FRONTIER SET

CASE STUDY

Building Strategic Communications & Enrollment Playbook for the Frontier Set Institutions

The Frontier Set is a select group of colleges, universities, state systems, and supporting organizations dedicated to transforming higher education.

Institution

The Frontier Set is a collaborative network of postsecondary institutions identified by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on improving student success and outcomes. This engagement included work with six partner institutions:

Johnson C. Smith University
Morehouse College
Fayetteville State University
Jackson State University
Claflin University
Delaware State University

objective

The objective of the project was to help these institutions evaluate their communications, enrollment, advancement, and student success strategies and ultimately develop individualized institutional playbooks grounded in data, storytelling, and operational alignment.

TPG’s Approach

The Parish Group conducted a comprehensive institutional audit and strategic assessment process across enrollment, advancement, communications, and student success operations.

Enrollment & Communications Strategy

The Parish Group evaluated:

Enrollment funnel performance and conversion data
Student search and inquiry generation strategies
Admissions communications flows and publications
Social media and digital engagement efforts
Campaign deployment and fulfillment processes
Predictive modeling opportunities and market positioning

Advancement & Institutional Storytelling

TPG also conducted advancement-focused audits that included:

Advancement and donor communications strategy
Audience segmentation and market positioning
Social media and campaign development
Public relations and institutional messaging alignment

Institutional Alignment & Buy-In

A major focus of the engagement was helping institutions build stronger internal communication and storytelling frameworks by:

Identifying institutional strengths and opportunities
Developing interdepartmental communication strategies
Creating pathways for faculty, staff, donors, students, and community engagement
Defining institutional narratives centered on student success outcomes

FINDINGS

The findings from these engagements ultimately informed the development of a comprehensive Frontier Set playbook framework that institutions could adapt to their own unique enrollment and advancement goals.

Outcomes

Through this engagement, The Parish Group helped participating institutions:

Strengthen enrollment and advancement communications

Develop clearer institutional narratives and value propositions

Identify operational and communication gaps

Build data-informed enrollment strategies

Improve alignment between departments and institutional goals

Create sustainable storytelling frameworks centered on student success

The project also provided participating institutions with actionable strategies designed to:

Increase brand awareness
Strengthen enrollment pipelines
Improve student engagement and retention
Increase donor participation and institutional advocacy
Support long-term institutional growth and sustainability

Each institution ultimately utilized the Frontier Set framework to develop its own customized strategic playbook tailored to its audience, culture, and goals.

The Frontier Set engagement demonstrated how strategic communications, enrollment operations, storytelling, and institutional alignment can work together to support student success and long-term institutional growth.

By combining research, strategy, creative development, and operational consulting, The Parish Group helped participating institutions move beyond isolated campaigns toward sustainable, mission-driven enrollment and advancement ecosystems designed to strengthen both institutional identity and student outcomes.