Webinar On Demand: Integrating Planning and Strategy Across the Institution

Higher education stands at a crossroads. With the number of high school graduates dipping, competition intensifying, and student expectations evolving, enrollment leaders can no longer rely on the traditional playbook. As Liaison’s VP of Enrollment Strategy Craig Cornell argues, it’s time to break free from transactional tactics and embrace bold, data-driven strategies that position your institution for lasting success.

That’s exactly what our webinar, Integrating Planning and Strategy Across the Institution, set out to tackle. The first in a two-part series called Top 10 Strategies in the New Enrollment Paradigm, this session features Cornell and Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) VP for Enrollment Management Jay Murray exploring six of ten groundbreaking strategies for thriving in the “new enrollment paradigm.”

Now available to watch on demand, the webinar covers themes ranging from navigating lean budgets to improving student engagement for better outcomes.

Cornell stressed that a living Strategic Enrollment Management Plan (SEMP) creates the trust, resources, and incentives needed for complex change. Rather than simply being a collection of isolated tactics, planning becomes a campus-wide initiative, uniting recruitment, retention, and academic affairs under a common vision.

Cornell shared data from Liaison’s Inquiry Response Project, which revealed that 55.4% of institutions responded to prospect inquiries with generic acknowledgments only, and 38% failed to respond within two weeks. For better student outcomes, he urged a shift to omnichannel, student-centric communication with fast, personalized responses that demonstrate genuine care and reduce friction.

Cornell also emphasized that enrollment success shouldn’t stop at a headcount target, it should start there. This requires a critical shift in perspective: focusing on retention, belonging, and meaningful outcomes instead of just the number of students who enroll.

For WCSU, a predominantly first-gen institution, outcomes are top of mind for students. As Murray noted, “Job. Job in field. Good job in field—that’s the order our students are thinking in, so we build our messaging around that. We help them see that this is a place where they’ll feel at home, be supported, and graduate ready for the career they want.”

Ultimately, focusing on student outcomes over vanity metrics builds lasting value for both students and institutions. By engaging prospective students from their first campus visit to retaining them with “high-touch” student services, enrollment leaders position themselves not just as recruiters, but as champions of student success.

Cornell challenged attendees to rethink the traditional funnel model entirely, as more names at the top no longer promises more enrollees at the bottom. “We’re in a new paradigm,” he explained, “and that means reverse-engineering the funnel to focus on the individual student first, then working backwards.”

Rather than chasing volume, Cornell said institutions can find meaningful gains by identifying and targeting specific gaps in certain programs—what he described as “filling the holes in the sponge.” These micro-targeted goals require nuanced strategy, including collaboration with academic deans and department leaders. Murray stressed the importance of relevant and personalized communications to drive results, saying, “Whether you’re reaching a musical theater major or a prospective athlete, talk to them at their level, with what matters to them most.”

To move quickly in this process, Cornell emphasized the importance of leveraging the right technologies. He explained that AI can transform recruitment by predicting student behavior and automating personalized communications, which is where Liaison Othot into play. Othot uses prescriptive analytics to forecast which prospective students are most likely to enroll and recommends optimized engagement strategies in real time, which  significantly improved WCSU’s ability to make better-informed decisions. "I wanted to know that I had a problem before it became a problem," said Murray. “Othot has helped us refine our decision making and constantly evolve our enrollment process.”

Beyond merely leveraging financial aid and enrollment processes, continuous optimization—adjusting aid packages throughout the recruitment cycle—enhances affordability and yield. Murray explained how WCSU’s iterative approach to aid modeling, powered by Othot, boosted enrollment and improved student satisfaction. “With Othot, we were able to give the right amount of aid to our students.” he explained, “Not only did we hit our enrollment target, we ended up giving less aid than we anticipated. This is a very powerful success tale”

These strategies offer a blueprint for adapting to emerging trends and tightening budgets without compromising the student experience. By embedding strategic planning, prioritizing engagement, and harnessing advanced technologies, institutions can build resilient enrollment models that drive sustainable growth and foster student success.

What’s Next? Webinar #2: Addressing the Need for Agility in Enrollment Management

Don’t miss the second webinar in this series, where Craig will dive into:

• Connecting enrollment goals to campus missions and elevating admissions teams as strategic leaders.
• Making immediate, informed decisions and recruiting the individual over the class as a whole.
  
  👉 Watch the first webinar on demand to explore these six strategies in depth.
  👉 Register for part two to learn how to equip your team with four additional strategies to complete your roadmap for data-driven, student-focused enrollment success.