Admissions Cycle Prep Playbook: Slate Edition
To say that it’s “never too early” to start preparing for the next admissions cycle may sound cliche, but when it comes to managing a CRM like Slate, it’s true. In fact, when you’re doing it well, the prep never really ends.
At Spark451, our SparkAssist CRM strategic consultants work hands-on with Slate environments year-round—helping colleges and universities refine workflows, optimize automations, and align the platform with ever evolving enrollment goals. One thing we see consistently: teams that treat admissions cycle prep as an ongoing strategic practice, not just a seasonal task, get far more value from Slate over time.
In this guide, you’ll find the tools to build a repeatable, annual approach that will help keep your Slate instance clean, efficient, and ready to perform at every stage of the admissions cycle. (Oh, and if your institution isn’t on Slate, head over here for the CRM-agnostic version!)
Collaborative Effort for Comprehensive Improvement
True cycle prep excellence comes from collaboration. Encourage contributions from every corner of your team to surface new ideas and identify pain points in your current setup. Teams can include:
- Strategists and Visionaries
Include your Slate Captain and members of your Operations and Marketing teams. This group will make intentional and strategic decisions, and drive the outcome of your cycle prep. - Stress Testers
Leverage your student workers, counselors, tour guides, admissions representatives, and coaches. They use Slate regularly and will have great ideas on how to improve your Slate configuration. (Seek some Gen Z input here!) - External Insights
Think of students and parents as stakeholders, too. Their impressions of your Slate environment are key to your success. What changes can you make that will drive value for them?
Timeline: Proactive Planning for Pivotal Changes
The bulk of cycle prep typically runs summer to early fall, but tailor it to suit your institution’s unique rhythm. When planning your cycle prep schedule, weigh what changes are necessary for the upcoming admissions cycle against all wish-list items you have in mind for your Slate instance. This will allow your team to focus on necessary updates and projects first, then aim for nonessential improvements as time permits.
Be sure to start small, as small steps will lead to big wins. Here’s a timeline we find helpful:
Strategize and Prioritize
Make a wish list of all the components you want to see enhanced or built in your Slate environment. From there, estimate the difficulty and duration of each project. Then, prioritize what should be completed first.
Build and Update
Get started on updating existing components in your Slate environment. If your timeline permits, build out new functionality that will strategically improve your team’s processes.
Test and Refine
Before you go live, rigorously test all updates and new builds in your Slate environment. Use your testing environment and user impersonation to check every nook and cranny.
Go Live and Post-Project Review
Migrate your processes and celebrate your team’s successes. Before making the switch, be sure that all Slate users at your institution are aware of what’s happening ahead of the go-live date. Lastly, create a post-project review (PPR). Using that PPR, a road map for next year’s Cycle Prep is already underway.
Key Areas for Cycle Upkeep and Innovation
Start with necessary updates that are crucial to your upcoming cycle. There’s a whole lot to consider, so our team has created a checklist to help you strategize:
Annual Slate Upkeep
Perform these tasks to get ready for the upcoming cycle.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Staff Assignment Rules Updates | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Material & Checklist Items Audit | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Decision Letters & Codes | 🔥🔥 | |
|
Strategize Your Populations How are you leveraging populations? |
🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Batch Acquire Review | 🔥🔥 | |
|
Consolidate Records Review Are the counts in these tools manageable? |
🔥🔥🔥 |
Application Prep
Maintain a top-notch application.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Periods & Rounds Updates Have you created them for the upcoming cycle? |
🔥 | |
| Application Forms Updates | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Streamline Application Questions Only ask questions that you need answers to! |
🔥🔥 | |
| Status Page Updates & Additions Dynamic content and multi-tabs are 👌 |
🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Application Logic Updates & Testing | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Clear Bins | 🔥🔥 | |
| Move Defers Forward | 🔥 | |
| Withdraw Old Applications | 🔥 | |
| Updates to Third-Party Applications Common App, Coalition, CAS, etc. |
🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Reader Workflow Review Do you like how your reader workflow is set up? |
🔥🔥 | |
| Cycle Prep Status Page Review | 🔥 |
Deliver
Enhance your communications.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Review Scheduled Campaigns | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Email Template Updates Test for mobile responsiveness. |
🔥🔥 | |
| Recipient List Queries Updates Are the right filters established? |
🔥🔥 | |
| Liquid Markup & Custom Personalization | 🔥🔥🔥 |
Data Hygiene
Crucial items for maintaining Queries, Reports, and overall database health.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Updated Configurable Joins Libraries | 🔥🔥 | |
| Turn Over Scheduled Queries & Reports What’s necessary for this cycle? |
🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Review Integrations | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Create Source Formats Are there any new integrations you’d like to build? |
🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Source Formats Refresh prompt values! |
🔥🔥 | |
| Job Activity Monitor Audit | 🔥🔥 | |
| Migration to Configurable Joins How is your transition going? |
🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
User Permissions
Confirm all Slate users are seeing what they need to see.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| User Permissions Cleanup & Audit Remove inactive accounts & confirm permission levels. |
🔥 | |
| Staff Assignment Rules Updates | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Impersonate New User Accounts Confirm permissions function as intended. |
🔥🔥 |
In-Depth Review
Identify next steps and mark them complete.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Organizations Dataset Updates | 🔥🔥 | |
| Rules Health Audit Any erroneous rules? |
🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Compliance Dashboard Audit | 🔥 | |
| Ping Implementation Review | 🔥 | |
| Origin Sources Review Remember these? |
🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Create New Event Templates | 🔥🔥 | |
| Update Current Event Templates | 🔥🔥 |
Proactive Measures
These additional steps will help you make big gains.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Activate Early Access Features | 🔥🔥 | |
| Migrate to Workflows | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update/Configure Slate.org Profile | 🔥 | |
| Buy Deliver Credits | 🔥 | |
| Hire Spark451 to Help | 🙌 |
Thoughtful Support for Cycle Prep
The strategies in this guide are just a starting point. At Spark451, we recognize that in a busy admissions environment, cycle prep often happens in small, practical steps. So, don’t get overwhelmed. Even modest adjustments in your Slate can make it easier to plan ahead and stay flexible as the cycle unfolds. Over time, those incremental changes add up to a more sustainable, well-supported process.
If you find you need a little help along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Slate experts at Spark451. Our SparkAssist CRM strategy team helps in-house college and university teams build on what’s already working, identify opportunities to get better, and put thoughtful improvements into action.
Admissions Cycle Prep Playbook: CRM-Agnostic Edition
We’ve said it before. We’ll say it again: There’s really no such thing as “too early” when it comes to preparing for the next admissions cycle in your CRM.
At Spark451, our SparkAssist CRM strategic consultants work alongside colleges and universities using a wide range of CRM platforms (Element451, Salesforce, Ellucian, TargetX, the list goes on…) all year long. While the specific tools may differ, the underlying challenges tend to be remarkably similar. Time is limited, priorities continually evolve, and teams are constantly balancing day-to-day demands with big-picture planning.
The one through-line: The teams that approach admissions cycle prep as an ongoing practice — rather than a one-time project — are better positioned to navigate the cycle, regardless of the platform they use.
This guide is designed to give you the framework to get there. Here, you’ll find practical, CRM-agnostic strategies you can use to build a repeatable, annual approach to cycle preparation in a way that will set your team up for long-term success. (Oh, and if you’d prefer a Slate-specific version, that’s over here.)
Collaborative Effort for Comprehensive Improvement
True cycle prep excellence comes from collaboration. Encourage contributions from every corner of your team to surface new ideas and identify pain points in your current setup. Teams can include:
- Planners and Strategists
Include your Element451 Pros, Salesforce Admins, and members of your Operations and Marketing teams. This group will make intentional and strategic decisions and drive the outcome of your cycle prep. - Stress Testers
Leverage your student workers, counselors, tour guides, admissions representatives, and coaches. They use your CRM regularly and will have great ideas on how to improve things. (Seek some Gen Z input here!) - External Insights
Don’t forget that students and parents are stakeholders, too. Their impressions are key to your success. What changes can you make that will drive value for them?
Timeline: Proactive Planning for Pivotal Changes
The bulk of cycle prep typically runs from summer to early fall, but tailor it to suit your institution’s unique rhythm. When planning your cycle prep schedule, weigh what changes are necessary for the upcoming admissions cycle against all wish-list items you have in mind. This will allow your team to focus on necessary updates and projects first, then aim for nonessential improvements as time permits.
Be sure to start small, as small steps will lead to big wins. Here’s a timeline we find helpful:
Strategize and Prioritize
Make a wish list of all the components you want to see enhanced or built across your CRM. From there, estimate the difficulty and duration of each project, then prioritize what should be completed first.
Build and Update
Get started on updating existing components and, if your timeline permits, build out new functionality that will strategically improve your team’s processes.
Test and Refine
Before you go live, rigorously test all updates and new builds with your whole team. If you have a test environment, make sure to take advantage of it to check every nook and cranny.
