What happens when a university website becomes a cluttered “junk drawer” instead of a clear, welcoming first impression? Paul Garner, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Western Carolina University, shares how his team transformed a confusing, overloaded website into a true digital front door that reflects the student experience and institutional story. This conversation unpacks how thoughtful leadership, trust, and alignment can turn a fragmented digital presence into something purposeful, intuitive, and mission-driven.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• Why "attention is king" in modern higher ed marketing

• Lessons from transitioning into higher ed from the private sector

• Building trust across campus before launching major iniatives

• Navigating website redesigns as change management, not just tech projects

• How to align stakeholders around a student-first digital experience.

🎙️ Episode Highlights

02:03 – Transitioning into higher ed and culture shock

07:20 – Building trust through presence and authenticity

10:06 – Why the website redesign was necessary

12:00 – The real challenge, people not technology

13:30 – Creating buy-in across campus stakeholders

15:35 – Moving to a student-first website strategy

22:00 – Leadership growth during major transitions

24:30 – Post-launch challenges and holding the line

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Drawing from their shared roots in journalism, Julia Ferrante and Rachel Colquitt reveal how storytelling, authenticity, and human connection are reshaping how institutions communicate, build trust, and inspire action in a rapidly changing landscape. Their conversation highlights how marketers can move beyond surface-level messaging to uncover deeper stories, create meaningful connections, and lead with clarity in an increasingly complex and AI-influenced world.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• The transition from journalism to higher ed marketing and why it matters

• How storytelling and qualitative research shape authentic brand voices

• Why asking better questions leads to stronger marketing outcomes

• Balancing AI adoption with human-centered communication

• Strategies for gaining buy-in and leading brand change across campus

🎙️ Episode Highlights

03:10 – Why journalism naturally leads to purpose-driven higher ed work

07:40 – The most valuable journalism skills marketers should adopt

12:10 – How brand voice is shaped by audience perception and truth

19:50 – Building authentic brands through storytelling and culture shifts

33:20 – Advice for new marketers entering higher education

38:20 – Staying human in an AI-driven world

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Vince Slomsky, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Brand at the University of South Florida, brings a journalist’s mindset to university marketing, blending storytelling, data, and video strategy to create content that resonates with modern audiences. From leveraging YouTube as a discovery engine to empowering students as creators, his approach challenges the traditional marketing playbooks and encourages teams to think like media organizations.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• How a background in broadcast journalism shapes Vince's marketign approach

• Why video-first storytelling is a nonnegotiable for higher ed marketing teams

• The surprising rise of YouTube viewing on TV screens

• Practical ways to uncover authentic stories across campus

• How student creators can power a university’s content strategy

🎙️ Episode Highlights

00:45 – A surprising YouTube insight

02:45 – Vince’s journey from TV news reporter to higher ed marketing leader

09:24 – How universities can uncover powerful stories across campus

15:48 – Why higher ed teams must embrace a video-first mindset

22:30 – Letting students lead the way with YouTube Shorts and vertical video

41:00 – Why every institution can build a strong video strategy with the tools they already have

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Enrollment decline rarely comes from a lack of effort. More often, it stems from misalignment. When marketing operates separately from enrollment strategy, even strong branding and storytelling can fail to move the needle. Live from the CCCU International Forum in Dallas, Stacey Berggren shares the candid journey of moving marketing under enrollment leadership at Northwest Nazarene University and rebuilding strategy after several years of decline.

From costly brand awareness campaigns that produced little measurable impact to restructuring teams, redefining priorities, and focusing on clear calls to action, this conversation unpacks what actually changes when marketing is held accountable to enrollment outcomes.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• Why brand awareness alone does not drive enrollment growth

• The strategic decision to move marketing under enrollment leadership

• How to restructure a marketing team for recruitment impact

• When to outsource critical marketing functions

• Leading institutional change with vulnerability and clarity

🎙️ Episode Highlights

02:15 – Recognizing enrollment decline and calling for an outside assessment

08:05 – The limits of brand awareness without a call to action

14:10 – Moving marketing from advancement to enrollment

21:40 – Restructuring the team and adding digital expertise

33:05 – Navigating cabinet politics and leadership vulnerability

46:30 – Building and prioritizing a two-year tactical enrollment plan

57:50 – Advice for presidents and VPs facing marketing misalignment

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

02:15 – Recognizing enrollment decline and calling for an outside assessment

08:05 – The limits of brand awareness without a call to action

14:10 – Moving marketing from advancement to enrollment

21:40 – Restructuring the team and adding digital expertise

33:05 – Navigating cabinet politics and leadership vulnerability

46:30 – Building and prioritizing a two-year tactical enrollment plan

57:50 – Advice for presidents and VPs facing marketing misalignment

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

A return home, a thriving enrollment team, and a bold vision for serving the Central Valley. Amanda Slaughter joins the podcast live from the CCCU International Forum to share why Fresno Pacific University is leaning into its identity as its greatest enrollment advantage. At a time when many institutions are scrambling to chase new markets, Fresno Pacific is doubling down on mission, community, and innovation. With 74 percent of students identifying as students of color, the university reflects the region it serves and backs that clarity with strategic use of AI to strengthen outcomes, messaging, and momentum.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• Leading an enrollment team that is already exceeding goals

