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The Signal (formerly the EdTech Connect Podcast): Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jeff Dillon
The Signal (formerly the EdTech Connect Podcast) is a podcast for higher education professionals exploring the most innovative people and technologies shaping the future of higher education. Host Jeff Dillon examines emerging trends, pioneering developments, and real-world applications of technology in academia. Each episode features interviews with leading experts, educators, technologists, and solution providers who share insights on how technology can improve student engagement, enhance learning outcomes, and transform the educational experience. The podcast covers the latest trends and best practices relevant to marketers, faculty, IT leaders, enrollment directors, and others invested in the future of higher education.
Latest Episodes
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- Today30 min
Ep. 90 - Haley Platt: Breaking the Information Barrier: How First-Gen Students Navigate College
What happens when a recent college graduate who grew up with smartphones, social media, and the chaos of modern college applications becomes a chief marketing officer? You get a perspective that most higher ed leaders desperately need but rarely hear. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Haley Platt, Chief Marketing Officer at Síembra Mobile—a company building technology to connect first-generation students and families with post-secondary pathways. At just 23 years old, Haley made the leap from intern to CMO, bringing a Gen Z lens to marketing, student engagement, and the gap between K-12 and higher ed. Haley pulls no punches about what's broken in traditional college outreach. She describes the "stack of postcards" problem—students receiving thousands of generic mailers that feel disingenuous and overwhelming—and explains why targeted, early, meaningful engagement is the only way forward. She shares how Síembra‘s self-monitoring intervention model helps students track academic progress, explore multiple pathways (including community college and CTE), and receive direct admissions offers before their senior year. From the financial barriers of FAFSA to the mental health toll of the job market, from the importance of social-emotional learning to the power of virtual enrollment communities, Haley offers a fresh, urgent, and deeply practical take on what institutions need to change—and why listening to students is the most under leveraged strategy in higher ed today. Key Takeaways The "Stack of Postcards" Problem Is Real—and It's Failing Students: Students receive thousands of generic college mailers and emails, most of which feel disingenuous and overwhelming. Traditional mass outreach treats students like numbers, not individuals. Targeted, personalized messages cut through the noise and build trust. Direct Admissions Changes the Mental Math for First‑Gen Students: Through Síembra, partners offer direct admissions to students as early as the summer before senior year. Knowing they are already admitted removes the mental encourages students to take the next step. Interventions Aren't Just for Academic Struggles—They're for Affirmation Too: Síembra‘s self-monitoring intervention model helps students track progress, but it also provides positive affirmations when they're on track. Simple messages during build momentum and connection. The Barrier to Information Is Different for Every Student: Whether it's FAFSA complexity, lack of family knowledge about college, or simply not knowing where to start, the barrier to information is highly dependent on a student's population, family background, and geography. One-size-fits-all outreach doesn't work. K‑12 and Higher Ed Need to Talk to Each Other: The enrollment cliff is exacerbated by a lack of communication between school districts and colleges. Síembra‘s virtual enrollment communities create a "matrix of all constituents in one place," fostering relationships that help students transfer between pathways and fill seats at distressed institutions. First‑Gen Students Need Ongoing Support, Not Just a Welcome Package: Many institutions assume that once first‑gen students are enrolled, they've "figured it out." But support systems—peer groups, first‑gen clubs, student representation on boards—need sustained investment. Social‑Emotional Learning and Career Readiness Cannot Be Separated: Students need third spaces to interact with their community, develop life skills, and explore interests without feeling obligated. Programs that pair colleges with local businesses to design majors around real job readiness—including internships—are a model more schools should replicate. Gen Z Expects Institutions to Build Bridges, Not Work Alone: Chapters - This Gen Z Brand Ambassador is building a movement - Sebbra's Chief Marketing Officer Takes a Leap - How a traditional education impacted my business career - What Does College Connect by Sembra Do for First Generation Students? - What is working for colleges and universities? - Building the College Outreach Bridge - Gaining Student Representation - Follow Your Calling - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech News and Insights
