Enrollment Strategy

Shaping Enrollment Strategy Around What Matters Most — Students

Carnegie’s higher education enrollment strategy consulting connects insight, technology, and human understanding to transform enrollment challenges into measurable growth.

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Our Approach

Enrollment success isn’t a formula, it’s an ecosystem. Carnegie’s enrollment marketing solutions unite market insight, behavioral data, and institutional goals to create enrollment systems that adapt and perform. Our higher education enrollment consultants help colleges and universities understand who their students are, what motivates them, and how to engage them with purpose.

Our approach blends strategy and execution—from high-level enrollment consulting and Student Search planning to psychographic segmentation and communication optimization—creating a student-centered framework that supports sustainable institutional success.

Strategies Fueled by Data, Driven by Connection

Psychographic Segmentation + Motivator Modeling

Go beyond demographics to uncover what truly inspires students to take action. Our psychographic segmentation and Motivator Modeling connect personality science with behavioral data, helping you create enrollment marketing strategies that resonate on a human level and drive meaningful engagement.

Student Search + EnGauge Scoring

Move past traditional Student Search with strategies powered by data, technology, and human insight. Carnegie’s enrollment strategy consulting uses predictive EnGauge AI Scoring to identify and engage the right students at the right time, maximizing yield, improving efficiency, and delivering measurable enrollment growth.

Strategic Enrollment Management Planning

Shape your institution’s enrollment future with a clear, data-informed plan. Through collaborative workshops and consulting, our higher education enrollment consultants help you define goals, uncover insights, and create an actionable Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan that aligns teams and drives sustainable growth.

Yield Strategy

Convert interest into enrollment with precision and empathy. Our data-driven yield strategies use advanced modeling to identify students who need extra support, ensuring the right aid, communication, and connection at the right time to boost yield, improve retention, and strengthen student success.

Visit Experience Analysis

Transform your campus visit into a powerful moment of connection. We assess every stage of the visit—from first invitation to post-tour communication—to reveal where engagement can deepen and decisions take shape. The result: a campus experience that reflects your mission and converts interest into enrollment.

How it Works

Discover Insights That Shape Enrollment Success

Every strong enrollment strategy starts with understanding. We assess your data, market position, and institutional goals to uncover what drives and limits your enrollment performance. Through stakeholder interviews, market research, and ecosystem audits, our higher education enrollment consultants identify actionable insights that inform every next step.

Design Strategies That Align Teams and Drive Action

We turn insights into tailored plans that connect data, technology, and human understanding. Our strategists develop an enrollment roadmap integrating psychographic segmentation, Student Search strategy, and CRM optimization, creating an enrollment marketing solution that aligns campus teams and strengthens your pipeline from awareness to yield.

Activate Campaigns That Build Student Connection

Your strategy comes to life through personalized, multichannel communications designed to reach the right students at the right time. Using advanced tools like EnGauge Scoring, powered by AI and behavioral data, our enrollment consultants help you predict intent, optimize messaging, and convert connection into measurable enrollment growth.

Optimize Performance for Sustainable Growth

Enrollment strategy isn’t static, it evolves. Through continuous monitoring, analysis, and refinement, we ensure your approach adapts to shifting markets and student needs. From financial aid modeling to retention insights, our data-informed consulting strengthens yield, improves efficiency, and drives long-term institutional success.

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Attracting Well-Matched Students for Long-Term Success

An integrated brand and enrollment strategy brought Kettering University more students who are likely to thrive.

Featured Enrollment Strategy Case Study

“The Carnegie team truly listened, collaborated with us every step of the way, and delivered measurable results — substantial enrollment growth, increased engagement, and national recognition for the work we accomplished together.”

Jennifer Umberger
Vice President, University Marketing and Communications
Kettering University

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Kettering University

An integrated brand and enrollment strategy brought Kettering University more students who are likely to thrive.

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Research

The Search + Social Media Habits of Prospective Graduate Students

Graduate student marketing in higher education has undergone significant shifts in recent years. We surveyed over 750 graduate students about how the internet informs their search for a graduate program.

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Our Thoughts on Enrollment Strategy

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Enrollment

Summer Research Series: Findings Recap

Watch

Enrollment Strategy

Adapting Student Search: Strategies for Tight Budgets and Enrollment Pressures

By Trent Gilbert

Enrollment Strategy

Navigating Uncertainty in Higher Ed: Practical Strategies to Support and Sustain International Student Enrollment

By Carnegie Higher Ed

Strategic Communications

Crisis Communications in Higher Education: Strategies for Navigating Political Pressure

By Matt Gerien

Strengthen Your Enrollment Ecosystem

Enrollment Marketing

Your future students expect a personalized experience from the first impression. Our integrated marketing solutions use psychographic data, integrated tech, and digital precision to reach students where they are and move them to apply, enroll, and retain.

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Lead Generation

Reach students before your competitors. Our exclusive Carnegie data and intent signals fuel high-converting outreach that transforms awareness into action.

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Market Research

Insight that drives smarter growth. Understand your audiences, competitive landscape, and opportunities through rigorous market research that blends data with higher ed expertise. The result: actionable insight that strengthens your strategy.

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Financial Aid Optimization

Design aid strategies that balance affordability and institutional goals, helping more students say yes while sustaining long-term enrollment health.

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Let’s Inspire Prospects to Become Students

When students succeed, higher education thrives. Let’s create enrollment strategies that connect ambition with opportunity and inspire the next class to say yes.