What happens when higher education reclaims its civic purpose at a time when the public questions its value? By engaging deeply with their communities, institutions can rebuild trust, demonstrate relevance, and strengthen student belonging in ways that go beyond enrollment numbers.

In this episode of Innovating Enrollment Success, Andrew Seligsohn, president of Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research and engagement organization focused on strengthening democracy and expanding opportunities for civic participation, shares how institutions can align civic purpose with student success.

From building community partnerships to modeling institutional values, Seligsohn shares what it takes to make engagement central to both learning and leadership.

What you’ll learn

· Civic engagement builds learning and belonging. When students connect coursework to real communities, they form deeper ties to their institution.

· Partnerships make institutions trusted and relevant. Collaborating locally shows your brand’s value beyond campus walls.

· Leaders must live their values. Authentic action from leadership reinforces mission and builds audience trust.

· Listening creates connection and understanding. Dialogue across differences strengthens both campus culture and brand perception.

· Every voice strengthens the institution. Inclusion fuels belonging, engagement, and advocacy among students and staff.

· Meaning drives student success and loyalty. When students see purpose in their education, they stay, succeed, and champion your story.

What’s really behind your web traffic? How can you tell if the clicks you’re counting are from future students or from bots inflating your metrics? And what does it take to turn raw numbers into insights you can actually act on?

In this episode of Innovating Enrollment Success, Digital Analytics Manager Sam Hofman and Ad Ops Engineer Nathan Huff talk about how to separate real insights from digital noise, and why trustworthy data is essential for student recruitment and retention.

What you’ll learn:

• Good data is trusted and actionable, not just clean spreadsheets.
• Set metrics early with a measurement brief that defines success and allows for pivots.
• Compare platform and CRM data to avoid inflated conversion counts.
• Identify bot traffic—40–60% of hits could be non-human.
• Block invalid traffic with honeypots, IP filters, and ad verification.
• Assign a data steward to own your data strategy and guide smarter decisions.

When your data is done right, it doesn’t just track activity, it tells the real story of your audience. And in today’s enrollment climate, those insights can make all the difference.

What makes an admitted student portal more than a checklist? How can it guide students from intent to enrollment? And what does it take to build a portal that actually works, for students and institutions?

In this episode of Innovating Enrollment Success, we explore how admitted student portals can either support or sabotage enrollment goals. As institutions face rising melt rates, especially among first-gen and low-income students, these digital spaces must do more than display deadlines. They must foster connection, clarity, and confidence.

Paskill Senior Account Manager Angela Wenner and Interactive Developer Suri Sahay break down what makes a portal effective and where most fall short. From personalized content and accessibility to backend strategy and tech limitations, this episode covers the collaboration and innovation required to keep students on the path to enrollment.

Together, they examine how smart strategy and responsive tech turn static portals into dynamic recruitment tools that resonate with today’s students.

What you’ll learn:

• Why portals are a make-or-break moment for enrollment, especially during melt season
• The tech essentials behind a modern, mobile-friendly, accessible portal
• How to personalize the portal experience with dynamic data and relevant content
• Where institutions often miss the mark, and how to fix it
• How collaboration between strategy and development leads to stronger outcomes
• The power of community features, gamification, and AI chatbots in future-ready portals
• Why portal planning should start early, and what to prioritize right now

When a portal is done right, it doesn’t just inform students, it engages them.
And in today’s competitive landscape, that connection can make all the difference.