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Ideas, Insights, and Perspectives
Expert perspectives and practical guidance designed to help higher education leaders navigate today’s challenges while preparing for what’s next—so institutions, and the students they serve, can thrive.
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EnrollmentWhat We’re Hearing: 5 Enrollment Takeaways from NACAC 2026This year’s conference in Minneapolis has been especially valuable. There’s a lot to talk about, from affordability and enrollment investments to leadership changes, international recruitment, and how institutions are connecting with the next generation of students. While the challenges vary from campus to campus, a few themes keep coming up in conversations. Here are five that stand out so far.
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Student SuccessRetention Is the Outcome. The Student Experience Is the Strategy.College and university leaders spend a lot of time looking at retention as a number. Did more first-year students return? Which populations persisted? Where did we gain or lose ground? Those numbers matter. But retention is an outcome, not a strategy. The rate tells us what happened. It does not tell us, by itself, what students experienced along the way or what an institution needs to change to improve it.
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Digital AdvertisingHow to Optimize Your Higher Education Website for AI SearchProspective students are no longer relying on a single search engine or a predictable sequence of clicks to research colleges and universities. They may start with Google, continue the conversation in ChatGPT or another AI platform, compare options across third-party sources, and eventually arrive on an institutional website through organic search or a direct visit.
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