EAB’s Camilla Arias and Pam Royall sit down with global higher education consultant Donald Resnik to unpack key findings from the latest EAB-NAGAP survey of nearly 600 graduate enrollment professionals. Their conversation examines the widening gap between enrollment expectations and the staffing and budget resources available to meet them. The three also touch on areas that GEM professionals consider positive trends, including the growth of corporate partnerships.
Jun 17, 2025•28 min
EAB’s Beth Donaldson and Val Fox unpack findings from our latest benchmarking survey of graduate enrollment leaders. The findings highlight a significant disconnect between the graduate enrollment goals being set by university leaders and the market realities confronting those charged with recruiting adult learners. Val and Beth offer advice to admissions teams on how to invest limited marketing dollars to generate the maximum number of leads, applications, and matriculants.
May 20, 2025•31 min
EAB’s Ed Venit hosts a conversation with Knack CEO and co-founder Samyr Qureshi, who shares how institutions can build a peer tutoring strategy to fill gaps in academic support services. The two discuss how Knack’s approach helps institutions recruit, train, and compensate student tutors. They also explain how a student-led tutoring model can help scale up support infrastructure and reach more at-risk students with after-hours and virtual tutoring sessions.
Apr 28, 2025•31 min
EAB’s Ellyn Artis and Ed Venit examine the new Student Access and Earnings Classification system—set to launch this spring—that could turn traditional college rankings on their head. Unlike rankings that prioritize prestige and exclusivity, this new framework was designed by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education to put student access and career outcomes front and center. Ellyn and Ed explore how this shift could become a powerful catalyst for change, pushing institutions ...
Apr 15, 2025•35 min
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Michael Koppenheffer review new analysis of over 80 school characteristics to uncover what draws students to U.S. campuses today. Spoiler alert: the number of majors offered, availability of student organizations, campus safety, and favorable weather all outweigh affordability in influencing students’ college decisions. Learn how to leverage your true strengths and opportunities to stand out in a crowded market.
Apr 01, 2025•31 min
EAB’s Tara Zirkel hosts a conversation with Dr. Jessica Gerrity, a grant expert from McAllister & Quinn, a federal grant consulting and government relations firm in Washington, DC. The two discuss what changes at the Department of Education could mean for grant funding. They also share tips on how university leaders might adapt grant strategies in the months ahead.
Mar 19, 2025•32 min
EAB’s Carla Hickman and Kate Brown discuss the practical effects of the “Dear Colleague” letter and offer insights into how higher education institutions might respond to increasingly aggressive federal attacks on DEI. They urge listeners to prepare for all contingencies while avoiding the risks of proactive compliance. Carla and Kate also share resources available to help education leaders make informed decisions as they navigate the political landscape.
Mar 04, 2025•37 min
AI is reshaping how we search for and discover information online—so what does that mean for university websites? In this episode, EAB’s Emily Upton and Philip Walton break down the profound impact of AI on search and share practical strategies for staying ahead. They also offer the latest SEO tips to boost traffic and engage site visitors more effectively.
Feb 23, 2025•23 min
EAB’s Chrysanthi Violaris and Ally Stanton explore best practices for benchmarking in advancement, helping teams assess their fundraising productivity compared to peer institutions and past performance. They discuss how to interpret key metrics, avoid common pitfalls, and use data strategically to strengthen decision-making. The episode also offers practical tips on leveraging benchmarking insights to guide budget discussions with university leaders and demonstrate the impact of financial invest...
Feb 10, 2025•28 min
EAB’s Rebecca Kelley interviews Chris Goodbourn from GEMS Education, one of the largest private K-12 education providers in the world. Rebecca and Chris discuss the challenges US colleges face in attracting international students. They also share tips—including leveraging EAB’s Global Match platform—to connect with and enroll more overseas students more cost-effectively.
Jan 24, 2025•36 min
EAB’s Val Fox and Todd Heilman unpack data from a new survey that examines the mindset and preferences of today’s adult learners. Val and Todd highlight important changes in current and prospective students’ search behavior, expectations, and application preferences. They also offer enrollment leaders tips to engage and enroll prospective students more effectively.
Jan 10, 2025•39 min
Community college enrollment was up nearly six percent in 2024, outpacing every other higher education sector, and retention rates are higher now than before the pandemic. EAB’s Tara Zirkel hosts a discussion with Dr. Martha Parham from the American Association of Community Colleges about how to keep this momentum going in 2025. They also share thoughts on potential challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Jan 07, 2025•32 min
EAB’s Rebecca Knisely and Jesse Holzbach share tips and tools (like Appily Advance) to help institutions attract and enroll adult learners and graduate students. Learn counterintuitive best practices for optimizing your website, prioritizing information about degree programs, and making lead nurturing a year-round strategy.
Dec 16, 2024•32 min
EAB’s Kena Wolf and Val Fox share insights from a secret shopping spree across the graduate schools at 50 universities to see how they stack up against one another and industry best practices in adult learner recruitment. They also share tips for institutional leaders on how to adopt a “testing and learning” culture that energizes enrollment growth without breaking the bank.
Dec 03, 2024•40 min
EAB’s Brian Schueler and Todd Heilman share the latest findings from EAB’s research into graduate and online enrollment trends. The two discuss how institutions are rebounding from the pandemic enrollment dip. They also advise university leaders on how to serve adult learners who increasingly want community and in-person interaction blended with online alternatives to give them maximum flexibility.
Nov 12, 2024•38 min
Colleges face extraordinary financial pressures with an average of one per week closing for good. Merger activity has slowed so the best option available to the most financially challenged institutions is to minimize the damage to students, faculty, and staff before closing down for good. For the rest, EAB’s Michael Fischer and Molly Bell share steps that university leaders should take to assess their current financial health and take proactive steps to build a stronger financial footing.