- 1 weeks ago31 min
Ep. 89 - Leslie Weller: How AI Site Search Turns Student Discovery Into a Competitive Advantage
Every month, nearly half a million people type questions into your university's search bar. They're telling you exactly what they want to know—about deadlines, transfer credits, program fit. And yet, 31% of higher ed digital teams have no access to that data at all. In this episode, Jeff Dillon welcomes Leslie Weller, Director of Product Marketing at SearchStax, a site search platform helping colleges and universities transform how students find information online. Leslie brings over 25 years of experience making complex enterprise software understandable—and she's now applying that lens to higher ed's fragmented, decentralized digital landscape. Drawing on SearchStax’ recent research study conducted with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Leslie reveals the gap between how important colleges think site search is and how poorly it's actually performing. She explains why 93% of students rely on websites during their college search, yet only 19% of digital teams believe they're delivering a great experience. Leslie also tackles the AI shift head-on, arguing that site search is a "great AI lever" schools already own. She shares practical examples of how AI can re-rank content by semantic meaning, suggest synonyms and even generate instant answers to common questions. For any enrollment leader, web manager, or digital strategist trying to reduce friction and convert more curious visitors into applicants, this episode offers a clear, actionable roadmap. Key Takeaways Site Search Is a High-Intent Goldmine: 43% of website visitors use the search bar. For a school with 1 million monthly visitors, that's nearly half a million people every single month telling you exactly what they want to know. Yet 31% of digital teams have no access to this first-party data. The Gap Is Massive: 93% of students use websites when evaluating schools, but only 19% of digital teams believe they're delivering a great website experience. There is a huge opportunity to differentiate through search alone. Confused Students Don't Enroll: Borrowing from Donald Miller's marketing principle—"confused people don't buy"—Leslie argues that the same applies to higher ed. If students and parents can't quickly find clear answers about program length, cost, scholarships, or transfer credits, they won't move forward. Site Search Has a Cyclical Halo Effect with AI: Improving your on-site search (cleaning up outdated content, surfacing the right answers) also improves how external LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini understand and represent your institution. Students may learn about you elsewhere, but they come to your site to validate—and that's where you convert or lose them. AI-Powered Search Goes Beyond Keyword Matching: SearchStax uses a re-ranking algorithm that understands semantics—so a search for "undergraduate business degree" automatically surfaces bachelor's degree content without the user typing "bachelor's." Keep a Human in the Loop: AI may suggest synonyms that don't fit higher ed contexts. Human oversight prevents costly, embarrassing errors and preserves institutional nuance. Generative Answers Reduce Friction: Instead of forcing users to dig through PDFs or links, AI-powered site search can generate a direct, natural-language answer to questions like "How many years is your architecture degree?" This is what modern users expect. No-Results Searches Are Strategic Intelligence: Most schools don't track what people search for when they get zero results. That data can reveal unmet demand and inform program development or content strategy. Site Search Closes the Last Mile: You've already invested in getting prospective students to your website—through mailers, high school visits,... Chapters - Graduating with a Google Plugin - Leslie Weller on EdTech Connect - Tim Kreider: Starting Out in Product Marketing - What's The Challenge of Technology? - How to Sell SaaS to Enterprise Companies - How SearchStacks is improving the higher ed search experience - How Website Search Affects Recruitment and Retention - Should Colleges Prioritize AI? - Teaching sites get access to Search Stacks - Jeff Knizley: Higher Ed's Digital Experience - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights
- 2 weeks ago30 min
Ep. 88 - Brian Clark: Building RISD's Digital Future at Scale
What happens when a prestigious art and design school has over a hundred siloed websites, each with its own content management system, hosting arrangement, and visual identity—many of them orphaned and unmaintained? You get a digital governance nightmare. But you also get a rare opportunity to rebuild from first principles. In this episode, Jeff Dillon welcomes Brian Clark, Senior Director of Digital Experience at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Brian shares the remarkable story of how he led the consolidation of RISD's fragmented digital ecosystem—from 100+ disparate sites to a unified, design-driven, user-centric platform built on Drupal. He explains why this wasn't just a technical project but an organizational and cultural one, requiring years of relationship-building, transparent communication, and strategic alignment with the institution's broader brand refresh. Brian also offers a grounded perspective on AI in higher ed, explaining why RISD chose to implement AI-powered search as a "practical layer" to achieve existing goals around quality and access—not as a shiny add-on. He discusses how conversational search is giving his team unprecedented visibility into what students, parents, and donors are actually asking, and why that insight is "gold." Finally, he reflects on his unique career path from book publishing to agency work to higher ed, and how the principle "at the end of the wire, there's a person" has guided his approach to digital experience for over two decades. For anyone responsible for digital strategy, web governance, or user experience at a college or university, this episode is essential listening. Key Takeaways Governance Fragmentation Is a Real Institutional Risk: RISD accumulated over 100 siloed websites due to a lack of governance, creative entrepreneurialism, and technical know-how spread across campus. The result was unsustainable: orphaned sites, inconsistent branding, accessibility issues, and ballooning maintenance costs. Consolidation Is as Much About People as Technology: Brian spent his first year building buy-in—meeting with every department, understanding the purpose behind each site, and communicating a clear sequencing plan. The goal was to ensure that when changes happened, no one could say "I didn't know this was coming." Tie Digital Strategy to the Strategic Plan: RISD was able to unlock funding and institutional support by attaching its web consolidation efforts to the university's broader strategic planning process. This turned a technical project into an institutional priority. Brand and Digital Experience Must Evolve Together: As RISD consolidated its digital landscape, it simultaneously overhauled its brand identity—creating bespoke typefaces and a unifying visual framework. The guiding principle, "question to create, create to question," now informs every stage of their digital design process. AI Is a Practical Layer, Not a Shiny Add‑on: RISD approached AI not as something to graft onto the platform, but as a tool to help accomplish existing goals around quality content, access, and visibility. They implemented AI‑powered conversational search to facilitate semantic, intent‑sensitive search across their entire ecosystem. Search Visibility Into User Needs Is "Gold": AI‑powered search gives RISD unprecedented insight into what users are actually asking—revealing both met and unmet information demands. This feedback loop directly informs content strategy and experience design. External AI Search Is Changing the Funnel: An increasing number of initial college inquiries now happen inside LLMs like ChatGPT or Claude—often without generating any traffic to an institution's website. Brian emphasizes the need to structure content so it is understood... Chapters - The Signal: Consolidating the University's Digital Experience - Risked: The Digital Experience Leadership - RiskD edu's consolidation plan - RISD Digital: Going Drupal or WordPress? - Rising Art and Design School's Digital Campus - RISD's AI-powered Search - Search: The Future of AI in Business - Teaching and Learning: The AI Challenge - Brian O'Brien on RISD's Digital Experience - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights
- 3 weeks ago35 min
Ep. 87 - Grant Greenwood: How to Automate What Actually Matters in Enrollment
What happens when a sitting vice president of enrollment management—who evaluates and buys ed tech every day—decides to build his own solution to a problem he's lived for 15 years? You get a conversation that cuts through the hype and gets real about what actually works in higher ed technology. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Grant Greenwood, VP for Enrollment Management and COO at McMurray University, and co-founder of CardCapture, an ed tech startup reimagining how universities capture student leads at college fairs. Grant brings a rare dual perspective: he's both a buyer and a builder, a practitioner who feels the pain of clunky workflows and a founder who understands what it takes to build something better. Grant gets honest about the AI hype cycle, warning that the coming wave of AI agents could overwhelm students with automated outreach, creating a "postcard problem" for the digital age. He shares why he's skeptical of AI avatars making millions of calls, but optimistic about AI's ability to handle repetitive tasks like transcript processing and data organization. From the enrollment cliff to the unique challenges of small private institutions, and from his research on social media to the aha moment that sparked CardCapture, this episode is packed with practical insights for enrollment leaders, ed tech founders, and anyone trying to figure out where AI fits into the future of student recruitment. Key Takeaways The AI Hype Cycle Is Real—And Enrollment Leaders Need to Be Skeptical: Grant warns that the coming wave of cheap, accessible AI agents will tempt