Insights Blog

After nearly two decades in higher education, I realized the biggest barrier for first-generation students is not access, it is understanding. The words we use, the tone we take, and the way we ask shape whether a student feels college is for them. The TRUST Messaging Framework — Teach, Respond, Understand, Simplify, Talk, was born from thousands of real emails and conversations. It is a tool any campus communicator can use to build clarity, compassion, and connection across

This time of year, someone is going to pull up last year's messaging and ask: are we still saying this? Before you answer, it's worth understanding the patterns that show up again and again in higher ed enrollment marketing — what makes them tempting, what they unintentionally signal, and how to make them work harder without starting over.