Go Live
Solidify updates, enable new functionalities, and celebrate your team’s successes.
Key Areas for Cycle Upkeep and Innovation
Start with necessary updates that are crucial to your upcoming cycle. There’s a whole lot to consider, so our team has created a checklist to help you strategize:
Annual CRM Upkeep
Perform these tasks to get ready for the upcoming cycle.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Update Counselor Assignment Automations | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Audit Material & Checklist Items | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Decision Letters | 🔥🔥 | |
| Review Document Import Processes | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Review & Minimize Duplicate Records | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
Application Prep
Maintain a top-notch application.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Update Term Start Dates & Structure | 🔥 | |
| Update Application Forms | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Streamline Application Questions | 🔥🔥 | |
| Application Portal/Microsite Updates & Additions | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Application Testing | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Review Application Review Processes | 🔥🔥 | |
| Move Defers Forward | 🔥 | |
| Withdraw Old Applications | 🔥 | |
| Updates to Third-Party Applications | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
Data Hygiene
Crucial items for maintaining queries, reports, and overall database health.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Updated Queries/Segments/Reports | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Turn Over Scheduled Exports & Reports | 🔥🔥 | |
| Review & Test Integrations | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Automate Existing Imports | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Mappings on Imports | 🔥🔥 | |
| Audit Custom Fields | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Troubleshoot Automation Errors | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Modernize Existing Exports | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
In-Depth Review
Identify next steps and mark them complete.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Update High School Contacts | 🔥 | |
| Audit Automation Performance | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Audit Telecommunication Settings | 🔥🔥 | |
| Web Analytics Review | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Review Lead Generation Sources | 🔥🔥 | |
| Create New Event Forms and Pages | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Current Event Forms | 🔥🔥 |
Mailing Campaigns
Enhance your communications.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Review Scheduled Campaigns | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Update Email Template Updates | 🔥🔥 | |
| Update Recipient Lists | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Personalize Campaign Language | 🔥 |
User Permissions
Confirm all CRM users are seeing what they need to see.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| User Security Audit and Cleanup | 🔥 | |
| Create New User Accounts | 🔥🔥 |
Proactive Measures
These additional steps will help you make big gains.
| Item | Difficulty | ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Enable New Features | 🔥🔥 | |
| Enhance Application Review Procedures | 🔥🔥🔥 | |
| Hire Spark451 to Help | 🙌 |
Thoughtful Support for Cycle Prep
The strategies in this guide are just a starting point. At Spark451, we recognize that in a busy admissions environment, cycle prep often happens in small, practical steps. So, don’t get overwhelmed. Even modest adjustments in your CRM can make it easier to plan ahead and stay flexible as the cycle unfolds. Over time, those incremental changes add up to a more sustainable, well-supported process.
If you find you need a little help along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the CRM experts at Spark451. Our SparkAssist team helps in-house college and university teams build on what’s already working, and identify opportunities to put thoughtful improvements into action.
How AI is Reshaping Digital Student Search
Blog
|February 24, 2026If you’re a university enrollment professional or in-house marketing leader, “bringing in a class” is only part of the job. The unwritten expectation? Stay ahead of every platform shift, every algorithm update, and every new student behavior — at all times.
No pressure, right?
Between shifting student behaviors, new platforms, and AI touching nearly everything, digital marketing can feel like a moving target; one that never slows down long enough for anyone to catch up. The result? Tactics that worked a year ago may no longer have the same impact, even with consistent spend.
With that in mind, here’s a closer look at several of the near-term changes that the Spark451 digital marketing team expects will impact the paid and social digital marketing arena. Along the way, we’ll also share some ideas on how enrollment teams can adapt their media strategies to stay efficient, visible, and competitive in the year ahead.
The Zero-Click Reality — and the Rise of Generative AI Search
Here’s something that might sound familiar: Your paid search impressions look great. Your keywords are working. But clicks? Softer than last year at this time. Leads? Not keeping up year-over-year. Welcome to the zero-click era.
Paid search is undergoing its biggest transformation in years — the biggest one I’ve seen in nearly nine years of focusing on digital marketing at Spark451. With Google’s AI Overviews (and similar features on Bing) now serving AI-generated answers directly above both paid and organic search results, many users are getting what they need without ever having to visit a landing page or website. Sure, some users will still scroll past the AI Overview and read through the ads, but those looking for a quick answer will get that in the overview section. In fact, one recent study showed that 60% of searches end up without a click, meaning the majority of queries end right there on the results page.
