Every Conversation Matters: Higher Ed Engagement Learnings from Millions of Student Conversations

You don’t need more messages. You need more meaningful conversations.

That’s the core takeaway from Every Conversation Matters: Learnings from Millions of Conversations with Students, a webinar hosted by Mongoose and The Chronicle of Higher Education. With insights from over 80 million student messages and analysis across 600 institutions, the session featured Mongoose’s Founder & CEO Dave Marshall and VP of Marketing Josie Sutcliffe exploring what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to student engagement today.

Whether you’re in admissions, student success, or advancement, the data speaks loud and clear: conversations are the new currency of connection.

Here’s what we learned.

First, What Is Conversation Intelligence?

Conversation Intelligence is the ability to analyze conversations—text, chat, WhatsApp—to understand who’s engaging, what they’re talking about, how they’re feeling, and whether they’re getting the support they need.

It’s not just about response rates; it’s about emotions, resolution, timing, and outcomes.

Platforms like Mongoose combine AI, automation, and integration with CRMs and SIS tools to provide this intelligence at scale, helping schools scale empathy, not just effort.

Why This Matters Right Now

Higher ed is facing massive communication challenges:

• Enrollment is declining.
• Traditional outreach (email, portals) is ignored.
• Gen Z expects real-time, human-like engagement—on their terms.

Meanwhile, institutions are left guessing:

• Are we saying the right things?
• Are students overwhelmed, confused, or just not listening?
• What’s driving yield? What’s hurting retention?

Conversation Intelligence answers these questions by analyzing millions of messages—and the results are eye-opening.

Messaging Trends from 80M+ Conversations

1. Email Is Overused, Messaging Is Underutilized

In a live poll, 96% of attendees said they still rely on email as their primary outreach method.

But Gen Z doesn’t. Weekly screen time data from the field shows email isn’t even on their radar—text, WhatsApp, and chat dominate. Dave noted,

“They’re more comfortable expressing vulnerability via text than in person. Text is where the real conversations are happening.”

Dave marshall, founder & CEO, mongoose

When and How to Reach Students

Timing Matters More Than You Think

• Admissions: Best engagement at 1–2 PM and 8–9 PM, Mondays and Thursdays.
• Student Success: Peak times are 7 AM and mid-afternoon, especially on Sundays and Wednesdays.
• Advancement: Alumni respond best late at night or mid-morning.

Short and Sweet Wins

• Messages between 50–100 characters had 2.5x higher reply rates.
• Messages over 250 characters saw the lowest engagement.

Smart Messages vs. Static Reminders

Static messages like “Reminder: Open House Friday” get ignored.

A Smart Message? It might say:

“What excites you most about our Open House?
A) Dorm Tour
B) AI Lab
C) Student Panel”

Students engage. They reply. And that sparks a conversation—not just a broadcast.

Smart Messages:

• Drive 3–4.5x higher reply rates
• Are twice as scalable via automation
• Capture sentiment and intent

What Drives (or Derails) Engagement

Boost Engagement:

• Ask direct questions (+2x reply rate)
• Use multiple-choice Smart Messages (+3x)
• Keep it short and don’t include links or images

Avoid:

• URLs (5x lower replies)
• Images (1.5x lower replies)
• Long blocks of text

Topics That Get Results (and Those That Don’t)

From the top-performing student conversations, certain topics consistently saw high resolution and positive sentiment:

High-Performing Topics:

• Campus Visits (91% resolved, 75% positive sentiment)
• Student Life (88% resolved, 75% sentiment)
• Career/Graduation Support

Trouble Areas:

• Financial Aid (78% resolved, 70% sentiment)
• Applications (77% resolved, 64% sentiment)
• Tech Support (61% resolved, 50% sentiment)

What hurts? Complexity. Frustration. Fear. Conversations about account access and FAFSA issues led to the lowest sentiment and highest opt-out rates.

Why the First Conversation Matters Most

The first student interaction sets the tone:

• 86% of students with a positive first message go on to have multiple conversations.
• Neutral or negative starts see a dramatic drop-off.

Resolution is helpful, but sentiment is everything.

Conversations Drive Enrollment Outcomes (Literally)

Mongoose’s analysis of 300,000+ students shows just how powerful conversation is compared to notifications:

“No texts = 3% enrollment yield. 20+ two-way conversations = 90%+ yield. That’s not a small difference—it’s a strategic imperative.”

Dave Marshall

What About Chat?

• 83% of web visitors engage with chat
• 82% self-serve successfully via AI
• Nearly 50% of conversations happen outside business hours
• 30% of follow-ups are requested during off-hours

Chat is where students go for help at midnight. AI keeps the lights on, and real staff can pick up in the morning.

Final Thoughts: Stop Guessing. Start Understanding.

The takeaway? Students don’t want more messages. They want:

• Faster responses
• More empathy
• A reason to stay engaged

Conversation Intelligence doesn’t just deliver engagement. It delivers insight and helps every department across campus build more trust, connection, and action.

Because in higher ed, every conversation really does matter.

Want the Full Reports?

Get the full 2025 Mongoose Benchmark Reports:

Or book a demo to see how Mongoose powers smarter, more empathetic communication at scale.

Author: