Driving Admissions Yield Through Authentic Connections

Driving Admissions Yield Through Authentic Connections

As institutions face increasing enrollment constraints and competition for top students, building meaningful, trust-based connections with prospective learners has never been more critical. Join Dawn Hiles, CEO of PeopleGrove, and Dr. Aaron Mahl, SVP of Campus Partnerships, for a discussion on how institutions can leverage relationship-driven engagement to strengthen admissions outcomes and improve yield. 

Drawing on real-world examples—including a flagship university that significantly increased deposits by connecting admitted students with student ambassadors—this session will explore how scalable, peer-to-peer engagement influences enrollment decisions. Learn how institutions are activating students, alumni, and ambassadors to deliver authentic insights into campus life and academic programs—helping prospects and families make more confident enrollment decisions. 

We’ll also highlight practical strategies for integrating relationship-based engagement into enrollment workflows and demonstrate how cross-campus collaboration—across admissions, alumni relations, and academic programs—creates a more connected, high-impact admissions experience. 

Key Takeaways: 

• How to increase admitted student conversion through scalable, authentic peer engagement 
• Proven strategies for activating student and alumni ambassadors to influence enrollment decisions 
• Ways to align admissions, advancement, and academic programs around a unified yield strategy 
• Actionable approaches to embed relationship-driven engagement into your existing enrollment funnel