We’re seeing it firsthand with our college and university partners: click-through-rates (CTRs) are declining even as impression volume holds steady (it actually increased year-over-year). In some cases, lead counts are even dipping YOY despite consistent spend.
However, even though AI overviews have quickly changed the nature of paid search, you absolutely should not count out Google Search as a robust tool to fill your funnel. Even though CTRs have decreased in many of our campaigns, we’ve been seeing a positive trend of increased conversion rates among those who do make it to the ad’s landing page. That signals to us that the most intentional student searchers are still interested in the information past the AI Overview, and will still visit your page. But, still, we need to be cognizant of the varying needs of each potential student.
The new SEO in town: “Search Everywhere Optimization”
Here’s the reality of our industry and of students’ behavior: Prospective students don’t begin or end their search with a single query. Their journey unfolds over months and years, shaped by countless touchpoints — search results, sponsored posts, organic videos, etc. — each influencing how they evaluate institutions. Search no longer lives in one place. Students are discovering information through TikTok (which now functions as the top Gen-Z search engine anyway!), YouTube, Reddit, ChatGPT, and of course Google — often long before they ever visit your website. In fact, according to Google’s own published data, 40% of Gen-Z uses TikTok or Instagram search features over Google — and that’s including college research.
Students crave authenticity and they’re turning to user-generated content on social platforms to find it. They want to see what the dorms really look like, what the cafeteria serves, and if they can imagine themselves at your campus using TikTok or Reels to get a feel for the college “through other student’s eyes.” They are searching for “day in the life at [College]” on TikTok, “is [major] worth it” on Reddit, or “best college for [interest]” on YouTube during their discovery and search phase, all before doing a branded search for the college in question. But, being discoverable across platforms will allow your institution to not only show up when these searches happen, it will also guide students toward a deeper level of intent — ultimately prompting them to Google your institution’s name and land on your website ready to explore further.
This means you’ll need to:
- Maintain a presence across platforms, with both organic posts and paid ads — not rely on a single channel or budget.
- Treat video and social media assets as “search” assets, by optimizing captions, titles, and descriptions with search intent in mind across all platforms
- Ensure your institution shows up where students ask questions, whether that’s TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, or an AI chat interface like ChatGPT.
But how do you make that last part happen? That’s where answer engine optimization comes in.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — How to Appear in AI Search Results
As students increasingly turn to AI tools to research schools, they’re not clicking through results, but rather, they’re reading AI-generated responses that synthesize information from across the web. The issue today isn’t whether your institution appears in traditional search results as much as whether you appear in the ChatGPT answer.
Here’s what this looks like: A prospective student asks a chat AI, “What are the best engineering programs in the Southeast?” An AI tool generates a response, citing around five schools with specific details about location, program, costs, outcomes, and strengths. If your institution’s website isn’t structured to be cited, you’re left out, even if your program is exactly what the student is looking for.
Structuring your website for AI tools to crawl and scan your content — making it clear and easy to parse through — is the golden ticket to AI search results. You’ll need to use a schema markup to help AI sift through your content and make it searchable, so that students see your institution when searching AI tools. The institutions that win at this will be the ones that make the shift to incorporate AEO strategies sooner than later.
Reddit is the New Search Engine (no, really!)
On a somewhat related note, it’s also worth giving a bit more attention to how your institution approaches Reddit. The user-curated social news and discussion platform has quietly become one of the most influential research platforms for younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials. According to Reddit’s own data, the platform saw a 47% increase in search driven traffic in 2024, and another 19% jump in 2025. Plus, Google now prioritizes Reddit threads in search results for question-based queries. In a 2024 letter to his investors, CEO of Reddit, Steve Huffman, noted that “Reddit was the 6th-most Googled word in the U.S.” in 2024.
What makes Reddit so powerful is its authenticity. Prospective students aren’t looking for polished content, but rather the unfiltered truth from other students who’ve actually been there. Reddit is filled with threads talking about campus culture, job outcomes, life on and off campus — everything a typical student would want to know about but that might not be covered on a campus tour.
For higher ed marketers, this creates both an opportunity and a responsibility. Thoughtful paid strategies on Reddit allow you to show up in context, aligned with real student questions, without feeling intrusive. But the key is authenticity. You can’t fake your way into a Reddit thread, but you can blend in with the right content strategy.
