Fueling Graduate Enrollment with High-Intent Content
How The University of Scranton leveraged SEO-optimized content to attract prospective students, earn AI overview visibility, and convert engagement into measurable actions.
As The University of Scranton launched a new graduate microsite following its transition away from an online program management (OPM) partnership, establishing organic traction was critical. Collegis partnered with Scranton to build its graduate admissions blog, creating a high-intent, SEO-driven content strategy designed to accelerate visibility, attract qualified prospective students, and support graduate inquiries.
Rebuilding Organic Visibility After an OPM Transition
As Scranton exited its OPM partnership and launched a new graduate microsite, it faced a critical moment. The institution needed to quickly establish organic authority and visibility for its graduate programs, without the infrastructure previously supporting digital recruitment.
That meant:
- No existing blog or organic content engine tied to the new microsite
- Limited organic traction for graduate-focused search terms
- No structured strategy to capture high-intent prospective student searches
- A need to rebuild search visibility and inquiry pathways from the ground up
With a new digital presence in place, Scranton needed more than pages — it needed momentum. Establishing organic credibility quickly was essential to supporting graduate inquiry growth and long-term enrollment stability.
A Strategic, SEO-Driven Content Engine to Accelerate Visibility
To support the launch of Scranton’s new graduate microsite, Collegis partnered closely with Scranton to develop and execute a focused content strategy designed to rapidly build organic authority, capture high-intent search demand, and drive inquiry momentum.
The approach included:
- Building the graduate blog to anchor the new microsite
- Targeting high-intent, SEO-driven keywords
- Developing program-aligned, enrollment-focused content
- Structuring content to drive discovery and inquiry
This wasn’t content for content’s sake. It was a strategic effort to establish organic traction, rebuild search visibility, and position Scranton’s new graduate microsite as an authoritative destination for prospective students.
The Collegis Impact
Within the first six months of launch, the blog delivered:
- 7,300+ new users driven by organic content
- 568 conversions driven by the blog
- 800+ keywords ranked on page one
- 86 appearances in Google AI overviews
From zero presence to hundreds of page-one rankings, the blog quickly became a powerful visibility and inquiry driver for graduate admissions.
The Takeaway: Organic Content Isn’t a Tactic — It’s a Growth Strategy
When institutions invest in strategic, SEO-aligned content built around prospective student intent, organic traffic becomes predictable. And predictable traffic drives measurable inquiry growth. A well-built blog isn’t a marketing add-on. It’s enrollment infrastructure.
Ready to Build Your Content Engine?
If your graduate programs aren’t visible in search, you’re missing qualified prospects every day. Collegis partners with institutions to design data-enabled marketing strategies that turn organic search into sustainable enrollment growth. Let’s build a content engine that drives results.
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See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Driving More Engagement with Smarter Navigation
How Collegis helped the College of Western Idaho boost CTA clicks through conversion-focused website optimization and A/B testing.
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) partnered with Collegis to enhance website navigation and increase engagement with key calls to action. Key navigation and calls to action were only accessible at the top of the page, requiring users to scroll back up to take action.
To reduce friction and improve the user experience, Collegis recommended testing a persistent “sticky” navigation system that keeps essential navigation and conversion elements visible as users scroll. The goal was to create a more intuitive browsing experience while increasing interaction with high-value calls to action.
Improving Navigation Without Disrupting User Experience
CWI’s existing website required users to scroll back to the top of the page to access navigation and key calls to action (CTAs), creating unnecessary friction for prospective students exploring programs.
Key considerations included:
- Improving access to navigation and CTAs without disrupting the browsing experience
- Demonstrating the value of sticky navigation to stakeholders before development
- Ensuring the new functionality worked seamlessly across desktop and mobile experiences
- Managing technical constraints while running an A/B test within the existing site environment
Balancing usability improvements with technical feasibility required careful design, development, and testing.
Testing Persistent Navigation to Improve Engagement
Collegis implemented an A/B test to evaluate the impact of persistent navigation and conversion elements across CWI’s website.
Key components included:
- Sticky header navigation designed to keep key menu items accessible as users scroll
- Sticky mobile footer providing persistent access to high-value CTAs on smaller screens
- A/B testing through VWO to compare the existing site experience against the sticky navigation variant
- Collaborative design and development to prototype, test, and implement the solution within the client’s technical environment
This approach allowed the team to validate the impact of sticky navigation before full deployment.
