantially. The number of students attending law schools from wealthy backgrounds has also increased in the past couple of decades, particularly at selective elite institutions. Graduate education, at least at elite schools, has become less accessible for many low-income students.
Without financial support, options for low-income students will become even more limited. These students will largely be relegated to less selective public universities, and the more elite private schools will become even less economically diverse than they already are. Financial aid offices will become the de facto second admissions office. Using Massachusetts as an example, our analysis found that the annual cost of attendance exceeded the annual loan limit of $50,000 in the case of every accredited law and medical school in the state, with the gap between the cost of attendance and the limit ranging from about $5,600 in the case of the lone public law school (the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth), and $33,000 in the case of the only public medical school option (University of Massachusetts Chan), to as high as $71,000 for Harvard Law School and $64,000 for Harvard Medical School.
Amounts calculated based on current advertised rates for first-time (entering), full-time students enrolled in daytime, nine-month and on-campus programs.
Amounts calculated based on advertised rates for first-time (entering), full-time students enrolled in daytime, 10-month and on-campus programs.
This simple analysis, of course, does not take into account any institutional grants or scholarships students may be awarded, but those funds vary by institutional budgets.
What happens when a deserving medical school applicant gains admission and a financial aid offer, only to realize that they still have a balance of $40,000 after institutional and federal aid is applied? For students to turn to private lenders, they will likely need either good credit and a substantial income or a cosigner, which may not be an option for many students from underresourced backgrounds. Almost 93 percent of private student loans given last year had a cosigner. Almost 51 percent of individuals from low/moderate incomes have limited or poor to fair credit. Even if they are lucky to be offered loans, the interest rates will likely be much higher.
With Washington Out, States May Have to Intervene
With the recent federal cuts to Medicaid likely to lead to decreases in state funding for postsecondary education, states may be hesitant to award funds to support students pursuing graduate education—but there are frameworks to help states determine which graduate programs deserve state funding and which type of funding to provide students. Third Way recently produced a framework that categorizes programs by personal return on investment and social value. One possible solution would be to offer accessible loans and state subsidies based on how a state places certain programs in this model.
For programs that lead to high ROI and social value—for example, dentistry—states that are facing a shortage of dentists could offer accessible (and lower than market rate) loans in exchange for working in certain geographic areas in that state. Providing low-interest loans instead of grants would make sense for this category because dentists are more likely to have high enough earnings (postresidency) that they can repay their loans. Certain localities have set up zero-interest loans for students pursuing specific industries, such as a San Diego County program for aspiring behavioral health professionals (a type of pay-it-forward program).
Some states, such as Pennsylvania, do have loan repayment programs for certain health occupations in exchange for working in specific areas of their states. Offering this solution without providing accessible loans will only benefit students who come from wealthier families, as they are more likely to have good enough credit or relationships with creditworthy cosigners to access private loans in the first place.
For programs that are high in social value but low in personal ROI, such as teaching or social work, if a state determines this is an area of need, they can offer grants to lower the cost of attending these programs and minimize the amount of loans students will have to take out, in exchange for service in these fields for a specific period of time. Offering accessible, low-interest loans to students pursuing these careers could still be an option, but should be secondary, or supplemental to, grants.
In line with recommendations from a jointly authored report from the American Enterprise Institute, EducationCounsel and the Century Foundation, states can offer grants to graduate students who demonstrate financial need, in addition to targeted grant aid for certain programs. Already, certain states, such as Maryland, New Mexico, Virginia and Washington, offer grant aid to graduate students in specific fields or based on financial need. Massachusetts also offers a tuition waiver to incentivize students to enroll in graduate programs at its public universities.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find a single repository of state aid specifically for graduate students from various states. The closest I could find was a report released by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs for the 2023–24 academic year with data on state-funded expenditures for both undergraduate and graduate student aid. The report shows that only a handful of states allocated more than a million dollars to need-based graduate aid (Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia), but does not specify for which programs, nor does it detail how aid is awarded and to which institutions.
The Education Finance Council also maintains a list of nonprofit loan providers in different states that offer lower-interest or more accessible loans, many of which are state-administered, such as the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority. States that already administer conditional loans, scholarships, grants or loan forgiveness programs at the undergraduate level should consider expanding these programs to high- demand industries that require postbaccalaureate credentials if they have not already.
What Can Institutions Do?
Institutions are the closest to students, and they can play a role as well. Beyond offering need-based grants/scholarships to lower the cost of attendance, institutions can also guide students in the lending process, such as by publishing preferred lenders on financial aid websites. These lenders should have a good reputation with borrowers and offer low interest rates. Examples of institutions that advertise preferred lenders include Baylor University, the University of Iowa and the University of Central Missouri.
Institutions with more financial resources can either directly partner with lenders to offer lower fixed interest rates through risk sharing or provide loans themselves. Harvard Law School makes loans available to graduate students through a partnership with the Harvard Federal Credit Union. Some private loan providers looking to get into the graduate lending space are now in conversations with institutions about developing new risk-sharing models.