every institution to scale outreach dramatically. The risk is replicating the "postcard problem"—overwhelming students with so much automated messaging that even valuable communications get tuned out. AI's Best Use Right Now Is Efficiency, Not Replacement: The most valuable AI applications in enrollment today are handling repetitive, monotonous tasks: processing thousands of transcripts in different formats, organizing data, and streamlining application workflows. These productivity tools deliver clear ROI without damaging student relationships. The Student Experience Must Come First: While it's tempting to multiply outreach with AI avatars, Grant is skeptical about how students will perceive automated calls and texts. The industry needs to be critical about what students should be subjected to in the name of engagement. CardCapture Solves a 15‑Year Pain Point: For 15 years, Grant experienced the frustration of collecting student leads at college fairs—especially on device‑free campuses where QR codes don't work. CardCapture works with or without QR codes, scanning physical inquiry cards and translating handwriting, solving the problem for fair coordinators, students, and university reps alike. Small Institutions Need Tailored Solutions, Not Enterprise Castoffs: Many software companies build for enterprise clients and then try to sell a tweaked version to higher ed. The result is clunky tools that don't integrate well and create more work. Grant is far more inclined to work with founders who understand his specific challenges from the ground up. The Enrollment Cliff Requires Diversification, Not Panic: McMurray is hedging against demographic declines by expanding dual credit programs (serving 3,000 students per semester across 150 schools) and launching new graduate and undergraduate programs in health sciences and business AI—finding new student populations to strengthen the institution's foundation. Social Media Done Badly Degrades Brand Affinity: Giving every student club permission to run a social account often backfires. When prospective students see a club that hasn't posted in three years with low‑quality content, they proj... Chapters - What is the role of AI in higher ed? - Interview: Grant Greenwood on EdTech Connect - What Made You Want to Be an Enrollment Manager? - What Does Enrollment Management Actually Involve at McMurray University - Senior Admissions Manager's View of the Student Recruitment Process - How Are We Using AI in Higher Ed? - Are We Ready for AI Agents in Our Admissions? - Card Capture: The Business of Recruitment - Building Card Capture: The EdTech Startup's Perspective - Have You Found the Right Solution for Higher Ed? - Enrollment Management: The Enrollment Cliff - Enrollment Marketing's Social Media Strategy - Card Capture: The Need for Talent in Higher Ed - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights, Month
- 4 weeks ago31 min
Ep. 86 - Arjun Arora: From Enterprise AI to Education—Why the Best Tech Solves Human Problems
What happens when a data scientist who built over 100 enterprise AI solutions for Fortune 500 companies decides to walk away from the money and prestige to tackle student success in higher ed? You get a founder who understands both the power and the limits of AI—and who isn't afraid to say that most chatbots are solving the wrong problem. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Arjun Arora, founder and CEO of Advisor AI, an AI-native student success platform serving over 100 institutions and powering more than a million student inquiries a year. Arjun shares his journey from first-generation college student and immigrant to enterprise AI leader, and why he made the leap into edtech to solve the advising gap he experienced firsthand. Arjun gets honest about the fear many advisors feel about AI replacing their roles—and explains why that fear is rooted in poorly designed systems. He argues that technology should handle planning and organizing while leaving accountability, evaluation, and human connection to advisors. He reveals why nearly half of students leave programs because they can't see the connection between their degree and their career goals, and how AI can compress what typically takes eight to ten weeks of exploration into fifteen minutes. From ethical guardrails and bias prevention to the surprising insights he gathered by traveling 30,000 miles and visiting over 200 campuses, this conversation offers a practical, student-first framework for any institution trying to figure out where AI fits into the future of student success. Key Takeaways AI Won't Replace Advisors—Badly Designed AI Might: The fear that AI will replace advisors stems from systems designed to hook users rather than guide them. Products must be built from the start to reinforce human connection, not replace it. Students increasingly want to talk to a real person because they feel isolated and anxious. Technology Is Only Part of the Puzzle: The biggest predictor of success isn't the algorithm—it's effective collaboration between technology teams and advising teams. Regular check-ins on goals, progress, and alignment drive 80-90% of results. Nearly Half of Students Leave Because They