The Collegis Impact
The A/B test ran for 29 days and achieved a 99.98% confidence level, confirming the effectiveness of the sticky navigation experience.
Key results included:
- 31% increase in clicks on primary CTAs, significantly exceeding the 10% target
- 2,250% increase in mobile ‘taps’ on the “Call CWI” CTA after replacing “Give to CWI”
- 18% increase in application starts from program page
- Sticky navigation improved wayfinding while increasing engagement with key conversion actions
Based on these results, CWI moved forward with full implementation of the sticky global header and mobile footer across the production site.
The Takeaway: Strategic Web Optimization Drives Measurable Engagement
Small improvements to website navigation can have a significant impact on how prospective students engage with institutional websites. By testing persistent navigation and optimizing access to key calls to action, Collegis helped the College of Western Idaho create a more intuitive user experience that drives measurable engagement and conversion improvements.
Optimize Your Website Experience to Drive More Student Action
The College of Western Idaho case demonstrates how data-driven testing uncovers opportunities to improve website performance and deliver more personalized digital experiences. From UX optimization and conversion strategy to development and experimentation, Collegis partners with institutions to turn website insights into measurable enrollment outcomes.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Protecting Every Marketing Dollar
How Collegis partnered with CHEQ to help institutions save millions in ad spend by blocking bot traffic through real-time traffic protection.
In today’s highly competitive higher education environment, digital marketing is vital for driving enrollment. But as institutions invest more heavily in online advertising, hidden threats like bots and click farms can silently drain budgets and distort performance data.
To help its partners safeguard precious marketing spend, Collegis Education partnered with CHEQ, a leader in go-to-market security, to help our clients mitigate fake clicks, protect their ad spend, and boost conversion quality. The results were clear: nearly $2.2 million saved and over 216,000 invalid visits blocked across partner institutions in 2024.
Invisible Ad Waste Threatening ROI
Despite strong strategies and creative execution, Collegis observed troubling patterns across higher education partner campaigns:
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High bounce rates paired with low conversions, indicating poor engagement
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Inflated click-through metrics driven by non-human traffic and malicious bots
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Budgets wasted on unqualified or fraudulent interactions that offered no real enrollment value
Left unchecked, these issues threatened not only marketing ROI but also the accuracy of enrollment attribution and the integrity of performance data. Over time, this invisible ad waste risked undermining leadership confidence in digital campaigns and reducing the impact of future marketing investments.
Real-Time Traffic Protection with CHEQ
To counter these challenges, Collegis implemented CHEQ Acquisition, a cybersecurity-grade traffic protection tool that proactively detects and blocks invalid traffic (IVT) in real time.
Key components of the solution included:
- Real-Time Detection and Blocking: CHEQ automatically filtered bots, click farms, scrapers, and malicious actors before they could click or engage.
- 2,000+ Cybersecurity Tests Per Visit: Each site visit underwent rigorous validation to identify non-human activity.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Clients gained granular visibility into threat sources, types, and associated costs.
- Seamless Platform Integration: Protection was deployed across Google, Meta, and programmatic ad channels.
By combining Collegis’ enrollment marketing expertise with CHEQ’s technology, partners could focus their investments on authentic prospective students.
The Results: Significant Cost Savings and Improved Campaign Performance
The impact was both measurable and meaningful. Beyond the $2.2 million saved, Collegis delivered significant wins for our higher ed partners by safeguarding paid media campaigns from invalid traffic. These outcomes didn’t just protect budgets. They protected the quality of enrollment submissions, improved attribution accuracy, and gave marketing leaders greater confidence in their data.
What’s Next: Ongoing Optimization for Long-Term Value
CHEQ’s partnership with Collegis is not a one-time fix. It’s a core component of our ongoing enrollment optimization strategy. As bots and fraudsters evolve, so too must our defense. We continue to work with CHEQ to refine threat detection, educate clients on traffic quality metrics, and optimize ad placements based on verified performance data.
This case also underscores the importance of going beyond surface-level metrics. Impressions and clicks only matter if they come from the right users, and Collegis ensures that’s the case.
