Speaking First-Gen, Part 3: The TRUST Framework

A three-part series for marketing & enrollment professionals

Part 3: The TRUST Framework

How to communicate with empathy and clarity across the student journey

If Part 1 explored how higher ed’s language can alienate first-generation students, and Part 2 broke down why financial aid feels like a maze, this final piece is the solution — the system that brings clarity and compassion to everything we write.

It’s the framework I’ve come back to again and again in my nearly two decades years working in higher education.

Where TRUST Came From

When you spend enough time writing messages for students, including thousands of emails, landing pages, brochures, and texts, you start to notice patterns.

I found myself running through the same mental checklist every time I wrote: Did I explain why this matters? Did I make it easy to understand? Did I make it sound like it came from a real person?

Over time, those gut checks became a structure. Then it became something I could hand to my admissions counselors, a way to help them connect with students in their territories, to write in a voice that encouraged real conversation and response.

That framework became what I now call TRUST. And it’s grown into something bigger: a shared language for anyone on campus who wants to build stronger relationships with students through better communication.

Meet the TRUST Messaging Framework

The TRUST messaging framework is a simple way for campus communicators to evaluate and improve every message, from a text reminder to a financial aid email.

It stands for:

T - Teach Before You Ask. R - Respond to Behaviors. U - Understand Circumstances. S - Simplify the Process. T - Talk Like a Human.

Each principle is simple, but together they can transform how your entire institution communicates.

T — Teach Before You Ask

We’d never meet someone for the first time and immediately ask them to do something for us: apply, pay, register. Relationships don’t work that way. Neither does communication.

Teaching before you ask means earning the right to make an ask by providing value first. Offer clarity, context or insight before you expect action.

Instead of: “Submit your FAFSA today.” Try: “Filing your FAFSA unlocks scholarships and grants you don’t have to pay back. Here’s how to start.”

When you teach before you ask, you build credibility and create a sense of partnership. You’re saying, I want you to understand this before I ask you to act on it.

Marketing takeaway: Explain, then invite. Value before verb.

R — Respond to Their Behaviors

Personalization doesn’t have to be creepy...and it shouldn’t be!

Good behavioral communication means anticipating needs, not tracking clicks. If you notice that a student has visited your financial aid page multiple times but hasn’t started an application, don’t send a reminder to apply. Send something that helps.

“Wondering how much college really costs? Our Net Price Calculator shows what your true cost might be after grants and scholarships.”

That’s how you use behavior ethically: to guide, not to push.

U — Understand Their Circumstances

Understanding goes beyond demographics or bandwidth. It’s recognizing that the college search is emotional. For many first-generation families, this process is a leap of faith, filled with fear, pride and uncertainty.

Understanding means writing with empathy, kindness and awareness that not everyone has a built-in support system. It means anticipating confusion and normalizing it.

“If this part feels overwhelming, that’s normal — you’re not alone. We can walk through it together.”

That line does more to build trust than any call to action ever will.

And yes, many first-gen students also balance jobs, family care, and tech limitations. They may not check their email daily or have a printer at home.

When communication assumes privilege, it erases people. When it assumes complexity, it meets them where they are.

S — Simplify the Process

Simplify everything — the steps, the language, the tone. Simplifying doesn’t mean dumbing down; it means stripping away friction and breaking down barriers so students can act with confidence.

Many marketers recommend writing at an eighth-grade reading level, that’s a reasonable standard. But I'm a trained journalist. In j-school, we were taught that our job was to write stories that everyone could understand, no matter their background, education, or experience.

Because information isn’t powerful if only a few people can understand it.

That same philosophy belongs in higher ed marketing.

Our goal should be that anyone — a high school sophomore, a parent, a grandparent, a community college transfer — can read a message from your institution and understand it instantly.

That’s why I recommend writing at a fourth- or fifth-grade reading level. Higher education already is complex enough, let's not make it more so.

Clarity is a kindness. Simplicity is equity.

To simplify your communications:

• Break big tasks into small steps.

• Use clear, everyday words instead of academic ones.

• Add visual cues like checkmarks or step numbers.

• Always answer three questions: What do I need to do? How long will it take? What happens next?

The easier your words are to read, the faster students move forward and the more they trust you to guide them.

T — Talk Like a Human

Talking like a human is one of the most important, and most misunderstood, parts of effective communication.

Some institutions believe professionalism means sounding formal or academic. But here’s the truth: when you speak at a level your audience can’t understand, you’re eliminating access. And isn’t that the opposite of what higher education is supposed to do?

There’s no reason not to speak plainly. Conversational language doesn’t mean unprofessional; it means human. It means you care enough to make your message clear.

We sometimes forget that college is built on relationships. Students don’t apply, enroll or persist just because a system tells them to. They do it because a person reached them, understood them and made them feel seen.

That’s why tone matters so much, especially for first-generation families.

“Hey Alex, I noticed you started your application but didn’t finish. Need a hand?”

That one sentence can do what a dozen formal messages can’t: it builds trust.

Being human in your communication doesn’t diminish your professionalism. It’s what makes professionalism work. Empathy, approachability and authenticity are what connect people, and connection is the foundation of access.

Making TRUST Stick on Campus

1. Audit Your Communication Ecosystem. Pull messages from admissions, aid, billing, housing and advising. You’ll likely find five voices where there should be one.
   

2. Create a Plain-Language Style Guide. Define what “friendly” looks like for your institution. Include examples of before-and-after messages.
   

3. Train Your Staff. Host a one-hour “Speak Student” workshop. Have staff bring one real piece of content to rewrite using TRUST.
   

4. Measure Understanding, Not Just Opens. Add a quick survey link: “Was this message clear?” You’ll learn more from 10 honest responses than a thousand clicks.

Why It Works

Students who understand what’s being asked are more likely to act and more likely to persist once enrolled.

Clarity builds trust; trust builds belonging. And belonging, according to research from the Center for Postsecondary Research, remains one of the most consistent predictors of retention across all student populations.

A Final Word

We can’t change the complexity of higher education overnight, but we can change the way we talk about it, and that’s where access begins.

Every email, every page, every text is an opportunity to either reinforce the idea that “college is for you” or to quietly suggest the opposite.

When we teach before we ask, simplify before we automate, and talk like humans instead of institutions, we make college make sense.

And when college makes sense, students stay.