Whether or not you were able to join us for this year’s SparkThink@JAM, we certainly hope you’ll make room for us in your travel plans for the cycle ahead. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us in Nashville, TN for SparkThink@JAM 2025 from Wednesday, May 28–Friday, May 30, 2025!

In the meantime, we’re still reminiscing about our favorite moments from this year’s event. We’ve included some of the best memories from this year’s gathering below. Flip through the photos to catch a glimpse of your colleagues who were there, and then tap into your FOMO to make sure you don’t miss next year’s event. We can’t wait to see you there!

Spark451, a Jenzabar company, is a higher education enrollment strategy, technology, and marketing firm that combines creativity with powerful technology to achieve measurable results. With a mission to help colleges and students fuel their future, the firm integrates a multitude of communication channels and platforms for effective enrollment marketing, student search, creative services, and digital media. Since 2011, Spark451 has worked with over 200 colleges and universities nationwide. For more information, please visit spark451.com.

Consider the following scenario: You’re a business-to-consumer company marketing your product in an extremely competitive field. But once your customers have made a purchase from you, you stop marketing to them. This is all but unheard of in the B2C marketing world, yet it’s an all-too-common practice in higher education. Institutions expend countless resources recruiting new students, but don’t put nearly the same energy into re-recruiting their current students. Given that dropout rates are holding steady and that this year’s FAFSA fiasco will have an enormous and negative impact on enrollment, it may be time for institutions to prioritize re-recruitment.

To some, the term has an alternative meaning. It was common in 2019, when the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) changed its code of ethics and allowed institutions to more aggressively market to potential transfer students. In the case that we’ll be outlining, however, the term refers to a strategy for institutions to market to current students with messaging that reinforces the idea that their institution is the right fit.

Vice President for Enrollment Marketing and Co-Founder of Spark451, Steve Kerge, outlined five re-recruitment tactics institutions should be using right now to ensure their current students return to campus in the fall.

The changes are set to make a substantial impact, particularly on marketers and transactional email senders. However, this also includes any bulk email senders, which are email senders or domains that send 5,000 or more daily emails to personal accounts within a 24-hour period.

At Spark451, email communication is one of our main channels for reaching college students, and we’ve observed that most students use Gmail. For example, data from one of our largest university partners showed that 53.6% of students use Gmail. Following that, 8.3% of students used iCloud.

Failing to meet the new requirements will trigger temporary email errors. To better understand these errors, you can find more information by checking out Google’s Email Sender Guidelines.

Non-compliance with the requirements will result in the rejection of a small percentage of your recipients. An example from Google: If 75% of your email traffic aligns with their standards, Google will begin rejecting a portion of the remaining 25% that doesn’t meet the compliance criteria, and will gradually increase the amount of rejections over time.

One-click unsubscribe requirements will be enforced.

The introduction of the one-click email unsubscribe is geared toward simplifying the process for users looking to opt out of commercial emails. Google and Yahoo have mandated major email senders to make it possible for users to unsubscribe with just a single click. The ultimate goal is to create a more user-friendly experience, reducing the likelihood of users resorting to the spam button.

Google and Yahoo are stepping up their efforts in the battle against spam, employing sophisticated algorithms for identification and prevention. Email senders should be vigilant about their spam complaint rates, as those surpassing 0.3% could lead to deliverability issues and a portion of non-compliant mail being rejected. To ensure optimal email deliverability and engagement, it is advisable to target spam levels of 0.1% or below.

One pivotal improvement revolves around reinforcing email security, a necessary upgrade. Tightening security not only boosts overall email deliverability but also mitigates the risk of phishing attempts, thereby nurturing increased trust with our target audience.

Below are four tips utilized by Spark451’s email team on a daily basis to decrease spam rates, leading to enhanced deliverability. While implementing these strategies may require a fair amount of time, the outcomes will undoubtedly prove to be valuable.

Utilize demographics such as academic interest or location to tailor your emails to specific segments, which will reduce the likelihood of your message being flagged as spam.

Conduct A/B tests to determine the optimal times to send emails to your target audience. This helps enhance engagement and reduces the risk of your emails being marked as spam.

Ensure all links are functional, and that the email renders correctly across various Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Regular testing guarantees a seamless experience for your recipients, minimizing the chances of your emails being flagged as spam.

Segment your audience based on email engagement and implement a sunset policy to remove users who haven’t engaged after a certain amount of time.

The landscape of email authentication is evolving, and it’s now imperative to implement DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework (SPF), as well as to set up a Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) record for your domain if you haven’t already. As a quick reminder, SPF helps identify authorized mail servers permitted to send emails on behalf of your domain. DKIM utilizes a digital signature to confirm that the email has been sent and authorized by the domain owner. Meanwhile, DMARC acts as a crucial standard, providing protection against sophisticated threats that could potentially lead to an email data breach.