Making Every Marketing Dollar Count
For higher education institutions navigating tight budgets and complex enrollment funnels, every ad dollar must count. By proactively filtering invalid traffic with CHEQ, Collegis has helped its partners safeguard their investments, increase ROI, and focus on what matters most: engaging real students.
Interested in learning how traffic validation and real-time protection could boost your enrollment marketing? Let’s talk about how Collegis can help your institution achieve more with less.
Protect Your Marketing Investment
Ready to protect your ad spend and drive real results? Connect with Collegis to see how our data-driven strategies can maximize every marketing dollar.
CHEQ is trusted by more than 15,000 companies — from the Fortune 50 to emerging disruptors — to enable and protect each critical touchpoint in the evolving, human-AI customer journey. Powered by the only integrated Traffic, Threat, and Identity Intelligence Engine, CHEQ distinguishes legitimate users from bad actors — human, AI agent, or bot — and, in real-time, delivers granular, context-specific insights to marketing, commerce, and security platforms. With a best-in-class <0.009% false positive rate, brands can confidently engage, transact, and thrive in the AI Engagement Era.
Rebuilding Brand from the Ground Up
How Denison Edge partnered with Collegis to clarify brand identity, launch a content strategy, and rebuild its website to drive user growth.
Denison Edge, an initiative by Denison University, equips students, graduates, and professionals with in-demand, industry-relevant skills through stackable micro-credentials. To support ambitious enrollment goals and elevate its brand presence, Denison Edge turned to Collegis Education for strategic marketing support and a digital refresh. With a small internal team and big aspirations, Denison Edge sought to better articulate its value proposition and reach more prospective learners through a high-performing, content-rich website.
Scaling Marketing & Clarifying Identity
Denison Edge needed to amplify registrations for its non-credit programming while refreshing its brand presence to reflect its forward-thinking approach. The organization faced key limitations:
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Limited internal marketing capacity
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Lack of a cohesive brand voice
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Outdated website UX and SEO
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Urgent need to launch new high-demand programs in finance, marketing, analytics, and AI
Together, these challenges underscored the need for a strategic partner to help Denison Edge scale effectively and stand out in a competitive market.
Strategic Brand & Web Overhaul
Collegis delivered a set of tailored services to expand visibility, support program growth, and enhance digital experience:
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Brand Voice Workshop
Facilitated an on-site session with university stakeholders to define a clear, compelling brand voice, behavior, and tone — establishing the foundation for all future communications. -
Content Strategy
Developed a comprehensive content roadmap, including a new blog, article templates, writing guide, and SEO-informed article concepts to empower internal marketing teams. -
Website Strategy and Optimization
Conducted in-depth UX and SEO audits pre- and post-launch, guiding the redevelopment of the Denison Edge website. The rebuilt site now delivers a seamless experience tailored to prospective learners and employers.
The Results: Stronger Presence, Measurable Growth
Within four months of relaunching the website, Denison Edge experienced marked improvements in site traffic and user engagement:
- +21% YoY increase in total users
- +16% YoY growth in sessions and new users
- 96% increase in Rental Space page traffic
- 1,284 sessions on new Registration page
- 310 sessions on new Business Immersion page
The top-performing pages — including Programs and Homepage — also achieved +16% YoY growth, confirming the success of the site redesign and content strategy.
The Takeaway: Strategy and Storytelling Drive Digital Success
The Denison Edge case study illustrates the impact of aligning brand clarity, content strategy, and digital design. Through partnership with Collegis, Denison Edge built the foundation for ongoing growth — positioning itself as a leader in flexible, career-focused education.
Transform Your Digital Presence with Collegis
Want to grow visibility and enrollment for your programs? Contact Collegis to explore how brand and digital strategy can help you lead with confidence.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Reclaiming Visibility, Without Raising Spend
How Saint Francis University partnered with Collegis to unify messaging, modernize strategy, and reverse a decline in brand awareness through smarter, student-centered marketing.
For Saint Francis University (SFU), brand visibility in its home region has always been a strategic priority. But when internal metrics revealed a sustained decline in branded keyword search volume, the institution faced a clear challenge: how to grow awareness and demand without expanding the marketing budget.