Oct 29, 2024•26 min
EAB’s Lindsay Schappell hosts a conversation with Dr. Andrea Lewis from Spelman College about helping new students get off to a strong start. Dr. Lewis shares details of the student onboarding and orientation process at Spelman, which starts with a college readiness program the summer before they enroll. Spelman’s student support efforts also include mandatory study groups for first-year students and the use of Navigate360 to unite students, faculty, and administrators in a shared effort to keep...
Oct 22, 2024•25 min
Jonathan April, head of EAB’s College Greenlight team, hosts a conversation with Andrew Moe, Rajwantie Sahai, and Julia Perkins — all from an organization called Matriculate. The group discusses how Matriculate is narrowing the college access gap by recruiting and training college students to serve as “near-peer” advisors for high school students. They also share advice for higher education leaders on how to connect with and help young people who can flourish in college but need help navigating ...
Oct 01, 2024•32 min
EAB’s Michael Koppenheffer and Pam Kiecker Royall discuss a new survey that shows most prospective college students want colleges to send them more personalized recruiting messages that incorporate what institutions know about their academic and non-academic interests. Students say this kind of hyper-personalized messaging saves them time and makes them feel the university values them as individuals. Pam and Michael discuss what’s possible and advisable in creating bespoke recruiting packets for...
Sep 24, 2024•33 min
EAB’s Carla Hickman joins Seramount President Subha Barry to review the findings of a new paper that explores the rapid decline in student readiness. That decline is causing unprecedented numbers of young adults to either forgo college completely or enter college without the skills needed to be successful. Carla and Subha share advice for leaders working in higher education and corporate America on how to adapt to this new reality.
Sep 17, 2024•35 min
EAB’s Erin Preston hosts a discussion with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Vice President for Enrollment Management Dr. Jonathan Wexler about his study of university consolidation and closures. The two discuss the types of institutions at greatest risk and options available to those facing declining enrollments and revenues. They also offer insight into current trends in M&A activity versus outright closures.
Aug 27, 2024•29 min
EAB’s Sean Tivnan and JP LaFors discuss how new college search behaviors are forcing university websites to evolve. The two share tips for connecting and engaging with Gen Z “stealth shoppers” who are heavily influenced by your institution’s digital presence. Tips include quick fixes and more comprehensive strategies to improve your site’s navigation and information architecture.
Aug 13, 2024•37 min
EAB’s Linda Marchlewski is joined by Todd McLees, an internationally recognized strategist and thought leader on the future of work and learning. The two share why it’s so critical for colleges to teach students how to use AI to make them better architects, actors, or anything else they want to be. They also share tips for higher ed leaders on how to develop private-sector partnerships that will help them strengthen the AI literacy of their institution.
Jul 30, 2024•35 min
EAB’s Val Fox and Jennie Bailey take a fresh look at the relationship between universities and OPMs, companies that partner with schools to help them develop and market online programs. The two offer tips on how to exit a relationship with an OPM that is no longer generating sufficient value. They also outline steps schools should follow to help them transition to a more effective growth strategy.
Jul 23, 2024•37 min
EAB’s Jenny Jones hosts a discussion with the University of New England VP for Institutional Advancement (Alicia Fereday) and the Associate VP of Finance and Administration (Matthew Kogut). The three offer tips to help department heads communicate more effectively with the people in charge of approving budget requests. Tips include advice on planning, prioritizing, presenting data to support your requests, and ways to model expected outcomes that might result from less than full funding.
Jul 16, 2024•34 min
EAB’s Sally Amoruso sits down with Paul LeBlanc and George Siemens from Southern New Hampshire University to discuss how higher education institutions can reap the benefits of AI. Paul and George argue that university leaders have been slow to embrace AI despite the extraordinary opportunity the technology gives us to transform higher education for the better. This episode was excerpted from a recent Presidential Experience Lab event hosted by EAB and NVIDIA.
Jul 09, 2024•37 min
EAB’s Brett Schraeder hosts a conversation with Bill Hall, the founder and President of Applied Policy Research. The two discuss the impact of the FAFSA delays on this year’s enrollment figures and discuss the extent to which admissions teams may still have financial aid levers they can pull that could boost yield. They also talk about how APR will be working together with EAB’s Financial Aid Optimization team in the months ahead.
Jun 25, 2024•35 min
EAB’s Kate Brown and Lilia Shea examine the protests that spread across US campuses this spring and provide historical context on student activism. The two also explain why it’s so important for university leaders to prepare this summer for more student unrest this fall as the presidential election season heats up. Finally, they offer tips on how to plan for and manage the university's response to future campus flashpoints in a way that preserves the institution while making students feel suppor...
Jun 18, 2024•25 min
EAB’s Pam Royall and Michael Koppenheffer discuss what colleges can learn from EAB’s newest survey of nearly 13,000 recent high school graduates. The survey examined the factors that drive college search behaviors and influence student satisfaction with the college experience. Pam and Michael explore how those factors vary by race, ethnicity, and income, and how colleges might adjust their recruitment and retention strategies.
Jun 11, 2024•31 min
EAB’s Camilla Arias hosts a discussion with Pam Royall, head of research for EAB’s enrollment division, and global higher education consultant, Donald Resnick to unpack findings from the latest EAB-NAGAP survey of graduate enrollment leaders. The three discuss the extent to which graduate enrollment professionals are happy in their jobs, meeting their goals, and embracing new technologies like AI. They also share advice on growing enrollments by understanding the most important factors motivatin...
Jun 04, 2024•21 min