Ads in AI Chatbots: The Next Frontier of Visibility for Your Institution
This one’s still early, but worth noting and keeping an eye on this year! As more students turn to AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to research schools, ask questions about majors, and compare costs, platforms are beginning to explore how advertising fits into these conversational experiences. In late 2025, Google announced that AI Summaries would soon have ads (a number of our partner institutions are already participating in beta testing for this). Similarly in December 2025, Meta started using personal conversation information from users utilizing Meta’s AI chat to start serving highly targeted ads based on the content of those conversations.
In mid-January, OpenAI announced that it will start serving ads in the free version of ChatGPT for adult users who are logged in. Those ads will be labeled “Sponsored,” and located beneath the answers provided by ChatGPT. As with any platform that is new to running ads, they will be in beta for some time, and will be out of reach to the budget conscious marketers, but we can count on seeing this space open up later this year.
As AI chatbots become a core part of the student search journey, they will eventually introduce a new channel to capture student interest and intent. While still in early development, we expect these tools to create opportunities for institutions to serve ads within AI chatbot searches as these offerings over the coming months — making this a space college and university enrollment and marketing professionals can’t afford to ignore in 2026.
Looking Ahead
Overall, one thing is clear: AI is here to stay, and will become more and more centered within the digital marketing landscape for years to come. And while higher education has typically been slow to adopt digital shifts, this one cannot be ignored. Too much of the student journey — and too much intent — is already being shaped by AI-powered tools.
The landscape is undeniably more complex than it was even a year ago, demographic cliffs and financial woes included. But you don’t need to tackle everything at once. Focused, intentional strategic changes can go a long way toward making an impact — whether that’s testing Reddit for the first time during spring sophomore and junior visit season, or perhaps rethinking how you measure success beyond clicks.
If you’d like to talk through your specific enrollment goals, media mix, or where it makes sense to start testing new platforms in 2026, our team of digital media experts would love to collaborate. Let’s figure out what trends are musts for your institution this year, together.
Elevate Application Review With Your CRM
For higher ed admissions pros, application review season is where strategy meets execution. The stakes are high, your team is stretched, and there’s an incredibly slim margin for error. Fortunately, your CRM can help streamline the process in a number of ways.
To help you get started, here are several pointers from the experts from Spark451’s SparkAssist CRM support team
Boost Operational Readiness
Prioritize Checklist Design
Prepare and test checklists well ahead of time in order to lay a strong foundation for efficient application review. That means properly configuring materials and testing checklist functionality before the arrival of all those student documents
Focus on Data Integrity
Duplicate records are a drag — they can distort reporting, delay decisions, and create avoidable frustration for applicants. Ensure that your team treats data deduplicating as an ongoing discipline — rather than a last-minute cleanup — to create smoother handoffs and a more reliable review pipeline. (Slate users: Visit Consolidate Records. Element451 users: See the Deduplication Module.)
Utilize Automated Communications
Don’t Let Missing Materials Slow Review
Automated outreach to students with missing materials helps maintain momentum throughout the review process. For added support, have admissions counselors follow up with a text or phone call, as well. (Need some creative approaches to grab their attention? We have plenty to share!)
Nudge Stalled Applicants Across the Finish Line
Students who have started, but not completed applications have already demonstrated significant interest in your institution, but sometimes, they need a little extra help to complete the process. A well-designed campaign can re-engage these students, recover applications that might otherwise be lost, and provide your team with critical insight into friction points that can be addressed down the road.
Enhance Efficiency With AI
Preserve Your Team’s Energy for High-Impact Work
Tools like Slate’s Reader AI or Element’s customizable rubric-based scoring feature empower your team to spend less time extracting key details from essays, transcripts, and letters of recommendations. These tools also make it easier to ensure that each file is evaluated against the same criteria at a base level before your human admissions counselors add nuance.
Make Your CRM Work Smarter
The tips above represent just a small sample of what’s possible when your CRM setup is aligned with your college or university’s application review process. The CRM experts on our SparkAssist team would be happy to help your team tackle your specific application review challenges, identify the right solutions, and help put them into action. Don’t hesitate to reach out when you’re ready to talk.
Capturing Our Place In History
Blog
|December 18, 2025Spark451, a Jenzabar Company, is proud to announce that our partner, Hartwick College, has won a Gold Circle of Excellence Award and a Best of District Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The Circle of Excellence and Best of District Awards showcase outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing, and were awarded to Hartwick in recognition of their strategic market repositioning efforts, work completed in collaboration with Spark451.
“We’re incredibly proud that our shared work with Spark451 and the Hartwick team has been honored with a 2025 Circle of Excellence Award and a Best of District Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education,” said Gail Glover, Vice President for Strategic Communications. “This recognition is a testament to the strength of our partnership and the deep collaboration that fueled every step of the process, from strategy and storytelling to creative execution. Together, we elevated Hartwick’s distinctive Life Balance message in a way that not only reflects the spirit and momentum of the College, but also makes a lasting impact on how students, families, and the broader community see Hartwick’s transformative value.”
