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AUDIENCES THAT MATTER
Parent and Family Communication
for Colleges and Universities
Parents and families are often helping students sort through cost, safety, distance, fit, support and whether a college feels worth it.
That does not mean they need to take over the process. It means they need clear, timely and thoughtful communication that helps them support the student in front of them.
I help colleges and universities build parent and family communication strategies that create clarity, reduce confusion and strengthen trust from the first point of interest through enrollment.
WHY IT MATTERS
Students may lead the search, but parents and families shape the decision.
Many colleges hesitate to communicate directly with parents and families because they want students to own the college search. And that instinct is right. Students should be the center of the process.
But student-centered does not mean family-blind.
Today’s parents and families are more involved, more informed and more likely to expect transparency from the institutions their students are considering. Gen X and Millennial parents often have close, highly communicative relationships with their students, and they are carrying real questions about cost, safety, support, distance, outcomes and value.
Strong parent and family communications do not take the process away from the student. They create a clearer environment around the student, so families can support good decision-making instead of adding confusion, pressure or last-minute doubt.
Your institution is going to be discussed at the kitchen table either way. The question is whether your communication helps shape that conversation with clarity and care, or leaves families to fill in the gaps themselves.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions about parent and family communications.
What is a campus visit experience audit?
What does a campus visit audit include?
How much does a campus visit experience audit cost?
Who should consider a campus visit assessment?
Do you evaluate pre-visit and post-visit communication?
What makes Square One Consulting different from a higher education agency?
How can colleges improve the campus visit experience?
WHY SQUARE ONE
Meet your consultant
Laura Rudolph, M.S.
Founder & CEO, Square One Consulting
I have spent more than a decade writing parent and family communications for colleges and universities, and I have invested significant time learning how Gen X and Millennial parents experience the college search.
Not because families should take over the college search. Because they are part of it.
I am deeply interested in what today’s parents worry about, where they feel uncertain, what doubts they carry, how they look for information and who they trust when the decision starts to feel complicated.
That work matters because families have changed. Many expect more transparency, more clarity and more acknowledgment from the institutions their students are considering. They are often carrying questions about cost, safety, support, distance, outcomes and value, even when the student is leading the search.
And yes, it probably helps that I am a Millennial parent myself!
I help institutions communicate with families in a way that builds trust, reduces confusion and keeps the student at the center.
Let's talk about your parent & family communication
Families are already part of the enrollment conversation. The question is whether your communication is helping them support the student with more clarity and confidence.
Let’s talk about what is working, where families are getting stuck and whether a parent and family communication strategy could help your team build more trust throughout the enrollment journey.