EAB’s Rebecca Knisely and Jesse Holzbach share tips and tools (like Appily Advance) to help institutions attract and enroll adult learners and graduate students. Learn counterintuitive best practices for optimizing your website, prioritizing information about degree programs, and making lead nurturing a year-round strategy.

EAB’s Kena Wolf and Val Fox share insights from a secret shopping spree across the graduate schools at 50 universities to see how they stack up against one another and industry best practices in adult learner recruitment. They also share tips for institutional leaders on how to adopt a “testing and learning” culture that energizes enrollment growth without breaking the bank.

EAB’s Brian Schueler and Todd Heilman share the latest findings from EAB’s research into graduate and online enrollment trends. The two discuss how institutions are rebounding from the pandemic enrollment dip. They also advise university leaders on how to serve adult learners who increasingly want community and in-person interaction blended with online alternatives to give them maximum flexibility.

Colleges face extraordinary financial pressures with an average of one per week closing for good. Merger activity has slowed so the best option available to the most financially challenged institutions is to minimize the damage to students, faculty, and staff before closing down for good. For the rest, EAB’s Michael Fischer and Molly Bell share steps that university leaders should take to assess their current financial health and take proactive steps to build a stronger financial footing.

EAB’s Lindsay Schappell hosts a conversation with Dr. Andrea Lewis from Spelman College about helping new students get off to a strong start. Dr. Lewis shares details of the student onboarding and orientation process at Spelman, which starts with a college readiness program the summer before they enroll. Spelman’s student support efforts also include mandatory study groups for first-year students and the use of Navigate360 to unite students, faculty, and administrators in a shared effort to keep students on the right path.

Jonathan April, head of EAB’s College Greenlight team, hosts a conversation with Andrew Moe, Rajwantie Sahai, and Julia Perkins — all from an organization called Matriculate. The group discusses how Matriculate is narrowing the college access gap by recruiting and training college students to serve as “near-peer” advisors for high school students. They also share advice for higher education leaders on how to connect with and help young people who can flourish in college but need help navigating all of the administrative obstacles.

EAB’s Michael Koppenheffer and Pam Kiecker Royall discuss a new survey that shows most prospective college students want colleges to send them more personalized recruiting messages that incorporate what institutions know about their academic and non-academic interests. Students say this kind of hyper-personalized messaging saves them time and makes them feel the university values them as individuals. Pam and Michael discuss what’s possible and advisable in creating bespoke recruiting packets for thousands of students.

EAB’s Carla Hickman joins Seramount President Subha Barry to review the findings of a new paper that explores the rapid decline in student readiness. That decline is causing unprecedented numbers of young adults to either forgo college completely or enter college without the skills needed to be successful. Carla and Subha share advice for leaders working in higher education and corporate America on how to adapt to this new reality.

EAB’s Erin Preston hosts a discussion with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Vice President for Enrollment Management, Dr. Jonathan Wexler, about his study of university consolidation and closures. The two discuss the types of institutions at greatest risk and options available to those facing declining enrollments and revenues. They also offer insight into current trends in M&A activity versus outright closures.

EAB’s Sean Tivnan and JP LaFors discuss how new college search behaviors are forcing university websites to evolve. The two share tips for connecting and engaging with Gen Z “stealth shoppers” who are heavily influenced by your institution’s digital presence. Tips include quick fixes and more comprehensive strategies to improve your site’s navigation and information architecture.