Taking a Stand
After years of being perceived as a high-cost liberal arts institution and in the midst of rising anxiety over FAFSA rollout delays — as well as increasing concerns from students, families, and the general public regarding the costs of higher education — Hartwick College made a bold decision: Implement a transparent tuition reset.
The Work
To assist in their efforts, Spark451 was brought on board to help craft a comprehensive campaign that would dismantle their high-cost perception, position the tuition reset as evidence of a larger commitment to financial accessibility, and establish them as a forward-thinking college that prioritizes student well-being. The result? “The Life Balance College.”
By aligning our work with the College’s newly launched capital campaign, “Together We Soar,” and engaging key stakeholders such as the College President, Board of Trustees, current students, advancement, faculty, coaches, the Oneonta community, and more, we helped raise awareness, excitement, and campaign contributions. Not only that, but by deploying resources across a mix of traditional and digital channels, including postcards for senior search, website updates, social media engagement, and importantly, data-injected, personalized financial aid communications to existing students, we were able to help existing students understand the new tuition model and illustrate how the changes impacted their individual financial aid packages. This level of transparency and individual attention helped to reduce anxiety and build trust.
The synergy between operational change and communications, driven by extensive stakeholder research, ensured that the message wasn’t just promotional but genuinely reflective of Hartwick’s values.
Outcomes
At the time of submission, measurable outcomes included significant year-over-year increase in freshman applications and acceptance rates, as well as noteworthy growth in key academic areas. Furthermore, a survey of admitted students revealed that 71% believe Hartwick is within their financial reach, a strong indicator of the success of the tuition transparency work.
Judges lauded the initiative, noting the well-executed materials and a unique connection to philanthropy. They further commented that “the communication strategy and products are a model for other institutions.”
We are honored to share in Hartwick’s accomplishments and take great pride in the results of this tremendous effort.
Campus Roll-out Posters
Travel Brochure
Recruitment Travel Table Pull-ups
Personalized Financial Aid Mailing
Strategic Website Redesign
Senior Search Postcard Series
For Students and Influencers Such as Parents and Guidance Counselors
Senior Search Email Communications
Reach out to discuss how Spark451’s award-winning team can help your institution gain a competitive edge.
Your Fall Admissions Playbook
As the fall semester unfolds, admissions teams everywhere are balancing recruitment efforts, spring forecasting, and daily operations. Today, we break down what you should be doing to stay ahead, work smarter, and support students more effectively.
Data and Insights
Track what matters and act on it. Use your CRM’s analytics tools to monitor:
- Engagement Metrics: Email open rates, click-through rates, and event attendance numbers can help you refine messaging and outreach, as well as provide insights into campaign ROI.
- Predictive Analytics: Forecast spring enrollment and flag at-risk students based on their behavior and engagement.
- AI-Flagged Themes: Use Slate’s Reader AI to surface common themes in essays and interactions, and give your admissions staff deeper insights into applicants.
- Real-Time Campaign Insights: With Element451’s Bolt Insights, see what’s working across channels and adjust on the fly.
Pro Tip: Bring AI-generated highlights from your CRM to your team huddles to inspire focused discussions.
Automation and AI
Let automation and AI handle the heavy lifting so your team can focus on strategy:
- Reader AI (Slate): Summarize essays, recommendation letters, and transcripts with speed.
- Campaign Agents (Element451): Build email campaigns by simply telling your digital assistant what you need.
- Chatbots: Use AI-powered bots to answer FAQs and reduce staff burden.
- Task Automation: Schedule meetings, generate reports, and review documents automatically.
Slate Pro Tip: Hey, Slate users: make sure to organize your documents! Slate’s Reader AI works best when transcripts, test scores, and recommendations are properly categorized.
Personalized Student Touchpoints
Whether it’s a campus visit or a decision letter, personalization makes a difference:
- Campus Visits: Promote through social and email using AI to tailor invites based on academic interests or extracurriculars.
- Bolt Discovery (Element451): Help students find answers on your website without navigating complex menus.
- Bolt Jobs (Element451): Autonomously contact students via AI agents to accomplish a goal, such as submitting their application or registering for a specific event.