Can't See the Connection: Students drop out when they can't connect their coursework to a clear career path. AI can compress weeks of research (visiting 10 different departments or websites) into 15-30 minutes by assessing interests, mapping career possibilities, and creating degree plans. Stop Measuring Vanity Metrics: Tracking how many students a chatbot "served" this month doesn't mean much. Instead, measure milestones: exploring options, mapping skills, connecting with an advisor or mentor. These are the signals that indicate real progress. Ethical AI Requires Proactive Guardrails: Ethical AI isn't marketing—it's building systems with zero tolerance for bias, toxic questions, or incorrect recommendations. If a student asks something the system can't answer responsibly, it should instantly direct them to a human counselor, not guess. Community Colleges Have More Urgency to Innovate: With limited capacity and intense competition, community colleges need to move faster than four-year institutions. AI platforms must be customizable to two-year roadmaps, not just traditional four-year paths. Start with Goals, Not Technology: Before evaluating any AI tool, leaders should ask: are we trying to improve student experience, enrollment, retention, graduation outcomes, or workforce readiness? AI is the Ferrari—but you need to know where you're going first. The Global Student Success Crisis Looks Familiar: Inquiries from Australia, the Middle East, and Asia mirror US challenges: better career and college planning supp... Chapters - The Signal: Advancing Student Success with AI - In the Elevator With Data Scientists - Adviser AI: Fixing the Advising Gap - Will AI Replace Advice Advisors? - What's the Admissions System's Impact? - What Does Ethical AI Mean for Higher Education? - How Can AI Help Colleges Enclose Students' Future? - How Algorithms Made Higher Ed Worth It - What Does the Student Success Crisis Look Like? - A New Way to Use AI for Student Success - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech News & Insights
- May 1, 202630 min
Ep. 85 - Jay Gonzalez: Guaranteeing ROI — How Curry College Is Reinventing the College Business Model
What happens when a former gubernatorial candidate, healthcare CEO, and state budget director steps into the college president's office? You get a leader who doesn't accept "that's how higher ed has always done it" as an answer. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Jay Gonzalez, the 15th president of Curry College—a leader whose resume looks nothing like a traditional academic career. From running a $32 billion state budget during the Great Recession to leading healthcare organizations and running for governor of Massachusetts, Gonzalez brings an outsider's perspective to one of higher ed's most pressing challenges: proving the ROI of a college degree. Gonzalez shares the story behind Curry's audacious job guarantee program, which promises students a job within six months of graduation—or the college pays their federal student loans for up to a year. He explains how Curry is investing in predictive analytics to identify at-risk students before they struggle, launching a new app to modernize the clunky student portal experience, and building a Neurodiversity Center for Excellence that's partnering with major employers. But perhaps most intriguingly, Gonzalez reveals Curry's Center for Innovation—an entrepreneurial arm designed to move fast, test new revenue streams, and partner with ed tech companies on product development. For small colleges feeling the squeeze of enrollment pressures and limited resources, this episode offers a playbook for thinking differently about sustainability, technology, and student success. Tune in for a conversation that challenges conventional wisdom about what college leadership can look like—and what colleges can achieve when they stop optimizing the old model and start reinventing it. Key Takeaways Nobody Is Totally in Charge—And That's a Leadership Lesson: Gonzalez draws on his experience in government to navigate higher ed's diffuse power structures. Understanding what faculty, students, parents, donors, alums, and the board each care about—and finding the path that gets as many of them on board as possible—is the core of the job. The Curry Commitment: A Job Guarantee That Holds the College Accountable: Curry guarantees students a job within six months of graduation if they meet minimum requirements (GPA, internship, four-year graduation, engagement with career readiness programming). If the college fails, it pays the student's federal student loan for up to a year or provides free grad credits. Few colleges have made this kind of promise. Retention Is a Sustainability Strategy: Keeping a student through graduation isn't just a mission win—it's a revenue strategy. Losing a student after year one means three years of lost tuition. Gonzalez frames retention technology (predictive analytics, mental health platforms, data unification) as both a student success tool and a financial imperative. Technology Must Serve the Student Experience, Not Add Friction: Students arrive with expectations shaped by Spotify, DoorDash, and TikTok. When they hit clunky