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Improve Enrollment Yield
What’s Really Driving Yield Challenges in Today’s Enrollment Landscape
April 30, 2026
A Different Way to Think About Yield
In a recent webinar with our CEO, Dawn Hiles, I had the opportunity to step back and reflect on a question many enrollment leaders are asking right now: why does it feel like even though we’re doing more, it isn’t moving the needle like we need it to?
Across institutions, the level of effort is not the issue. Teams are increasing outreach, expanding event strategies, and layering in more email messages. The work is thoughtful, intentional, and ongoing. And yet, there’s a growing sense that the return on that effort is harder to predict and even harder to sustain.
That tension is what led us to start the conversation with a simple question for attendees: what is your biggest challenge in driving enrollment?
Respondents could choose from five options:
- Engaging admitted students
- Standing out against the competition
- Conveying your value proposition
- Limited staff capacity/resources
- Cost of recruiting
The responses painted a clear picture. Enrollment leaders face three deeply connected challenges: standing out from competitors, engaging admitted students, and communicating a compelling value proposition — each showing up differently in urgency but collectively reinforcing one another. Rather than isolated issues, these pressures form an interconnected cycle that influences every stage of the enrollment journey.
The Student Perspective Has Evolved
To better understand why these challenges are showing up together, it helps to look at the decision-making process from the student’s perspective.
During the session, I introduced a scenario that felt familiar to many in the audience. A student, Clara, has been admitted to several institutions that look very similar on paper. The programs align, the outcomes are comparable, and the cost differences are often marginal.
From her perspective, the decision becomes less about what institutions say and more about what she can validate through experience.
That’s when I put it more directly, “The core issue is that the decision is no longer entirely being based upon what you say, but it’s being based on the experiences that she can validate.”
Students today have more access to information than ever before. They are also more inclined to seek out perspectives they trust, whether that comes from peers, alumni, or broader online communities. When options feel similar, validation becomes the deciding factor.
Three Pressures Showing Up Consistently
As Dawn and I unpacked this further, it became clear that the poll results were reflecting three broader pressures shaping enrollment today.
The first is the rise of more savvy, outcomes-focused students. Students and families are asking sharper questions about value, return on investment, and long-term outcomes. This is not a subtle shift. According to the 2025 College-Bound Student & Parent Report, 95% of parents say cost is an important or extremely important factor in the decision process, up significantly from 77% the year prior. That change underscores how central the value conversation has become.
The second pressure is around scaled messaging and personalization. Institutions know that personalized outreach works but delivering it consistently across larger audiences is increasingly complex..
It now takes 10 or more touchpoints just to move a student from prospect to inquiry, according to the 2025 RNL Marketing & Recruitment Report. At the same time, that same report shows that personalized, direct-to-student communication has a 96% effectiveness rate, making it the most impactful growth strategy over the past several years. The challenge is not knowing what works, but making it sustainable.
The third pressure is the cost to recruit, both in time and resources. As expectations for personalization and engagement increase, so does the effort required to meet them. Teams are balancing the need to build relationships with the reality of limited capacity, which makes scaling meaningful interaction particularly difficult.
Individually, each of these pressures is manageable. Together, they create a more complex environment that requires a different approach.
Why Connection Is the Differentiator
If validation is what students are ultimately seeking, then connection becomes one of the most effective ways to provide it.
During the webinar, Dawn shared a story about a student who made her final college decision after speaking with an alum. It was not a marketing message or a data point that influenced her. It was the opportunity to hear directly from someone who had experienced the outcome she was considering.
Moments like that cannot just be outliers. They must become more central to how students build confidence in their decisions.
When students can engage with real people who reflect their interests, goals, or background, the abstract idea of “value” becomes something tangible. It becomes easier to understand, easier to trust, and easier to act on.
A More Connected Path Forward
The question then becomes how to create these kinds of meaningful interactions in a way that is sustainable for teams.
At PeopleGrove, we think about this in three practical ways.
First, connecting students to credible alumni and real outcomes. Alumni represent what success looks like after graduation, and when students can engage with them directly, value becomes something they can experience rather than just hear about.
Second, using predictive insights to personalize engagement at scale. Behavioral data helps institutions understand where students are in their journey and what they need next. Although engagement scoring shows a 90% effectiveness rate, only about 50% of institutions have implemented it, highlighting a clear opportunity.
Finally, Two-way communication matters more than most institutions realize. Students aren't just looking for information — they want to ask questions, explore their options, and talk to people who actually know what they're talking about. Done right, technology can make that possible without losing the personal touch.
If you’re looking to bring this kind of connection and personalization into your enrollment strategy, we’d welcome the opportunity to share how institutions are putting it into practice. Click here to set up a time to speak with a PeopleGrove expert.
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