Email Tip: Take the initiative to talk with your IT team to ensure that all email authentication records are correctly configured. This proactive step significantly reduces the risk of mail being rejected due to not meeting standard email authentications. For those without a DMARC record, it’s critical to add one to your Domain Name System (DNS) records promptly. Gmail now requires DMARC to be configured with a policy of at least p=none. This, at the very least, instructs the receiving provider not to take any action on an email that fails an SPF/DKIM check. Stay ahead of the curve by fortifying your email authentication measures and safeguarding your communication channels against potential security risks.

Make sure to add the following tasks to your to-do list to proactively address these changes! By incorporating these steps into your email practices, you not only comply with industry requirements but also enhance the effectiveness and deliverability of your email communications.

Make sure you set up one-click unsubscribe on all emails. Check with your CRM to see if this is already being done.

Keep your SPF and DKIM records up to date. These authentication mechanisms help establish the legitimacy of your emails and ensure they are not flagged as spam.

Once SPF and DKIM are in place, ensure your DMARC policy aligns with your authentication records. This cohesive approach strengthens your email security measures.

Establish alerts to notify you when your spam rates increase above the recommended threshold of 0.1%. Monitoring spam rates is crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation and ensuring your emails reach their intended audience.

Make sure you have a Google Postmaster Tools account — this will be one of the only places you’ll be able to see the true spam rate.

The email team at Spark451 has been diligently striving to anticipate these alterations, in order to guarantee the seamless and timely delivery of our partners’ emails. If you need help making sure your institution is well-positioned to navigate these changes, feel free to reach out. Our email experts would be happy to help optimize your setup to ensure compliance and promote deliverability!

Direct admit programs, while not new, are better organized on a larger, more accessible scale. In November 2023, nearly 300,000 students received admission decisions via the Common Application’s Direct Admit Program — without even applying first. While some students interviewed said it was a “nice option,” many said it would not change their list of top schools. But it does contribute to the “noise” in the market.

So how do we respond to this new admissions trend? A focus on strong, authentic, admitted student communications is paramount. Make sure you are clear and concise about your outcomes and student experiences. Speaking to students about their interests and goals directly will help them (and you!) understand if your school is a best-fit for them. Add in well-timed student and family surveys for feedback. These kinds of data points, coupled with consumer behavior data points, will create informed outreach strategies for you and your team.

While the stories of students applying to 100+ colleges have circulated our networks, we can assure you this is not the new normal. Students and families are concerned about getting in, so they are casting a wider net, but not to the extreme. For example, in our 2023 College Bound Student Survey, 39% of respondents said they applied to 10 or more colleges, up from 37% in 2022. The increased accessibility to applications through common platforms, the incentivization of free applications, and the proliferation of marketing through social media have all played a role in the initial increase and the continued 10+ average.

While many students can be serious applicants, the key to driving yield is to break through the noise of the market with your authentic voice, and by speaking directly to the needs of Gen Z. Have you spoken about your campus climate? Mental, social, and academic support? Does your campus reflect your brand and mission as a whole? Do whatever you can to help students feel more connected to your institution.

(Of course, not every student will choose your school. Take a moment to reflect on the “why,” and collect that data to inform your future efforts.)

This year, the chatter around application and supporting documentation issues seem to be on the rise. What does that mean for you? Opportunity! Helping students to understand that there is still time to apply allows your campus to be the hero in a stressful year. Can you help by removing barriers? Can you streamline the process by prepopulating application data from your CRM? What do you really need to make the admission decision? Think creatively about how your staff and your campus can support families to make college a reality.

This issue extends to the delayed FAFSA process, as well. Early anecdotes suggest that some families who are reliant on federal and state aid were waiting to even apply to college until the FAFSA was released. Getting into spaces where you can help families complete both applications will give you a bump, and help create trust toward future matriculation.

Speaking of FAFSA… The delayed launch has caused several layers of concerns: delayed data management system updates, delayed download and testing of institutional methodology, and — more seriously — delayed family notification, greatly shortening the timeline for families’ considerations.

It will be important for admissions teams to clearly communicate timelines and next steps. You may not be able to initially give families the full financial picture, but what can you give them? Scholarship amounts? Likely eligibility? FAFSA completion assistance? Taking the time to think through a well-crafted plan here will help you be first to market. How you treat families through this delicate time will set the tone for how they perceive your campus treats students.

We here at Spark451 love to dive in and look at the trends, analyze the data, and work towards our partner institutions’ goals. As industry veterans, many of us sat where you sit now. But the days of being at the “whim” of others have passed. We want to help you reach your class goals with some of the tactics here, and more. Reach out today — we’d love to connect!