portals, paper forms, and outdated workflows, it signals that the institution isn't thinking about them. Curry is addressing this with a new all-in-one app and digital IDs—small moves that reduce friction and modernize the experience. AI Is Being Embraced Through Grassroots Experimentation: Rather than a top-down mandate, Curry launched "Amplify AI," a task force with faculty, students, and staff exploring training, forums, and classroom applications. The approach balances academic integrity concerns with the reality that students and the workplace have already moved on. The Neurodiversity Center... Chapters - Meet Jay Gonzalez, Curry College's President - A College President's Unorthodox Background - The Trump presidency: Experience in higher ed - Faculty and Staff Engage in AI - President Tim Curry on Modernizing the Campus Experience - Curry College's Center for Innovation - How to Make Smart Technology Decisions - Five years from now: What does a student's day look like - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights
- Apr 24, 202628 min
Ep. 84 - Betheny Gross: The Real Opportunity for AI in Higher Education
Is higher education using AI to simply do the same things faster, or are we on the cusp of a genuine transformation in how students learn, access support, and build opportunity? In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Dr. Betheny Gross, Research Director at WGU Labs, for a candid, research-grounded conversation about where AI is actually moving the needle for students—and where it's falling short. With over two decades of experience studying education systems and a current focus on equity-driven innovation, Dr. Gross brings a refreshingly honest perspective to the AI hype cycle. She shares the story behind STU, WGU Labs' AI-powered student support chatbot, revealing how it evolved from a simple FAQ tool into a "Swiss Army knife" that helps adult learners prepare for mentor meetings, build study schedules, and navigate the hidden complexities of college. But she doesn't stop there. Dr. Gross challenges institutions to think bigger—arguing that the real breakthrough will come when AI lowers costs, raises quality through consistent learning science, and creates fully personalized pathways for every student, especially the 25 million Americans who have never accessed post-secondary education. From the risks of handing learning over to tech companies to the imperative of designing for those "farthest from opportunity," this episode offers a clear-eyed look at what equity by design actually requires. Tune in for a conversation that separates signal from noise and offers a practical, student-first framework for the future of higher ed. Key Takeaways The Goal Is Public Education, Not a Particular Set of Systems: Dr. Gross carries forward a powerful framing from her time at the Center on Reinventing Public Education: our commitment to making quality education accessible to all is unchangeable, but how we deliver it—including which tools and technologies we use—must always be open to reinvention and improvement. AI Is Still in the "Doing Things Faster" Phase: While much of higher ed has focused on using AI to do existing tasks more efficiently, Dr. Gross argues we haven't yet challenged the technology—or allowed it to challenge us—at scale. The real transformation will come when AI fundamentally widens access to learning, not just speeds up existing processes. Stu: From FAQ Bot to Swiss Army Knife: WGU Labs' student support chatbot began as a 24/7 navigational tool for adult learners (many of whom are first-generation students studying late at night). It has since evolved to help students prepare for mentor meetings, build weekly study plans, and manage stress—demonstrating how AI can address both logistical and psychological barriers to success. Lowering Costs and Raising Quality Are the Twin Levers: For AI to truly expand access, it must help lower the cost of post-secondary learning while making high-quality instruction more consistent. Dr. Gross points to AI-powered learning design platforms and quality-assured assessment tools as promising examples of how to raise the floor for all instructors. Test Everything. Benchmark Everything: WGU Labs runs randomized control trials and quasi-experimental studies to compare AI interventions against existing alternatives. Dr. Gross emphasizes the need for benchmarking—measuring how much better a solution performs, not just whether it works at all—to avoid throwing solutions at problems without evidence of meaningful improvement. Two Critical Risks to Watch: First, institutions cannot cede ownership of teaching and learning to technology companies. AI tools are not educational systems unto themselves. Second, as point solutions proliferate, institutions must ensure the student experience remains coherent—not a fragmented collection of bolted‑together t... Chapters - Will AI Challenge the Higher Ed Sector? - Welcome to The Signal - Getting it out there: The need for higher education reform - The biggest determinants of student success - WGU Labs - The Stu, the Student Report Portal - What's Assessment of AI Programs? - What are the risks of AI-based learning? - What does equity by design look like for students? - How AI is reshaping higher education - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights
