Scaling Online Enrollment: Bold Strategies for Sustainable Growth

Please provide a one-paragraph overview of what this panel will cover, addressing its relevance/currency and illustrating what issue(s) attendees can expect to learn about from the panelists. (200 words or less): Traditional approaches to online enrollment are no longer enough. Modern Learners demand flexibility, value and authentic engagement, and institutions that cling to outdated models risk falling behind. This session challenges higher education leaders to rethink how they scale enrollment with strategies that are agile, student-centered and built for long-term impact.

Presenters will share how they restructured internal capabilities, forged smarter partnerships and aligned cross-functional teams to drive measurable outcomes. The conversation will go beyond incremental improvements and focus on the bold steps needed to deliver sustainable enrollment growth while maintaining a strong student experience.

Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all playbook, this session will showcase strategies that reflect diverse institutional goals and challenges. Attendees will walk away with actionable insights to strengthen internal infrastructure, design adaptive enrollment plans and chart a path forward that positions their institution for success in a rapidly evolving market.

Please suggest 3-5 questions that might be appropriate for the team leader to propose to the panel, and how you might answer them as a member of the panel. (300 words or less): Question: What are the biggest challenges institutions face when trying to scale online enrollment?
Answer: One of the biggest challenges is meeting the needs of today’s Modern Learners, who expect programs that are flexible, affordable and clearly tied to career outcomes—the “3 C’s” we focus on at EducationDynamics: cost, convenience and career. Institutions often struggle with siloed teams, outdated enrollment models and inconsistent approaches across modalities. Scaling effectively requires embracing a unified enrollment strategy that aligns marketing, admissions, and student services, while building internal capacity and partnerships to respond quickly to changing student expectations.

Question: How can institutions balance growth with maintaining a strong student experience?
Answer: Growth works best when it’s student-centered. That means designing programs and services that meet Modern Learners where they are, while ensuring consistent support throughout the student journey. A unified enrollment strategy helps teams collaborate, streamline processes and maintain quality, so students experience a seamless, engaging path from interest to graduation, even as programs scale.

Question: How do you measure the success of enrollment growth initiatives?
Answer: At EducationDynamics, we measure success not just by enrollment numbers but by the impact on students and institutions. We analyze trends in applications, conversions and retention while also gathering insights directly from Modern Learners to understand whether programs meet their needs for cost, convenience, and career readiness. By combining data-driven metrics with direct feedback from students, we help our partner institutions refine their strategies, optimize marketing and enrollment efforts across modalities, and achieve sustainable, student-centered growth.

Please discuss your familiarity, background, expertise and/or interest in the selected topic. (200 words or less): As Vice President of Partnership Development at EducationDynamics, I’m on the front lines of building solutions for the institutions we partner with. I bring over 20 years of experience in higher education, applying my knowledge of partnership development to create strategies that make the biggest impact on enrollment. I began my career at the University of Phoenix, where I built partnerships and led corporate development teams for 12 years. After that, I served as Chief Partnerships Officer at Educators Serving Educators, a division of Excelsior College, helping universities launch and grow online initiatives. Today, I focus on establishing meaningful relationships with partner institutions and designing solutions that support sustainable, student-centered enrollment growth.

If the primary presenter is not the team leader, please provide the Team Leader’s name and contact information here.: