The Enrollment Communications Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide Before You Build Your Next Cycle

Most enrollment teams spend the summer writing next year's communications. I recommend spending a little time first making sure you're writing the right ones.

Download the Enrollment Communications Flow Workbook

Copy the Audit Companion Google Spreadsheet

There is a temptation in enrollment marketing that I understand all too well.

Something works. Open rates are decent. Deposits come in. The cycle ends reasonably well. And so the following summer, you reset the communication flow and run it again.

I get it. Summer is short. You're stretched thin. Starting from scratch every year sounds exhausting. (Been there more times than I can count.)

But here's the problem: students change. Every few years, the entering class represents a genuinely different group of humans, shaped by different experiences, different technologies and different expectations. The way they consume information changes. The questions they ask change. Even the ways they engage with our communications change.

A communication flow that felt fresh and relevant in 2021 may be landing very differently in 2026. And the metrics you relied on to judge success may not tell the full story anymore, either.

That's why a communication audit isn't just about deciding what emails to keep or rewrite. It's about understanding whether your communications are still creating the experience you intend and whether you're measuring success in the right ways.

If you are not auditing before you build, you are flying blind. Because your communication flow shouldn't just be recycled. It should be re-earned every cycle.

Here's the framework I developed, and still recommend, before rebuilding an enrollment communication flow.

It doesn't just help you identify which emails to rewrite. It helps you uncover where students are getting stuck, where communications are creating friction and how to build a stronger experience from the ground up.

1. Pull the data, then audit the analytics

The first stop is still your CRM or email platform.

Pull every communication from the previous cycle, including emails, text messages, print pieces and any automated touchpoints. Gather whatever performance data you have available, whether that's open rates, click-through rates, replies, conversions, registrations or milestone completion.

But before you start sorting emails into "good" and "bad," remember this: The way we measure communication success has changed.

A few years ago, an email with a high open rate and strong click-through rate was easy to celebrate. Today, those numbers deserve a little more scrutiny.

Privacy protections can artificially inflate open rates. Email security tools often click links before recipients ever see them. And increasingly, the best enrollment communications are intentionally designed so students and families don't have to click because the information they need is already in the email.

That doesn't mean you should ignore opens and clicks. They can still reveal trends and point you toward communications worth investigating, but they shouldn't be mistaken for the whole story.

Look for patterns, not just percentages.

• Emails that appear to perform well. These may have strong opens, meaningful replies, higher downstream conversion rates or a clear connection to enrollment milestones like completing an application, registering for a visit or submitting a deposit. These are your anchors. Figure out what they're doing well before you decide to keep them.

• Emails that consistently underperform. Low engagement can certainly signal a problem, but don't stop there. Ask why. Was the timing off? Was the message unclear? Did students already have the information elsewhere? Or was the email asking them to do something they weren't yet ready to do?

• Emails worth investigating. Sometimes the most interesting emails are the ones that don't tell a clear story. Maybe they have high open rates but little downstream movement. Maybe nobody clicked because nobody needed to. Or maybe students read the email, got confused and called your office instead.

Those are the communications worth investigating.

Audit your analytics, too.

As you review your communication flow, also ask whether you're measuring the right things.

Instead of asking:

• Did they open the email?

• Did they click the button?

Start asking:

• Did more students complete the next enrollment milestone?

• Did more families register for financial aid events?

• Did application completion improve after this message was sent?

• Did counselor questions decrease because the communication answered them first?

• Did students move through the process with fewer delays?

Those are the outcomes your communications exist to influence.

Sometimes success is the absence of something.

Not every successful communication creates more activity. Sometimes it creates less.

• Maybe your financial aid email resulted in fewer phone calls because families finally understood the process.

• Maybe your admitted student checklist reduced repetitive counselor emails.

• Maybe your parent communication didn't receive many replies, but students whose parents received it completed their FAFSA at a higher rate.

• Maybe your orientation email generated fewer clicks because every answer students needed was already right there.

Sometimes the best communication is the one that prevents confusion before it happens.

That's still success.

In fact, it may be one of the strongest indicators that your communication is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

2. Audit for tone, voice and experience

This step is harder to quantify, but it is often where the most important problems live.

Read every email in your flow; not as a marketer, but as a 17-year-old who just got an acceptance letter and is trying to figure out if this school is right for their family. Or as the parent who is trying to make sense of financial aid for the first time. Or as the transfer student juggling work, family and college applications.

Then ask yourself one simple question: Does this communication make the next step feel clearer or more complicated?

Does this sound like a human being wrote it to another human being? Or does it sound like an institution communicating a deadline to a record in a database?

1. Institutional language instead of human language

Does this sound like one person helping another? Or does it sound like an institution broadcasting information?

Students don't think in offices, departments or internal processes. They think in questions.

Instead of organizing communications around what your office needs to say, organize them around what students and families need to know.

2. Unnecessary jargon

Would a first-generation student or family understand every acronym, process and term without having to Google it?

Terms like SAI, COA, SAP, FERPA and subsidized versus unsubsidized loans may be second nature to us.

For many families, they're being encountered for the very first time.

Every unexplained term creates friction.

3. Anxiety disguised as urgency

Not every deadline needs a countdown. Not every email needs to say "last chance." (I've specifically talked about this before as it relates to yield.)

Urgency has its place, but overusing it creates stress without increasing understanding.

Ask yourself whether your communication is helping students take action because they feel informed...or because they feel pressured.

Those are very different experiences.

4. Cognitive overload

This is one of the biggest issues I see in enrollment communications today. Emails often try to accomplish too much:

• Too many calls to action.

• Too many links.

• Too many deadlines.

• Too many competing priorities.

Every additional decision asks the reader to spend a little more mental energy.

Instead, ask:

• What's the one thing this communication needs to accomplish?

• What is the one action I want someone to take after reading this?

• What information can wait until a later message?

Simple communications are often more effective than comprehensive ones.

5. Whose problem is this solving?

This is my favorite question to ask.

Is this email solving an institutional problem......or a student problem?

"We need you to submit your housing application." That's our problem.

"Here's why completing your housing application early gives you more options and what to expect afterward." That's solving the student's problem.

The difference matters. Students respond better when they understand the "why," not just the "what."

3. Review what you've already learned

If your CRM allows A/B testing and you ran any tests during the previous cycle, now is the time to revisit those results. But instead of focusing only on which subject line won or which call to action generated more clicks, take a broader view of what the testing actually taught you.

• Did one version lead to more completed applications?

• Did one result in more event registrations or deposits?

• Did one generate fewer questions from students and families because the message was simply clearer?

Those are often more meaningful measures of success than opens or clicks alone.

If you didn't run formal A/B tests, don't worry. You probably learned more during the previous cycle than you realize.

Think about the communications that surprised you.

• Which emails performed much better than expected?

• Which ones seemed to miss the mark?

• Were there messages that consistently generated phone calls or counselor questions? Did students seem to stall after receiving a particular communication?

Those moments are worth investigating because they often reveal opportunities to improve the student experience.

As you prepare for the next cycle, identify a handful of communications that deserve intentional testing.

I typically recommend focusing on the moments that have the greatest influence on enrollment decisions:

• The first communication after admission, when students are excited but still evaluating their options.

• Financial aid communications, where even small improvements in clarity can reduce confusion.

• Messages leading up to major enrollment milestones, such as housing selection, orientation registration or deposit deadlines.

• Any communication that consistently creates questions or uncertainty for students and families.

Before launching a test, decide what success will look like. It may be higher event attendance, faster application completion, increased deposits or fewer calls to your office about a particular topic. While open and click rates can provide useful context, they shouldn't be the only indicators you're using to evaluate whether a communication was successful.

The goal isn't simply to find the "best" email. It's to better understand what helps students and families move confidently through the enrollment process.

4. Talk to your counselors

This is the step I see enrollment marketers skip most often. And, in my experience, it's by far one of the most valuable.

Every summer before I built or rebuilt a communication flow, I would bring my admissions counseling team together for a focus group. But I didn't want general feedback like, "Students seemed confused about financial aid." I wanted specifics.

I asked them to come prepared with examples, patterns and stories from the previous cycle.

One year, those conversations revealed something I never would have discovered by looking at analytics.

We had designed a uniquely sized viewbook that looked great...but guess what surfaced in our focus group? IT DIDN'T FIT INSIDE OUR COUNSELORS TRAVEL CASES. 🤦They had to carry extra boxes to events because the books couldn't be packed efficiently.

So...we changed the size. Problem solved. More brochures, less hassle, happier counselors.

It wasn't a communications problem. It was an operational one. But that's exactly the point. When you ask the people on the front lines what's making their jobs harder, you'll often uncover opportunities to improve the enrollment experience that would never appear in a dashboard.

That's also why these conversations shouldn't be limited to communication performance. They should also uncover the small operational frustrations that quietly add up over the course of a recruitment cycle.

Here are a few of the questions I always asked:

• What questions did students and families ask over and over again? Not broad themes, but the actual questions in the words students and parents used. Those questions are often the clearest indicators of where your current communications aren't providing enough clarity.
  

• What conversations caught students or families off guard? Were counselors regularly explaining something that should have already been communicated? Those moments often reveal gaps in your communication flow.
  

• Where did students consistently get stuck? Don't just think about incomplete applications. Consider every point where momentum slowed, whether it was financial aid, housing, orientation registration or another enrollment milestone. Each bottleneck is an opportunity to improve communication.
  

• What would have made your job easier? If one well-timed email or text could have prevented dozens of phone calls, that's probably a communication worth creating.

I also like asking one curveball, like: What questions disappeared this year?

Sometimes success is the absence of something, and that goes for territory management, too.

If counselors stopped getting calls about how to submit transcripts or where to find the admitted student portal, it's worth understanding why. Maybe a communication improved. Maybe a process became clearer. Maybe another office solved the problem. Whatever the reason, you've learned something worth carrying forward.

Your admissions counselors experience your communication flow differently than anyone else on campus. They see where it builds confidence, where it creates confusion and where students need more support than the communication provided.

5. Meet with enrollment leadership

If you're in marketing rather than admissions, this step is especially important and often overlooked.

Before the new cycle begins, request a debrief with enrollment leadership. Not a data review. A conversation.

Ask questions like:

• Where did students seem to lose momentum?

• Were there points in the cycle where applications, deposits or event registrations slowed unexpectedly?

• What questions or concerns seemed to surface repeatedly?

• Were there any surprises that required your team to shift course mid-cycle?

• If you could improve one part of the enrollment experience next year, what would it be?

These conversations often reveal something important: many enrollment challenges are, at least in part, communication challenges.

Students who stop midway through an application may not lack motivation. They may simply be unsure what comes next.

Families who delay completing the FAFSA may need earlier communication, clearer explanations or more reassurance that help is available.

Campus visits with lower-than-expected yield may point to a communication gap before students ever arrive on campus.

That's why it's so important for marketing to be part of these conversations. Enrollment leaders understand the operational challenges. Marketing brings a different lens, asking, "Is this really a process problem, or is it a communication problem?"

Sometimes the answer is both. But if marketing isn't in the room, that question may never get asked.

And, no, I certainly can't say that communication will solve every enrollment challenge. Budget, pricing, academic offerings and competition all play significant roles. But when students don't understand what to do, why it matters or what to expect next, even the best processes can break down.

These conversations also help establish priorities before you begin writing. Rather than rebuilding every communication, you can focus your energy on the parts of the enrollment journey that need the most attention.

A communication flow shouldn't be considered successful when it's well-written, it should be considered successful when it helps solve the right problems.

6. Secret shop the competition

Every summer, I signed up to receive communications from peer and competitor institutions as a prospective student. I used a variation of my name (or one of my pets' names. There are probably still a few dogs and cats floating around enrollment CRMs because of me.) and a separate email address, then simply paid attention to what happened.

The goal wasn't to copy/paste the competition, but to better understand the landscape.

As communications arrived, I paid attention to questions like:

• What information did they prioritize?

• How quickly did they follow up after an inquiry or application?

• What did they assume students already knew?

• Which communications felt personal and helpful?

• Which ones felt transactional?

• Where did I feel excited?

• Where did I feel confused or overwhelmed?

I also collected their print. Viewbooks, financial aid materials, admitted student packets, postcards. Looking at a stack of communications from multiple institutions reveals patterns you won't notice when reviewing one school at a time.

(Bonus tip: If you know a colleague, faculty member or staff member whose student is going through the college search process, ask if they'll save the communications they receive. It's one of the easiest ways to see what prospective students are experiencing without creating dozens of inquiry accounts yourself.)

