Key points:
- Institutions must leverage data to enroll prospective students
- Is higher-ed prepared for admissions challenges?
- Tech to the rescue: Turning the tide on first-year dropout rates
- For more news on recruitment, visit eCN’s Campus Leadership hub
As the summer melt season accelerates and adds move-in melt to the mix, higher-ed enrollment marketers face a recruitment landscape defined less by abundance and more by attrition. Accepted students vanish before classes begin. Independent applicants, now a growing demographic, stall in the enrollment process. Meanwhile, millions of Gen Z students are skipping college altogether, choosing work or trades over tuition. Traditional tactics are no longer working for shifting behaviors and expectations.
Institutions need to rethink how they identify, reach, and convert prospective students–particularly in an environment where attention is scarce and the next generation engages entirely differently.
At the center of this shift is data–not just as a measurement tool, but as the foundation for strategic precision. Behavioral signals, digital touchpoints, and real-time engagement patterns now offer a clearer path to conversion than demographic profiling ever could. The challenge is whether institutions are structured to act on it.
Independent applicants and the fragmenting funnel
One of the clearest indicators of change is the growing pool of independent applicants. In a recent report by CommonApp, these students–often financially self-supporting and managing work or caregiving responsibilities–face significant barriers to enrollment despite strong motivation to attend college. They don’t follow the typical path from high school to campus. They engage when it fits their schedule and are looking for proof of flexibility and support. And they’re largely invisible to outreach strategies that often are a one-size-fits-all approach.
Institutions continue to over-index on recruitment journeys that don’t reflect this audience’s lived experience. Independent students are far less likely to attend recruitment events or respond to traditional drip campaigns. Instead, they conduct research quietly and independently–comparing transfer policies and degree mapping all while looking for clear ROI. Data strategies must evolve to detect and respond to this behavior early and often, turning passive interest into active enrollment.
The decline of the traditional funnel
The Gen Z enrollment gap compounds the problem. With roughly 2 million fewer students applying to college than in previous years in favor of skilled trades, institutions are competing for a smaller, more skeptical applicant pool. Many young people are delaying higher education entirely, drawn to job opportunities, vocational training, and side hustles that promise quicker returns with less debt. The message is clear: Simply being an accredited institution with strong academics is no longer enough. Schools must market value, flexibility, and relevance with clarity and urgency.
Traditional enrollment playbooks–email blasts, high school counselor relationships, open houses–can’t address this shift on their own. These tactics work for the students already predisposed to enroll. But they do little to persuade those on the fence or outside the view of conventional systems. That’s where data-backed precision becomes essential.
Next-gen outreach now relies on observing, interpreting, and acting on intent signals in real time. As an example, a student browsing financial aid FAQs isn’t the same as a student clicking through academic program pages–but both are engaging, both are signaling potential, and both deserve tailored follow-up. Behavioral analytics can reveal not just interest but concern, confusion, or hesitation–critical data points in today’s competitive environment.
The most effective enrollment strategies now mirror the tactics of sophisticated consumer marketers. Dynamic retargeting based on site behavior, personalized content delivery across platforms, and multichannel remarketing campaigns are becoming table stakes for institutions that want to stay competitive. The recruitment cycle is episodic, digital-first, and deeply personal.
Why CTV belongs in every enrollment strategy
In this digital-first reality, Connected TV (CTV) is emerging as one of the most underutilized tools in higher-ed recruitment. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are spending more time on streaming platforms than any other media channel. And unlike social media, CTV offers a unique blend of scale, precision, and depth–allowing institutions to tell compelling stories and build brand trust in a format that feels organic and authoritative.
With advanced programmatic targeting, CTV campaigns can serve different messages to different segments based on application stage, academic interest, or even location. A student in the early stages might see an ad focused on affordability and outcomes. One who’s accepted but hasn’t enrolled might receive a message featuring student testimonials or campus events.
But the real magic happens when CTV is integrated into an omni-channel enrollment strategy–alongside direct mail, email, phone, SMS, and programmatic display. These channels reinforce one another to create a persistent presence that surrounds prospective students with consistent, personalized messaging. It fosters a sense of belonging, urgency, and immersion in the culture of the institution, whether they’re just exploring or weighing final decisions.
From signals to systems
To make this all work, institutions need more than technology–they need alignment. Marketing, admissions, IT, and institutional research must collaborate around a shared data strategy. Identity resolution should tie together digital behaviors across platforms. CRM systems must be fed with real-time intent signals, not just names from a search list. And media buying should be driven by behavioral triggers, not academic calendars.
The ultimate goal is smarter engagement–delivering the right message, on the right channel, at the right moment. When done well, this approach rebuilds the trust that students–especially those on the margins–are increasingly demanding from higher education.
Bryan Whitaker is the CEO at Statara Solutions.