• Why institutional identity creates competitive advantage

• Marketing authentically as a Hispanic Serving Institution

• Engaging first-generation families with transparent financial conversations

• Using AI to multiply productivity and sharpen enrollment strategy

🎙️ Episode Highlights

02:15 – Amanda’s return to California and Fresno Pacific

06:40 – Stepping into a strong enrollment operation

11:05 – What 74 percent diversity means for recruitment strategy

18:30 – Reaching families who never thought college was possible

27:45 – AI as a force multiplier for enrollment leaders

35:20 – The future of personalized, data-informed strategy

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As college search behavior shifts under the weight of AI, generative search, and growing skepticism about traditional signals, one question keeps surfacing for higher ed leaders. Do rankings still matter? In this conversation, Nate Mouttet of U.S. News and World Report unpacks the evolution of college rankings, the methodology behind them, and why they continue to function as a powerful trust signal for students, parents, and institutions. From data journalism roots to today’s AI-informed discovery environment, this episode connects rankings, visibility, and strategy in ways enrollment and marketing leaders cannot afford to ignore.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• How U.S. News college rankings were created and why they still shape decision-making

• What has changed in ranking methodology, including social mobility, outcomes, and test optional data

• Why trusted third-party platforms matter more in an AI and GEO landscape

• How institutions can use U.S. News profiles to amplify visibility and credibility

• The intersection of rankings, SEO, GEO, and AI-driven college search behavior

🎙️ Episode Highlights

02:39 – The origins of U.S. News rankings and the role of data journalism

06:35 – Methodology shifts, graduation rates, social mobility, and outcomes

09:27 – Why rankings remain a trusted signal for families and students

10:49 – How U.S. News helps institutions gain visibility beyond the rankings list

18:45 – U.S. News as a traffic driver and third-party credibility engine

21:37 – What student research behavior reveals about AI and college search

25:37 – The opportunities and risks AI creates for higher ed marketers

30:23 – Practical advice for aligning rankings, visibility, and AI today

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Higher education is filled with meaningful work, but too often the stories that bring it to life stay hidden behind silos, safe messaging, and internal complexity. Kristen Eaton, Interim Vice President of External Relations at the University of Maine at Augusta, joins the podcast to share what she has learned transitioning from nonprofit fundraising into higher ed leadership. Drawing on her background in development and communications, Kristen explains why belief, trust, and authentic storytelling are essential across enrollment, advancement, and alumni relations. She offers a candid look at how institutions can connect people, teams, and messages across the full student lifecycle and tell stories that truly resonate.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• What higher ed can learn from nonprofit storytelling and relationship building

• Why belief and trust matter more than tactics in enrollment marketing

• How silos form across marketing, advancement, and alumni relations

• Practical ways to start working cross-functionally without overhauling everything

• Why authentic, human-centered storytelling resonates more than polished messaging

🎙️ Episode Highlights

01:41 – Parallels between nonprofit fundraising and higher ed marketing

03:48 – Key differences, scale, stakeholders, and complex audiences

07:38 – Using impact storytelling across enrollment, alumni, and donors

10:12 – Practical and relational strategies for breaking down silos

14:32 – The risk of disconnected messaging across the student lifecycle

18:45 – Starting small with cross-functional collaboration

22:26 – Marketing with humanity and rejecting safe, generic imagery

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Terry Munday, former vice president for advancement at Indiana Wesleyan University, brings a candid and experience-driven perspective to the realities of fundraising and advancement leadership. Drawing from more than 35 years in higher education, Terry shares what he learned by sitting knee to knee with donors, navigating early career uncertainty, and building systems that sustained generosity over time. This conversation focuses on the discipline of relationship-building, the leadership habits that matter most in advancement, and why patience, consistency, and trust are essential to long-term fundraising success.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• How Terry transitioned into advancement leadership without formal fundraising training

• What decades of donor relationships reveal about trust & timing

• Why effective fundraising depends more on consistency than charisma

• Leadership habits that separate sustainable advancement programs

• How to navigate early-career pressure, uncertainty, and credibility gaps

• The strategic role of the annual fund in building future major and planned gifts

🎙️ Episode Highlights

02:02 Learning fundraising by doing it and why early discomfort matters

07:34 The discipline of relationship-building and why assumptions derail trust

10:17 What donor behavior teaches leaders about patience and stewardship

15:27 Why successful fundraising careers are built over decades, not cycles

27:37 Managing ego, rejection, and momentum in early fundraising years

32:15 How the annual fund supports institutional flexibility and growth

36:53 Turning routine donor outreach into long-term institutional impact

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for The Higher Ed Marketer in your favorite podcast player.

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proud to be a part of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast Network.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.