Funnel Vision: One Campus, Two Markets - Part 4

About The Episode:

Valpo's SVP of Enrollment & Marketing LeAnn Hughes and AVP Rosa Alvarado joined Funnel Vision to discuss stabilizing enrollment through major leadership turnover. Alvarado held the enrollment function steady during a VP vacancy, leaning on an executive coach and the provost to prep for board presentations, before Hughes arrived and split responsibilities—Hughes on undergrad, Alvarado on grad/international—built on mutual trust and complementary strengths. The results: undergrad applications up 23%, admits up ~30%, and the first year-over-year deposit increase in nearly a decade.

Their playbook centered on "doing the basics well": fixing inquiry pool deficits, retraining counselors to sell value over price, reviving handwritten personal outreach, and sharpening Valpo's brand story (e.g., touting under-marketed programs like sports administration and organizational leadership). On the grad/international side, Alvarado emphasized targeted partnerships over chasing every market, in-country representation, and storytelling around distinctive programs. Hughes also discussed cutting underperforming multi-year vendor contracts while pushing the board to increase investment rather than cut budgets—arguing that flat or shrinking budgets equal decline in today's competitive, demographic-cliff environment. Both leaders closed by stressing differentiation and transparency as the keys to enrollment growth.

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