This summer series of The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is proudly sponsored by NextGrad.

NextGrad helps colleges and universities reach students where they already are, inside the high school itself. With a network of over 2,500 schools across North America, NextGrad puts your institution's message in front of future students every single day. Be the school they remember when it's time to decide.

NextGrad.com — Where students see you first.

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Enrollment growth rarely comes from one big idea. James Steen, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Houston Christian University, shares how HCU grew from 268 freshmen to a trajectory of more than 1,100 by methodically improving every stage of the enrollment funnel. He explains how the university's name change expanded its reach, how direct admission partnerships flip the traditional recruitment process, and why media in local high schools create a new opportunity to build awareness before students ever inquire.

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 What We Cover in This Episode

🔘Why sustainable enrollment growth depends on improving hundreds of small details across the funnel

🔘What Houston Christian University learned from changing its name after 60 years

🔘How guaranteed admission partnerships turn qualified high school seniors into applicants

🔘Why in-school media helps institutions reach students before the traditional funnel begins

🔘How to measure brand awareness through applications, conversions, admits, and enrollment

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Episode Highlights

05:10 How HCU grew from 268 freshmen toward a class of more than 1,100

13:40 Why Texas' school phone restrictions made in-school digital billboards more valuable

18:40 Creating motion ads and dedicated landing pages for students walking between classes

22:36 Connecting early brand awareness to application growth and downstream enrollment

24:28 Why more inquiries only matter when conversion and completion rates improve

28:29 Using school-level STEM data to target engineering scholarship campaigns

30:07 Why enrollment leaders must keep testing, measuring, and pivoting

The Higher Ed Marketer Podcast is powered by Caylor Solutions—your go-to partner for higher ed mission-fit marketing strategies, enrollment, AI expertise, and branding needs. 

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