Notes from the field

If something worked last year, it is tempting to reset it and run it again. But students change. Generations shift. And a comm flow that performed well in 2022 may be doing something very different in 2027. Here is how to find out before you build.

After a year of secret shopping as a student and parent, I uncovered what most colleges get wrong about text messaging. Generic, one-off blasts don’t build trust—thoughtful, timely, personalized texts do. In this episode, we explore what works, what doesn’t, and how to make SMS a real relationship builder.

This year, I gave my cell number to 26 colleges as part of my annual secret shopping experiment. The results? 77% texted me as a student, but none texted me as a parent. In this blog, I share real examples of what colleges are sending, what’s working (and what’s not), and simple rewrites that turn one-way announcements into real conversations.