In response, Collegis helped SFU pivot to an omnichannel marketing strategy, anchored in student journey insights and a refreshed creative campaign. The results: a 54% lift in branded search volume and a 2.7x increase in conversion rate for revamped search campaigns.
Falling Visibility & Fragmented Messaging
SFU had long expressed the goal of “owning their backyard,” but their declining search volume suggested a loss of mindshare among key audiences. The following factors made matters even more complex:
- No additional budget was available to launch new campaigns
- Prior creative had been in market for some time and didn’t reflect institutional differentiators
- Previous media mix was focused solely on conversion and capturing demand – not strategically aligned to the prospective student journey.
This wasn’t just a search engine issue — it was a signal that SFU needed a more coordinated, brand-forward approach to digital marketing.
Omnichannel Marketing with Strategic Creative
To drive growth without increasing spend, Collegis partnered with SFU on a data-informed, omnichannel marketing strategy. We aligned messaging to institutional strengths and audience needs, with a focus on key campaign components:
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Marketing insights & program strategy: Identified value drivers from enrollment data, like adult learner appeal and career-aligned programs
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Creative campaign development: Launched the flexible “SFU Is…” concept to unify storytelling
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Media management & channel expansion: Optimized campaigns and introduced new channels to lower CPAs and boost performance
This holistic approach elevated SFU’s visibility at high-intent moments in the student journey.
Maximizing Reach Without Raising Spend
After launching the new omnichannel strategy in September 2024, Saint Francis University saw immediate gains:
- +54% increase in average monthly impressions for branded search keywords
- 2.7x improvement in conversion rate for revamped search campaigns
- Enhanced lead quality and funnel progression
- Anecdotal feedback from university leadership highlighting strong excitement about both visibility and performance
By aligning creative, strategy, and media under a single narrative, SFU reclaimed share of voice — and did it without asking for more budget.
The Collegis Impact: By the Numbers
The Takeaway: Coordinated Campaigns Drive Measurable Growth
This case underscores the power of a strategic omnichannel approach, especially for smaller institutions navigating constrained budgets. With thoughtful execution and messaging that resonates across audiences, schools like SFU can still grow awareness, drive conversions, and own their space—online and off.
Let’s Make Your Marketing Work Smarter
The Saint Francis University case is a powerful example of what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution are aligned under one unified vision. By partnering with Collegis, SFU didn’t just stop the decline in search visibility — they reversed it, strengthened their regional presence, and achieved significantly better conversion performance, all without needing any additional budget.
If your institution is facing similar challenges — declining awareness, fragmented messaging, or flatlining campaign performance — an omnichannel strategy may be the path forward. Contact Collegis to learn how we can help you unlock growth, boost brand recognition, and better support students throughout their decision-making journey.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
In late 2021, the College of Western Idaho (CWI) needed to address a consistent enrollment decline and improve student retention. With an ambitious vision to improve and optimize its technological infrastructure and student outreach, CWI sought to build a best-in-class system to enhance student engagement and elevate enrollment strategies. To ensure that data and technology were aligned with CWI’s growth objectives, the college partnered with Collegis Education to analyze their combined impact. Were its data and tech aligned for impact, or were gaps hindering progress and creating unnecessary burdens across the team?
Key Takeaways
- Six consecutive terms of YoY enrollment growth
- Experienced the highest YoY increase in persistence in history of the college from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023
- Consistent improvement in term-over-term retention
CHALLENGES:
- Declining enrollment
- No established retention strategy
- Lack of CRM
- Underutilized LMS
- Siloed technology and data systems
SOLUTIONS:
- Connected Core®
- Advanced analytics + business intelligence
- LMS support
- Website optimization
- Data-driven outreach and support for students identified as at-risk
Strategy
Collegis Education and CWI began collaborating on building a best-in-class student journey from the point of initial inquiry through graduation.
A comprehensive evaluation of existing CWI systems allowed Collegis to assess the college’s digital readiness, technology infrastructure, and enrollment ecosystem to understand how they aligned with its growth objectives. The partnership quickly proceeded from consultation to implementation.
Collegis prescribed a set of solutions to enhance student engagement from first contact and elevate the school’s enrollment strategies:
- Connected Core® to unite siloed systems, data sets, and other enrollment technologies, providing more accurate, actionable, unified institutional intelligence with clear visualizations to support data-enabled decision-making at all levels.