Many occupations that typically require graduate degrees, such as teaching, nursing and medicine, will face steep shortages in the coming years. States should align aid programs with current and future workforce shortages, determine which graduate programs will exceed federal loan caps and by how much, offer targeted grants for high-social-value but low-earning fields where costs exceed caps, and provide below-market or zero-interest (and accessible) loans for high-social-value, high-earning fields.
Institutions must act urgently by partnering with accessible, ethical lenders; increasing need-based aid for students who need it most; and protecting students from predatory options. At the very least, institutions can advertise the upcoming student loan changes on their websites. With OBBBA loan caps, Washington is stepping back. Will states and institutions be able to step forward and lead the way in preserving access and promoting economic mobility? Only 2026 will tell.
Josh Farris is research and policy specialist and Derrick Young Jr. is cofounder and executive director at Leadership Brainery, a nonprofit organization focused on improving access to graduate education for students from limited-access backgrounds.
by Maxwell Fjeld, The Hechinger Report December 1, 2025
Earning an associate degree alongside my high school diploma was an ambitious goal that turned into a positive high school experience for me. By taking on the responsibilities of a college student, I further prepared myself for life after high school.
I needed to plan out my own days. I needed to keep myself on task. I needed to learn how to monitor and juggle due dates, lecture times and exams while ensuring that my extracurricular activities did not create conflicts.
All of this was life-changing for a rural Minnesota high school student. Dual enrollment through Minnesota’s PSEO program saved me time and money and helped me explore my interests and narrow my focus to business management. After three years of earning dual credits as a high school student, I graduated from community college and was the student speaker at the commencement earlier this year in May — one month before graduating from high school.
As a student earning college credits while still in high school, I gained exposure to different career fields and developed a passion for civic engagement. At the beginning of my senior year, while taking courses at the local community and technical college, I was elected to serve as that school’s first cross-campus student body president.
While most states have dual-enrollment programs, Minnesota’s support for its PSEO students stands out. As policymakers consider legislative and funding initiatives to strengthen dual enrollment in other states, I believe that three features of our program could provide a blueprint for states that want to do more.
First, the college credits I earned are transferable and meet degree requirements.
Second, the PSEO program permitted me to take enough credits each semester to earn my associate degree. While the number of dual-enrollment credits high school students can earn varies by state and program, when strict limitations are set on those numbers, the program can become a barrier to higher education instead of an alternate pathway.
Third, Minnesota’s PSEO program limits the cost burden placed on students. With rising costs and logistical challenges to pursuing higher education credentials, the head start that students can create for themselves via loosened restrictions on dual-enrollment credits can make a real financial impact, especially for students like me from small towns.
Dual-enrollment costs vary significantly from state to state, with some programs charging for tuition, fees, textbooks and other college costs.In Minnesota, those costs are covered by the Department of Education. In addition, if families meet income requirements, the expenses incurred by students for education-related transportation are also covered.
If I did not have state support, I would not have been able to participate in the program. Financial support is a crucial component to being a successful dual-enrollment student. When the barrier of cost is removed, American families benefit, especially students from low-income, rural and farming backgrounds.
Early exposure to college helped me choose my major by taking college classes to experiment — for free. When I first started, I was interested in computer science as a major. After taking a computer science class and then an economics class the following semester, I chose business as my major.
The ability to explore different fields of study was cost-saving and game-changing for me and is an opportunity that could be just as beneficial for other students.
Targeted investments in programs like this have benefited many students, including my father in the 1990s. His dual-enrollment experience allowed him to get a head start on his education and gain valuable life skills at a young age and is a great example of dual enrollment’s potential generational impact.
When dual-enrollment students receive guidance and support, it can be transformational. Early exposure to college introduced me to college-level opportunities. As student government president, I went to Washington, D.C., to attend a national student summit. I was able to meet with congressional office staffers and advocate for today’s students and for federal investment in dual-enrollment programs, explaining my story and raising awareness.
The daily life of high school is draining for some and can be devastating for others. I had many friends who came to believe that the bullying, peer-pressure and culture they experienced in high school would continue in college, so they deemed higher education “not worth it.”
Through dual enrollment, I saw the difference in culture; students who face burnout from daily high school life can refocus and feel good about their futures again.
Congress can help state legislatures by establishing strong dual-enrollment programs nationwide. With adequate government support, dual-enrollment programs can help students from all walks of life and increase college graduation rates. If all states offer access to the same opportunities that I had in high school, our next generation will be better prepared for the workforce and more successful.
Maxwell Fjeld is pursuing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’ Carlson School of Management after earning an associate degree upon high school graduation through dual enrollment. He is also a student ambassador fellow at Today’s Students Coalition.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://hechingerreport.org/student-voice-i-earned-my-associate-degree-while-still-in-high-school-and-it-changed-my-life/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://hechingerreport.org”>The Hechinger Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/hechingerreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cropped-favicon.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
