In a higher ed landscape crowded with sameness, how can institutions truly stand out and drive enrollment growth, especially for graduate and professional programs?

This week on The Signal: On Air, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Val Fox, a strategic advisor at EAB with decades of experience leading marketing at both major universities and consumer brands like Bose. Val argues that the biggest mistake institutions make is trying to scale the undergraduate playbook for their graduate programs, which are often fragmented, under-resourced, and siloed.

Val shares critical insights from EAB's latest research on the modern adult learner, revealing a fundamental shift toward stealth shopping, digital-first decision-making, and a surge in AI adoption for program discovery. She explains why "supportive faculty" and "strong outcomes" are just the category minimum, not differentiators, and offers a practical guide on how to build a genuine brand "moat" by getting specific.

Tune in to learn how to move from endless debate to disciplined experimentation, align your cross-functional teams, and ensure your institution is visible at the new AI-powered front door of higher ed.

Key Takeaways

1. Stop Using the Undergraduate Playbook: Graduate enrollment is fundamentally different. It's often fragmented and under-resourced, requiring a distinct strategy focused on the unique needs of adult, professional, and online learners, not a scaled-down version of the traditional undergraduate model.
2. Data Beats Enthusiasm: Too many programs are launched based on internal enthusiasm rather than market demand. Institutions serious about growth must ground their decisions in public data (like IPEDS and BLS) to validate student demand and employer needs before investing in new programs.
3. Differentiation Requires a "Moat": Generic claims like "supportive community" or "academic excellence" are just the sector minimum. To truly stand out, institutions must get specific and "compound" their differentiators—building a unique set of program-level advantages that are hard for competitors to simply copy.
4. The Student Journey Has Fundamentally Changed: Today's graduate learners are "stealth" shoppers. Over 80% complete their research and decide on a short list without ever contacting the institution. They expect a self-service, digital-first experience akin to Netflix or Amazon.
5. AI is the New Front Door: Prospective students are rapidly adopting AI (with 5x growth in usage) to synthesize information and compare programs. However, there's a dangerous gap between institutions researching AI and actually auditing their visibility in these new channels. If you aren't visible there, you're falling behind.
6. Move from Vanity to Actionable Metrics: Focus on metrics that directly tie to enrollment, such as application starts and inquiry requests, rather than vanity metrics like page views. Institutions must create a "bright line" between marketing efforts and these digital behaviors.
7. Transform Through Experimentation, Not Debate: Successful institutions prototype their way forward. They run pilots with clear success metrics, are willing to stop what isn't working, and embrace disciplined experimentation instead of getting bogged down in multi-year committees.
8. Align Teams with a Shared Reality: Friction across marketing, admissions, and academic leadership often stems from different assumptions. Building a shared baseline understanding of market conditions and using frameworks to reduce complexity can align teams and accelerate decision-making.

 

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Chapters

• (00:00:00) - The Signal on Air: AI and the Future of Higher Ed
• (00:01:23) - Valerie Fox at the Consumer Marketing Conference
• (00:02:47) - Jeff Knows: What Led Me to Higher Ed
• (00:06:59) - Bentley University's Digital Experience
• (00:10:10) - EMB Student Enrollment: Growing Graduate Enrollment
• (00:12:05) - Graduate Program Growth and Strategic Planning
• (00:14:45) - Brand and Communication
• (00:20:22) - What's Advancing the Use of AI in Student Search and Discovery
• (00:23:23) - What Do You Need to Know to Accelerate Enrollment?
• (00:24:46) - What separates the organizations that truly transform from the ones that stall?
• (00:26:47) - What's the key to building real momentum in higher ed?
• (00:29:20) - Jeff Smith: How to Grow Enrollment in the Next 3-
• (00:31:00) - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech News & Insights