The Parish Pulse is our monthly roundup of higher education trends, enrollment insights, and the industry conversations we’re watching.
October is almost here, which means part of our team will be heading to the 2026 National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) Conference for conversations about what’s happening in college admissions and enrollment.
And there’s certainly no shortage of things to talk about. AI is changing how higher education approaches marketing, students are looking for answers in more places than ever, and institutions are navigating changes to everything from federal student aid to the ways they communicate with prospective students.
Here are a few of the things we’ve been thinking about, talking about, and writing about as we head into the fall.
Using AI More Strategically in Higher Education Marketing
AI can create a pretty good ad. That’s one of the more surprising findings from a recent study from Ipsos and Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, which compared human-created and AI-generated advertising.
Consumers largely couldn’t tell the difference. But human-created ads still performed better, particularly when the work depended on emotion, humor, storytelling, or a genuine point of view.
For higher education marketers, that distinction matters. AI can help teams create content more efficiently, develop variations for different audiences, and make sense of large amounts of qualitative information. But efficiency isn’t the same thing as effectiveness, and AI can’t replace the strategy, institutional knowledge, and human judgment behind good communication.
We recently spoke with Syracuse University professor Carrie Riby, one of the researchers behind the study, about what its findings mean for marketers and higher education. In 5 Lessons for Using AI More Strategically in Higher Ed Marketing, we explore where AI can genuinely help higher-ed marketing teams—and where the human element still matters most.
Managing Communications in Slate
For institutions using Slate, keeping track of who is sending what, when, and to whom can quickly become complicated.
That’s the focus of our upcoming Fall 2026 Dive Deeper webinar, “Who’s on First? Keeping Tabs on Communications,” taking place November 12 at 2 p.m.
Marcus Webb, Malyn Pickett, and Dave DeBor will walk through a comprehensive, user-friendly portal resource designed to give teams a clearer view of their communications at both the macro and micro levels.
The session will cover both the technical side of the build and the end-user functionality, with an emphasis on putting communication management back in the hands of the people using Slate every day.
Slate users can register through the Slate Resource Center/Home Slate.
Print Still Has a Place in Higher Ed Marketing
The idea that “print is dead” has become something of a marketing cliché. But as inboxes, social feeds, and digital channels become increasingly crowded, there’s still value in giving students and families something they can physically hold onto.
In Colleges and Universities Still Benefit From a Paper Trail, we make the case for treating print as a complement to—not a replacement for—digital communication.
A thoughtfully designed postcard, viewbook, admitted student packet, or institutional publication can create a tangible touchpoint that captures attention and reinforces the digital experience.
The key is intentionality: use print where it adds something that another channel can’t.
Preparing for New Federal Student Loan Limits
New federal student loan limits are changing the financial landscape for students and institutions.
While implementation continues to evolve, colleges and universities don’t necessarily have to wait for every detail to be settled before beginning to prepare. Institutions can start identifying which programs and student populations may be most affected, communicating proactively with students, and considering longer-term questions around affordability and enrollment.
In How Higher Ed Institutions Can Start Addressing the New Loan Limits Now, Roger Jones outlines four areas institutions can begin thinking about now—including understanding who may be affected, communicating what is known, planning for longer-term implications, and listening to what students are saying.
Who Really Influences College Decisions?
Students may ultimately choose where they enroll, but they rarely make that decision in isolation.
Parents and guardians, counselors, current students, peers, social media, and increasingly AI all play a role in shaping how prospective students understand colleges and universities.
That creates a challenge for enrollment marketers: institutions aren’t the only ones telling students what to think about a college—and increasingly, they aren’t even the primary source of some of the information students are seeking.
Our latest blog, Who Shapes College Decisions the Most?, explores the growing network of people, platforms, and influences surrounding the college search and what that means for higher education enrollment strategy.
One More Conversation About AI
If our featured resource has you thinking about AI and higher education marketing, there’s another conversation worth reading.
Our full interview with Syracuse University professor Carrie Riby goes deeper into the research behind AI-generated advertising and explores questions around creativity, strategy, transparency, brand differentiation, and the role of human judgment.
Riby’s central point is relatively simple: AI can be a powerful enabler, but marketers still need to understand what makes communication effective in the first place.
Final Thoughts
Across all of these topics, there’s a common thread: more technology, more content, and more communication don’t automatically create better enrollment experiences.
Whether institutions are deciding how to use AI, where print fits into the marketing mix, how to manage communications in Slate, or how to respond to changing student financing, the fundamentals still matter.
Know your audience. Understand the strategy. Communicate clearly. And pay attention to what students are actually experiencing.
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