By aligning your tools with your goals, you can create a more efficient, personalized, and data-driven admissions experience. Use the handy checklist below to help keep you on track:
This fall, don’t just work harder—work smarter! October is the perfect time to optimize your systems, support your students, and set the stage for a strong spring, so grab your coffee, open up your CRM, and get started. Need a hand? Reach out any time to talk through your needs and discuss how we can help set you up for success!Read more
2025 College-Bound Student & Parent Surveys: Download the Reports
Blog
|October 1, 2025We know that as a higher education professional, you are intimately familiar with the state of college and university admissions. However, we have a feeling you’ll probably still be surprised by some of the findings from Spark451’s 14th annual College-Bound Student Survey and our latest College-Bound Student Survey: Parent Edition.
This summer, Spark451’s Education Research Division gathered feedback from thousands of students and parents across the U.S. Download the reports to gain access to all of the valuable information for college admissions professionals, including:
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- The Class of 2029’s social media habits
- Which communication tactics resonated most with students and their parents
- How AI and technology were utilized in the college search process
- How regional and campus political and social attitudes influenced admissions decisions
- And much more!
Download the reports now. Then, reach out. We’ll be happy to help you determine if your upcoming admissions marketing and student search plans are fully in line with the latest data from students and their parents.
The Future of Financial Aid Offers
Blog
|September 16, 2025At the start of the fall 2025 recruitment cycle, the enrollment management world was still recovering from the FAFSA fallout of 2024.
Although the form seems to have operated smoothly this past cycle, with submissions returning to pre-pandemic levels, and is promised to return to its October 1 launch date, financial aid offices are still entering the fall 2026 cycle with trepidation. Why?
- Conversations about college affordability are more prominent than ever.
- Families (and, let’s be honest, schools as well) are wondering what changes might be coming to loan access and Pell requirements.
- Students and parents are actively discussing their financial aid offers on public forums like Reddit, asking what is normal and is it worth it, and looking for guidance on how to interpret confusing offer letters.
While all of that is out of our control, there is something we can control — how we communicate financial aid offers. Packages are currently sent in a few ways: a printed mailer, links to online portals, or a combination of the two. As families require more detailed information and clarity, more schools need to take their aid communication a step beyond by digitizing their print offer piece.
Sending financial aid offers to the inbox in addition to the mailbox is:
1. Faster
Imagine pressing send on an email campaign the day all packages have been tested, reviewed, merged, and approved. No more waiting to get the first call to the financial aid office to know they’ve started arriving in mailboxes. Sending digitally gets aid offers to students weeks faster than mailing.
2. Informative
Sending digitally gives you analytics that mail never could. At any given moment, you can know exactly who has downloaded their aid package and who has yet to take this important step.
3. Actionable
Tailor your admissions and financial aid representatives’ time by using segmentation. Based on where you are in the cycle, your goals related to the financial aid offer probably shift. Early on, you might consider personal outreach to those who have yet to download their aid package, in hopes of making sure they know what is available. As the deadline nears, it may be better to focus on those who have already downloaded their package, or those who have accessed it multiple times, as they are likely still considering enrolling at your school.
4. Accessible
As those same staff are reaching out, they have complete access to the same material the student received. Conversations are significantly easier when your staff can reference certain information, pages, etc., when discussing details of an offer. No more referencing tables in SIS systems and hoping to translate them correctly.
Some schools have even chosen to send only digital offers, which can save thousands of dollars in print and postage costs. However, in a world where high school families are inundated with digital outreach, they are showing an increased affinity for mailed information. In fact, Spark451 hosts an annual college-bound survey for high school seniors and parents who just recently concluded their search process, and the results are clear: they want tangible materials now. While there may have been a moment where mail seemed antiquated, printed financial aid offers are likely here to stay.
You’re already creating an aid package for every student — why not get it to them faster while simultaneously enabling your admissions team to have better, more informative, and actionable conversations with students? Why not send it digitally first?
If you’re interested in learning about Spark451’s personalized aid offers that leverage variable data, please reach out to us! Financial aid has always been a lynchpin of yield season, and while it may feel like yield just ended, it’s never too early to start planning for the next one — especially if you hope to have something new and ready to make a splash in the market. Spark451 is here to support you in making sure your team is set up for success!
Your September Secret Weapon? AI.
September is a pivotal month for college admissions professionals, with recruitment season kicking off and critical fall event planning underway. To say things are busy would be an understatement! So, how are you and your team going to juggle it all? With AI, that’s how.