- Apr 17, 202628 min
Ep. 83 - Mitchell Borges: Why Students Trust Strangers More Than Your University
In an era where students trust a peer on Instagram more than a university's official website, how can enrollment marketers cut through the noise and build genuine connections? This week on The Signal: On Air, Jeff Dillon sits down with Mitchell Borges, Director of Marketing for ASUCD at UC Davis and a researcher who has spent years studying how social media actually influences student enrollment decisions. Mitchell shares eye-opening findings from his doctoral research, revealing that students are heading to Instagram comment sections to ask strangers about tuition because they perceive peer-to-peer information as more authentic than official university communications. He explains why empowering students to create content is the single most effective strategy for building trust, why out-of-state students rely more heavily on digital discovery than their in-state peers, and how his own team grew Instagram followers from 4,000 to 14,000 by letting students take the lead. Mitchell also delivers a critical wake-up call about the April 2026 Title II accessibility compliance deadline, warning that social media—often an afterthought in accessibility conversations—will be one of the hardest areas to bring into compliance. He offers practical advice on rethinking content workflows and explains why the teams that embrace authenticity and move fast on micro-trends will be the ones that win. Tune in for a candid, tactical conversation about what it really takes to connect with today's students in a crowded, fast-moving digital landscape. Key Takeaways Trust Has Shifted to Peers: Students consistently perceive information from peers or alumni on social media as more authentic and trustworthy than official university websites or admissions counselors. This is driving them to seek out peer perspectives in comment sections, DMs, and informal channels. Out-of-State Students Rely Heavily on Digital: Unlike in-state students who can tap into local networks for firsthand feedback, out-of-state students lack that personal connection. As a result, they place significantly more weight on the digital content they find during their search phase. Empower Students to Create Content: Mitchell's research and experience show that putting students in front of the camera—even student employees reading a script—feels authentic to prospective students. His team grew Instagram from 4,000 to 14,000 followers in two years by shifting from career staff to student-led content creation. Facilitate the Search Process, Not Just the Decision: Universities are great at capturing students' "I committed" moments but miss the opportunity to encourage students to share their search journey. Helping students document and share their exploration could fill a critical gap in authentic content. Accessibility Must Be Built Into Social Workflows: The April 2026 Title II compliance deadline is closer than many realize, and social media is a major blind spot. Features like story text, video captions, and alt text are difficult to manage at scale. Mitchell's team has been operating as if the deadline has already passed for months and is still under 30% compliance across 60 accounts. Influencer Marketing Is the Next Frontier: As traditional relationship marketing loses effectiveness, Mitchell sees influencer marketing—partnering with trusted voices already connected to student audiences—as a major opportunity. The risk of giving influencers autonomy is real, but the institutions that move first will gain a significant advantage. The Signal Newsletter: https://edtechconnect.com/newsletter Chapters - The Signal - Top Executives: Higher Ed Marketing - UC Davis vs Grand Canyon University: Different Sales Pitch - How Social Media Influences Enrollment Decision - The Future of Student Engagement - Senior Marketing Manager at ASUCD, - What channels or platforms are currently delivering the strongest ROI for student - The Title 2 Compliance Deadline - What Will Define Successful Higher Ed Marketing Teams? - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech News & Insights
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About The Signal (formerly the EdTech Connect Podcast)
The Signal (formerly the EdTech Connect Podcast) is a podcast for higher education professionals exploring the most innovative people and technologies shaping the future of higher education. Host Jeff Dillon examines emerging trends, pioneering developments, and real-world applications of technology in academia. Each episode features interviews with leading experts, educators, technologists, and solution providers who share insights on how technology can improve student engagement, enhance learning outcomes, and transform the educational experience. The podcast covers the latest trends and best practices relevant to marketers, faculty, IT leaders, enrollment directors, and others invested in the future of higher education.
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