- Website optimization to improve conversion and deliver a student-centric digital experience that supports the objectives, goals, and mission.
- Prospective student nurturing campaigns with a messaging protocol designed to drive conversion and prospective student engagement with CWI.
Collaborating closely with CWI, Collegis developed a well-defined student retention strategy that established meaningful student-advisor relationships early on, ensuring students felt supported from their first interaction onward.
- Enrollment conversation training gave student-facing staff the tools to drive positive experiences for CWI learners while embracing a liaison approach to student engagement.
- Collegis student success coaches conducted proactive outreach to engage students while leveraging an at-risk alert system to drive intervention. This early alert system flags students needing support based on learning management system (LMS) data on attendance, current grades, and assignment completion.
Results: Average YoY growth each semester since our partnership began has averaged 5%
By working with Collegis, CWI could focus on its student journey and how it could better use data and technology to deliver superior student engagements and reach its growth targets. This has helped not only stop, but reverse historical enrollment declines. In 2024, CWI projected year-over-year growth for the sixth consecutive academic term. The school has achieved an average year-over-year term growth of 5%, with a trendline for fall 2024 of over 9% growth.
Value-based conversations with prospective students have resulted in increased applications. Further, pre-start engagement from the advising and student success coaching teams has increased registrations from admitted students.
By fostering a culture of meaningful interaction and support for students, CWI paved the way for improved student retention. The LMS-based at-risk model has driven 19,000+ proactive student engagements and interventions in one academic year.
Within just one year of implementing these targeted strategies, CWI witnessed a remarkable increase in retention rates, all while alleviating the workload on faculty and staff. Similar retention strategies deployed by other Collegis partner institutions have yielded term-over-term retention rates exceeding 90%, underscoring the effectiveness of our approach.
With a proven retention strategy and access to a proactive model, CWI can now build out its internal retention capabilities and plans to take over the student success coaching function.
The Future
CWI’s commitment to embracing change and being agile is demonstrated by the school’s evolving partnership with Collegis to exceed industry best practices and realize sustained growth. Ongoing services and incremental work are targeting LMS initiatives to stabilize, standardize, optimize, and transform CWI’s instance of Blackboard Learn and redesign its new student orientation, among other things.
Institution Type:
Community College
Location:
Treasure Valley, Idaho
Total Enrollment:
30,000+
Other Case Studies
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Elevating Brand Visibility to Accelerate Conversions
How Collegis helped translate awareness into action through targeted video and digital strategy.
As Saint Louis University’s (SLU) School for Professional Studies celebrated its 60th anniversary, it saw an opportunity to elevate its position as a leader in adult and online education. While the institution had a strong legacy, it needed a modern, compelling way to bring that story to market. Through a partnership with Collegis, SLU launched an integrated connected TV (CTV) and digital campaign that combined authentic storytelling with strategic media placement — driving both brand growth and measurable performance.
Translating Legacy & Expertise Into Modern Brand Impact
SLU had a differentiated story, but needed to communicate it effectively to today’s adult learners.
Key challenges included:
- Limited visibility of SLU’s leadership in adult and online education
- Need for compelling, modern creative to engage prospective students
- Balancing long-term brand building with immediate enrollment impact
- Standing out in an increasingly competitive adult learner market
Without a strong awareness strategy, SLU’s unique value proposition risked being overlooked.
A CTV Campaign Built on Authentic Storytelling
Collegis partnered with SLU to develop and launch an integrated campaign that combined creative storytelling with high-impact media placement.
Key actions included:
- Developed a unified campaign concept and brand messaging strategy
- Produced authentic video content featuring real student experiences
- Executed CTV and cross-device media strategy to maximize reach and frequency
- Implemented performance tracking to measure brand lift, engagement, and conversions
Together, these efforts brought SLU’s story to life in a way that resonated with prospective adult learners.
The Collegis Impact
Stronger Brand Awareness, Engagement, & Conversion Performance
The campaign delivered measurable gains across both brand health and enrollment performance:
- 10.7% lift in brand awareness
- 1,050% increase in brand PPC conversions year over year
- 287% return on ad spend
- Increased brand engagement, including lift in ad recall and consideration
The campaign demonstrated that awareness-driven strategies can directly influence downstream performance when executed strategically.