One caution: don't limit yourself to your closest competitors.

Yes, you should understand what the college down the road is doing. But you should also pay attention to institutions that are known for delivering exceptional enrollment experiences, even if they aren't direct competitors.

The goal isn't to become a better version of the school across town.

It's to become a better version of your own institution.

Sometimes you'll confirm that you're already doing something well.

Sometimes you'll discover a great idea worth adapting.

And sometimes you'll realize that everyone is making the same assumptions, creating the same friction or sending the same uninspiring communications.

Those moments can be just as valuable.

Remember, your prospective students aren't evaluating your communications in isolation. They're comparing them against every other institution they're considering. Secret shopping helps you see your enrollment experience through that same lens.

7. Identify gaps and friction points

A gap in a communication flow is any point in the enrollment journey where students or families have an important question, concern or emotional need that your communications aren't addressing.

Sometimes that gap is informational. Sometimes it's emotional. And sometimes it's simply silence.

Some of the most common gaps I find include:

• The post-admit silence

  The period between the admission decision and the financial aid offer is often quiet. From the institution's perspective, there may not be much happening. From the student's perspective, a great deal is happening. They're researching other institutions, talking with family members, visiting campuses and trying to picture themselves there.

  A simple touchpoint during this time doesn't need to ask students to do anything. Sometimes it's enough to acknowledge where they are in the process, answer a few common questions or help them begin to imagine themselves as part of your campus community.
  

• The financial aid confusion window

  Many institutions send the financial aid package and move on to the next communication. For families, that's often when the real questions begin.

  
  

  Rather than waiting for students and parents to reach out, consider following up with a communication that explains common terms, answers frequently asked questions and clearly identifies who they can contact if they need additional help.

• The summer after deposit

  Students who deposit in April or May may receive very little meaningful communication before orientation materials begin arriving. That doesn't mean they stop thinking about their decision. Regular communication throughout the summer can help students feel connected, answer questions before they arise and reinforce that they made the right choice.

• The assumptions we don't realize we're making

  This is one of the easiest gaps to overlook. We assume students know what a housing deposit is. We assume families understand financial aid terminology. We assume everyone knows where to find information in the admitted student portal.

  
  

  The longer we work in higher education, the easier it becomes to forget that every enrollment cycle includes thousands of students and families experiencing this process for the very first time.

  
  

  Finally, remember that not every gap requires a new communication. Sometimes the solution is adding one sentence to an existing email. Sometimes it's moving a message earlier in the flow. Sometimes it's combining two communications that cover similar topics. The goal isn't to send more emails or texts. It's to make sure students and families have the information they need, when they need it.

Every communication in your flow should have a job. If you can't explain that job in one sentence, it probably shouldn't be there.

Putting it together

By the time you've completed this audit, you should have much more than a list of emails to rewrite.

You should have:

• Communications to keep and a clear understanding of why they're working.

• Communications to revise, along with specific notes about what needs to change.

• Gaps in the student journey that deserve additional attention.

• Insights from admissions counselors and enrollment leadership that should shape the next cycle.

• A better understanding of what students are experiencing at competing institutions.

• A plan for measuring success that goes beyond open rates and click-through rates.

The goal of this audit is to create more effective communications, not just more of them.

My hope is that when you begin building next year's communication flow, you won't be starting with a blank template or simply recycling last year's sequence. You'll be building from a thoughtful review of what worked, what didn't and what today's students and families need from you.

That foundation almost always leads to stronger communications and, more importantly, a better enrollment experience.

Every enrollment cycle teaches us something.

The institutions that improve year after year aren't necessarily the ones with the largest teams or biggest budgets. They're the ones that take time to learn from the previous cycle before building the next one.

That's what an audit is really about. Not finding mistakes. Finding opportunities. And that's what this audit is designed to help you do.

Download the Enrollment Communications Audit Workbook

Looking for more? If you want even more in-depth strategies, and a full roadmap, to making your communications flow the best it can be, download our Enrollment Communications Workbook, Google sheet included!

Download the Workbook

At Square One Consulting, I help enrollment and marketing teams audit and rebuild communication strategies that are designed around the student experience, not just institutional processes. If you're planning next year's communication flow and aren't sure where to start, let's talk.