Fall Travel
Give your counselors and road warriors a leg up (and help increase engagement) while on the road with these new tools:
Slate | AI Dashboard
This easy-to-implement tool integrates with person record dashboards to provide quick, digestible updates that counselors can reference while on the go:
- Activity Summaries
“How many emails has a student opened? When was the last time they logged in to the portal? Is their application complete?” All of these questions and more can be answered with the AI Dashboard. - Engagement Scores
Let AI analyze each student’s level of engagement and provide an overall score and summary. Counselors can review these scores in seconds and go into meetings feeling even better prepared. - Recommended Follow-ups
Not only can AI tell you how engaged students are, but it can also provide your team with recommendations on how best to follow up, whether that’s scheduling meetings with key players (coaches or faculty) or sticking with one outreach method over another.
Whatever you or staff want to know about prospective students, AI Dashboard can be built in a way to get you answers.
Element451 | Bolt Discovery & Agents
These two tools are serious game-changers, helping students and your team make the most of their time and (packed) schedules.
- Embed Bolt Discovery on your website and get your counselors ready to tell the world how easily students, families, counselors, and alumni can find what they’re looking for. No more endless scrolling or page searches … simply type in what you’re looking for and Bolt Discovery will hand deliver it (ok, not literally, but you understand).
- Use a Bolt Chatbot Agent on your landing pages and forms to provide students with a low-pressure, safe environment to ask the questions they might otherwise feel too embarrassed to ask. Once set up, be sure to have counselors promote it as a resource for asking additional questions following high school visits or college fairs. It’s an easy way to invite students to interact with your institution, and they’ll love that your team put together AI resources specific to your school and their academic journey.
Pro Tip: Get the most out of your AI bots by keeping your knowledge sources fresh. Remember, if they don’t have access to the latest information, neither will your students!
Campus Visits
Get ready for visitors by including AI in your preparation for open houses, tours, and events!
Slate | AI Portal Components
Use Slate AI to help create new components wherever you see a WYSIWYG editor, including entire custom portals! With a little bit of time and focus, you could create an entirely new campus tour signup page or open house portal. Push the limits and see what types of engaging and colorful ideas AI can create for you.
Element451 | AI Agents
Leave the reminders and follow-ups to AI Agents that can autonomously reach out to students to promote events. Agents can be configured to reach out via any method you choose and with a tone that aligns with your audience. Want them to reach out via email first, and then text later? Can do!
Behind-the-Scenes Work
As the engine behind your recruitment strategy and the key to your bots’ accuracy and usability, it’s critical you keep your CRM humming smoothly.
- Update Reports, Queries, and Segments: Track outreach effectiveness, recruitment metrics, and applicant trends.
- Review Staff Assignments and Automations: Align your strategy with real-time data that keep all stakeholders across your institution happy.
- Clean Up Duplicate Records: Stay organized and avoid confusion. Check out our recent blog post about how to do it!
Final Thoughts
Implementing AI might feel a bit daunting or, dare we say, scary at first (we all watched Terminator and I, Robot, right?), but we’re confident that these tools will help make your and your team’s lives easier. Not only that, but they can help increase engagement and strengthen connections between prospective students and your institution — something we can all get behind.
Need a hand getting started? Just reach out — we’re always available to talk through your needs and help set you up for success!
Spark451 Once Again Named a Google Premier Partner
Blog
|August 19, 2025Spark451, a Jenzabar Company, is proud to announce it has once again been named a Google Premier Partner, a recognition earned by just 3% of Google Partners.
Through this designation, the team at Spark451 will continue to gain access to exclusive benefits and additional support that translate directly to its clients. In addition, this certification:
- Signifies that Spark451 continues to achieve hard-to-reach benchmarks for campaign performance, spending, and revenue growth.
- Underscores the company’s digital advertising expertise — their team of digital marketing professionals hold various certifications in Google tools such as Search, Display, Mobile, and Video.
- Grants Spark451 continued access to important resources, such as an Annual Partners Summit, that enhance the company’s ability to deliver top-notch performance to its clients.
“We are honored to once again receive designation as a Google Premier Partner, a title we have proudly held for the last seven years,” says Ann Levy, Spark451’s Director of Digital Marketing. “Not only is it a testament to our team’s dedication to providing the best service possible, but it expands our digital media resources, giving us increased access to dedicated Google reps for campaign optimization and troubleshooting, and allows us early access to Google’s beta releases of new campaign tactics — both of which directly benefit our own partners.”
Google’s continued recognition reinforces that Spark451 has the resources, skill, and deep well of knowledge required to help colleges get the most out of their digital marketing budgets.
To learn more about how the digital marketing experts at Spark451 can help your institution reach and exceed your media goals, reach out today!