Why Engagement Is Higher Ed’s Secret Advantage

Why Engagement Is Higher Ed’s Secret Advantage

Recently, PeopleGrove CEO Dawn Hiles sat down with higher education researcher Scott Jeffe for a conversation that left many of us energized about what’s possible in higher education right now. As I listened to their discussion and reviewed the research Scott conducted across eight institutions, one thing became clear: 

Engagement isn’t just valuable. It’s essential. 

If you work in enrollment, student success, alumni relations, or advancement, you know the pressures. Budgets are constrained, expectations continue to grow, and institutions are being asked to produce better outcomes with fewer resources. 

But there is good news. There is an underutilized lever that can improve enrollment, persistence, student outcomes, and alumni engagement. That lever is meaningful engagement. 

The Big Idea: Engagement Is No Longer a “Nice to Have.” It’s a Strategic Imperative. 

Scott’s research, conducted through in-depth interviews with eight PeopleGrove partner institutions, was guided by a simple but powerful question: what’s working right now? 

His findings pointed to one consistent truth across the board. Students and alumni want meaningful ways to connect, and when they are given the right opportunities, they respond. Strong engagement leads to stronger outcomes. 

As Scott put it during the conversation, “Belonging is the new ROI.” 

This isn’t just about feeling good. When students and alumni are engaged, they stay connected to the institution. They complete their programs. They find jobs. They give back. Engagement becomes a driver of everything we measure and care about. 

In his conversations, Scott uncovered that students and alumni expect opportunities to connect, but on their terms and in meaningful ways, without friction.

What the Research Showed 

Here are just a few stats and stories that stood out: 

• 50% of alumni users had no prior institutional contact in 5+ years. These individuals were considered lost. Yet when offered a low-lift, high-value way to connect, they returned. One institution identified over 1,000 donor prospects from this re-engaged group. 

• Students rank PeopleGrove among their most valuable tools, second only to their school’s LMS in a recent student survey. 

• Mentorship was the top driver of engagement for both students and alumni. Students want advice and insight. Alumni want to give back in ways that feel meaningful. A structured mentorship experience creates that bridge. 

• One university scaled from 20 to over 100 mentorship matches per semester by implementing PeopleGrove. The results came not from adding staff, but from creating a program that made it easier to participate. 

Extending Your Team’s Reach 

For those of us who have worked on campus, we know the pain of trying to do more with less. Engagement platforms like PeopleGrove don’t replace staff, they empower them. They scale the human touch. 

As one partner told us: 

“PeopleGrove is the only tool I have that applies to all 250,000 of our alumni.” 

Think about that. Engagement at scale. One platform, multiple stakeholders, endless use cases, from yield to retention, alumni engagement to advancement. 

Engagement in Action: Real Outcomes 

This isn’t theory. This is happening right now: 

• One campus documented 16,000 student-alumni mentorships in just four years. 

• A partner saw 54% of their engaged alumni go on to make a gift—without ever being directly asked through the platform. 

• Another created virtual events that attracted 200+ attendees with just a few days’ notice—providing relevant, real-time support to their community. 

Three Takeaways for Leaders 

1. Engagement isn’t extra. It’s essential. Whether your goal is enrollment, retention, alumni giving, or career outcomes; engagement is the common denominator that drives them all. 
2. Smarter tools matter. You need tools that give you the infrastructure to extend services, increase capacity, and deliver personalization at scale. 
3. This isn’t about technology for technology’s sake. It’s about people. About helping students find belonging. Helping alumni find purpose. Helping your institution deliver on its promise. 

Final Thought: Start with the Mission 

Every institution I talk to has the same aspiration: deliver a transformative experience and prove their value in today’s competitive landscape. 

But we can’t deliver on that promise without engaging our people. 

This research shows us that when we build platforms that foster connection, we build something far more powerful than a community, we build an ecosystem of outcomes. 

Let’s stop thinking about engagement as an end. Let’s start thinking about it as the engine of everything we care about. 

Thanks to Scott Jeffe for bringing this research to the forefront and to Dawn Hiles for leading a conversation that reminded us of what is possible. 

We’ll continue to publish findings from this research, including additional stats and stories. Be sure to follow along on our blog and subscribe to the newsletter. 

Want More? 

• Watch the full webinar replay here.

• Talk to our team about how to apply these insights to your institution.