The Takeaway: Brand Investment Drive Both Awareness & Performance
Institutions often separate brand and performance marketing, but the most effective strategies achieve both. SLU’s campaign shows that when authentic storytelling is paired with the right media strategy, brand awareness becomes a powerful driver of engagement, conversion, and long-term growth.
Build a Brand That Drives Measurable Results
If your institution is looking to stand out in a competitive market, it’s time to invest in a strategy that connects brand and performance. Collegis partners with colleges and universities to develop campaigns that elevate brand presence and deliver measurable enrollment impact. Learn more about our comprehensive marketing services.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Celebrating expertise with creative digital campaign
In 2023, Saint Louis University’s (SLU) School for Professional Studies (SPS) celebrated its 60th anniversary. This offered a unique opportunity to highlight the school’s six decades of leadership and innovation in adult and online education — an area most schools have only recently entered. SLU partnered with Collegis to develop an integrated creative and digital campaign to bring this new messaging to market.
Challenge: Highlighting expertise in adult and online education
SLU has a storied history and expertise in online and adult education — a key advantage for aspiring adult learners. Collegis was challenged with bringing this message to market in an impactful way, which was achieved through an awareness media campaign centered on newly produced brand video content.
Solution: Authentic video storytelling and strategic media placement
The videos amplify the authentic voices of real SLU students, showcasing diverse narratives about educational experiences and outcomes. Going beyond campus, the production captured moments at students’ homes and workplaces. These personal glimpses help viewers identify with the subjects and build trust in the brand, illustrating SLU’s understanding of adult learners’ wants and needs.
Collegis then developed a paid media strategy that included connected TV (CTV) and cross-device video to maximize impact through multiple touchpoints. The campaign’s primary objective was driving awareness, which was measured by video completion rate, brand lift, and brand search impact.
Example campaign video
Results: Increased brand awareness and conversions
The 60th anniversary campaign was successful in raising awareness of SLU’s School for Professional Studies. The data supports that the awareness media contributed significantly to both brand health and revenue goals. The results were as follows:
287% return on ad spend for the campaign
5.9 million CTV and cross-device video impressions throughout Missouri and Illinois
89% video completion rate
10.7% lift in brand awareness, 3.5% ad recall lift, and 4.2% lift in consideration
541% increase in brand PPC spend while reducing cost per conversion by 44%
1,050% increase in brand PPC conversions YoY
About Saint Louis University
Institution Type:
Catholic, Jesuit institution
Location:
St. Louis, Missouri
Student Enrollment:
13,500
Services:
- Unique campaign and brand messaging
- Video planning, production, and editing
- Creative direction and execution
- Paid media strategy and implementation
- Performance metrics for all assets
Key Results:
- 10.7% lift in brand awareness
- 1,050% increase in PPC brand conversions
- 287% return on ad spend
Other Case Studies
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
6 Consecutive Terms of
Enrollment Growth
How Collegis helped College of Western Idaho unify data, improve engagement,
and drive sustained enrollment and retention gains.
College of Western Idaho (CWI) was facing challenges many community colleges are navigating today: declining enrollment and inconsistent retention. While the institution had access to data, disconnected systems and limited infrastructure made it difficult to act on it effectively. Through a partnership with Collegis, CWI implemented a data-enabled strategy that unified systems, improved visibility, and created a more connected student journey. This resulted in sustained enrollment growth and stronger student outcomes.
Disconnected Systems and Limited Strategy Hindered Growth
CWI’s ability to support students and drive growth was constrained by gaps in data, technology, and process.
Key challenges included:
- Declining enrollment and inconsistent student retention trends
- No unified CRM and siloed data across systems
- Underutilized LMS limiting student engagement opportunities
- No formal retention strategy to support at-risk students
Without a connected approach, the institution lacked the visibility and structure needed to improve outcomes.
A Connected, Data-Enabled Approach to the Full Student Lifecycle
Collegis partnered with CWI to build a more unified and proactive model for enrollment and retention.
Key actions included:
- Implemented Connected Core® to unify data, systems, and insights
- Enabled advanced analytics to support smarter, data-driven decisions
- Optimized LMS and website experience to improve engagement and conversion
- Developed proactive outreach and at-risk support workflows to strengthen retention
Together, these efforts created a more cohesive student journey from inquiry through graduation.
