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Jun 19 2026

Not All AI is Built for Higher Ed: What Institutions Should Actually Demand From AI

Generic AI tools like virtual assistants, off-the-shelf chatbots, and repurposed generative AI weren’t built for the

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Two college students with backpacks and books having a conversation on a marble campus staircase.

3 Ways Institutions Lose Students After They Apply

Summer melt is one of the most studied and least solved challenges in college admissions. Students apply, get accepted, and then quietly disengage before they ever set foot on campus. This post breaks down the three post-application breakdowns that ...

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A higher education administrator reviews student outreach documents at her desk, focused and working through the details.

5 Signs Your Follow-Up Process is Broken

Most enrollment and student success teams aren’t failing because they don’t care. They’re failing because their follow-up process was never built to handle the volume in front of them. This post walks through five of the most ...

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Higher education administrator reviewing enrollment data on a laptop at her office desk

Why Your Admissions Communication Plan is Failing

Most enrollment teams don’t lose prospective students to a competitor’s pitch. They lose them to silence — an unanswered question, a follow-up that came two days too late, a moment where a prospective student needed reassurance and got ...

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Admissions counselor reviewing student files at her desk, with a stack of folders and a data dashboard visible on her laptop screen.

Admissions Melt Isn’t a Messaging Problem

Summer melt, when deposited students don’t show up in the fall, isn’t caused by silence. Most higher education institutions are already sending messages. The problem is that those messages aren’t reaching admitted students at the ...

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Two students smiling while looking at a smartphone together in a classroom

AI Agents in Higher Ed: What They Are and Why It Matters Now

Every institution we talk to has a team that cares deeply about students. Advisors who stay late. Recruiters who answer texts on weekends. Staff who take it personally when a student falls through the cracks. And yet — students are still falling ...

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College students working on laptops together at an outdoor campus table

How Institutions Prevent “Ghosting by Mistake” Across Admissions and Advising

Students don’t intentionally “ghost” institutions. Most drop-offs happen because communication is delayed, fragmented, or lost between teams. To prevent student ghosting in admissions and advising, institutions need shared visibility, faster ...

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Two college students walking down campus steps between academic buildings

The Failure Funnel: Where Student Retention Breaks Down

Every institution has a funnel. Applications. Admits. Deposits. Enrollment. Registration. Persistence. Graduation. But between every one of those stages is something less visible. A drop off. A delay. A moment of confusion. A missed follow up. That ...

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Three professionals collaborating at a wooden table in a plant-filled office space

Why Engagement Signals Matter More Than Open Rates for Giving Days

The Giving Day Problem That No Dashboard Shows The Giving Day dashboard looked strong. Email open rates were up. Click-through rates were steady. The social posts were getting traction. But when the day ended, participation lagged behind goal. The ...

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Female educator working on a laptop in front of a chalkboard filled with mathematical equations

Why AI Efforts Often Fall Short in Higher Ed, and Why Agents Are Different

Across higher education, leaders are being urged to adopt AI quickly. Boards ask about it. Vendors promise it. Staff worry about it. And yet, for many institutions, the reality has been underwhelming. Chatbots are launched. Tools are piloted. ...

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