People Who Keep Collegis Running: Ashley Nicklay

Let us introduce you!

Marketers, designers, software engineers … just a few of the people who dive into each of our partners’ missions, goals and values in order to create custom revenue and enrollment growth solutions. Every single person at Collegis is integral to our ability to deliver for our partners.

We sat down with Ashley Nicklay, associate director – partner solutions, to learn more about who she is and how she supports our partners.

How would you describe your job to someone outside of the field?

I help my partners work through solutions to their institutional problems while also finding opportunities to grow and advance by activating marketing, admissions and technology solutions.

Name three words that describe your role at Collegis.

• Strategic
• Relationship-oriented
• Collaborative

How does your role help support our partners?

I work to understand their objectives and concerns in order to build effective solutions. My role allows me to pull together the right teams to help our partners grow.

What are some common questions you hear from coworkers or partners throughout the day?

• “We are launching a new program, what should we do to support it?”
• “How can we improve traffic to our website?”
• “We’re not hitting our next enrollment start numbers, what can we do to change that?”
• “How are my campaigns performing?”
• “What should we do first?”

What skills do you need to succeed in your role?

The skill I rely on most often is communication. I’m often communicating on behalf of my team members to update partners on recommendations and project statuses. It’s also important to listen carefully and ask the right questions in order to fully understand a partner’s situation and goals.

I also need to be able to pull in the right people together to have the right conversations and help both partners and team members prioritize the work. Not everything can happen at once, so it’s vital to be able to identify where to focus your energy.

What do you enjoy most about your role at Collegis?

This will sound cheesy, but I get energized from helping my partners succeed in their enrollment goals. I love that our work helps people achieve their goal to earn a college degree and if I know that I’ve had a tiny part in that, it’s a really great feeling.

What do you enjoy most about Collegis?

I am lucky to work with amazing, smart and talented individuals who are genuinely great to be around. The people are what has kept me working at Collegis for 10+ years.

What drew you to work in the higher education field?

I started in marketing and I knew I needed to believe in whatever I was promoting. Higher education is something I truly believe can be a powerful and positive influence in a person’s life.

Where did you go to college and what degree did you obtain?

I attended the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul where I double-majored in Marketing and Advertising.

What do you value most from your own college experience?

At St. Thomas I had an amazing opportunity to take a Theology class co-taught by a Catholic priest and a Jewish Accounting professor who once studied to become a Buddhist Monk. That is itself was fascinating, but this class taught me that it’s good to have a job, it’s better to have a career, but what you should really seek is a vocation. Working in higher education has helped me achieve that goal.

What qualities do you look for when adding members to your team?

• Strong communicator
• Curious
• Solution-oriented
• Collaborative

What is one thing you’ve learned about higher ed since you started working at Collegis?

Change is constant in higher education. Whether it’s changing student demographics, employer and consumer program needs, new platforms or rising competition, there is always new data to analyze and new problems to solve.

Is there a Collegis project you worked on that is most memorable or you’re particularly proud of?

There have been a LOT of projects over the years, but I think I get most excited about projects where we’re able to uncover new trends within a partner’s enrollment data that help drive a shift in strategy. Connecting the dots between click to inquiry to enrollment is a huge effort and when you find something meaningful in that sea of information you can make powerful changes to a partner’s media plan.

What’s something you’re hoping to check off your bucket list?

Go to Disney World! I’m probably the only person at Collegis who hasn’t been (we have a lot of Disney fanatics here!) I can’t wait to take my kids sometime in the next few years.