The Collegis Impact
Sustained Enrollment Growth and Stronger Student Persistence
By connecting data and activating insights, CWI achieved measurable improvements across enrollment and retention:
- 6 consecutive terms of year-over-year enrollment growth
- Highest increase in student persistence in college history (Fall 2022 to Fall 2023)
- 19,000+ proactive student engagements in one year through LMS-driven outreach
- Ongoing improvement in term-over-term retention rates
The institution didn’t just stabilize performance — it built a foundation for continued growth and student success.xecuted strategically.
The Takeaway: Connected Data Enables Proactive Student Success
Enrollment and retention challenges are rarely isolated. They stem from disconnected systems and limited visibility. CWI’s success demonstrates that when institutions unify data and activate insights across the student lifecycle, they can move from reactive support to proactive engagement, driving both growth and persistence.
Build a Connected Strategy That Drives Growth and Retention
If your institution is facing enrollment declines or retention challenges, the path forward starts with your data. Collegis partners with colleges and universities to unify systems, improve visibility, and create strategies that support students from first touch through completion. Learn more about our Connected Core approach.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.
Powering Growth Through Smarter Data Utilization
How Collegis helped Dominican University improve engagement and convert more prospective students into enrolled learners.
Dominican University had the data needed to grow enrollment, but it wasn’t connected, accessible, or actionable. Disparate systems, gaps in admissions staffing, and limited data visibility made it difficult to execute a cohesive growth strategy. Through a partnership with Collegis, Dominican implemented a data-driven approach that unified systems, strengthened engagement, and delivered measurable gains across enrollment, student experience, and revenue.
Siloed Data & Limited Resources Restricted Growth
Despite a strong brand and clear enrollment goals, Dominican faced structural issues that limited performance.
Key challenges included:
- Siloed data across CRM, marketing, and analytics platforms
- Limited visibility into the full student lifecycle
- Gaps in admissions staffing and outreach capacity
- Insufficient data enablement to support marketing and recruitment efforts
Without connected data and coordinated execution, opportunities to improve engagement and conversion were missed.
Connecting Data to Drive Strategy, Engagement, & Execution
Collegis partnered with Dominican to unify data systems and activate insights across the enrollment lifecycle.
Key actions included:
- Centralized CRM and marketing data into a unified, actionable environment
- Mapped the student journey to identify gaps and improve engagement
- Implemented data-driven outreach strategies across student segments
- Optimized media, reporting, and forecasting to improve performance
Together, these efforts transformed disconnected data into a strategic asset that informed decision-making and improved execution.
The Collegis Impact
Measurable Growth Across Enrollment, Engagement, & Efficiency
By connecting and activating data, Dominican achieved strong, sustained performance improvements:
- 48% increase in first-year undergraduate applications
- 51% increase in first-year undergraduate acceptances
- 31% increase in first-year undergraduate enrollments
- 29% above goal for summer/fall graduate enrollment
Additionally, the strategy delivered nearly 500 more inquiries than goal at a significantly lower cost per inquiry, demonstrating strong return on investment.
The Takeaway: Data Creates Impact When It’s Connected & Activated
Institutions have plenty of data, but they often lack the ability to unify and act on it. Dominican University’s success shows that when data is centralized, accessible, and tied to strategy, it becomes a powerful driver of enrollment growth, engagement, and long-term institutional stability.
Turn Your Data Into Measurable Enrollment Growth
If your institution is collecting data but struggling to translate it into results, it’s time for a more connected approach. Collegis partners with colleges and universities to unify data, optimize engagement, and drive measurable performance across the student lifecycle. Learn more about our Connected Core® approach.
Let’s Start Writing Your Success Story
See what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and execution come together. Partner with Collegis to turn your challenges into outcomes worth sharing.
Transform Challenges Into Opportunities
Facing challenges in enrollment, retention, or tech integration? Seeking growth in new markets? Our strategic insights pave a clear path for overcoming obstacles and driving success in higher education.
Unlock the transformative potential within your institution – partner with us to turn today’s roadblocks into tomorrow’s achievements. Let’s chat.