Recruitment is about more than getting students to say “yes.” In a competitive higher education landscape, institutions must align what they promise during admissions with the student experience they deliver.
The student experience is the glue that holds retention, trust and academic success together, and when admissions and recruitment strategies work hand-in-hand with academics, the result is a thriving, engaged student community.
Building trust early in admissions
Trust begins long before students arrive on campus. Canisius University in Buffalo, N.Y., addresses this by introducing prospective students to resources such as success coaches, academic advisors and mental health services as part of its admissions process. Students learn to rely on these resources, and they enter campus already feeling supported. This early engagement doesn’t just smooth the transition to college; it shows students that their well-being is a priority.
For universities, this approach can be as simple as featuring support services prominently in recruitment materials, hosting virtual meet-and-greets with advisors or developing pre-arrival resources that help students connect with their new campus community.
Using college admissions data to anticipate needs
College admissions data is a goldmine of insights about student behavior. Canisius uses this data to predict potential challenges, such as financial aid barriers or application timing trends and proactively designs programs to address them.
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Institutions can replicate this success by integrating predictive analytics into their admissions processes and using the results to identify at-risk students or tailor support programs to meet their needs.
Making academics real
Today’s students expect education to be more than theoretical. Programs that connect classroom learning with practical applications are key to maintaining relevance. Canisius has taken this to heart, leveraging its local partnerships and weaving innovative, hands-on opportunities into the curriculum to enhance the learning experience.
Canisius’ animal behavior, ecology, and conservation program shows how doing so can improve recruitment and retention as well as student outcomes. First-year students in the program receive zoo memberships to complete projects, such as designing enrichment devices for animals. Other experiential programming includes animal behavior labs, where students train foster animals through a local animal shelter; urban ecology classes, where students study human-wildlife interactions in city settings; and zoo animal management courses, where students design hypothetical zoos. These experiences reinforce learning, provide students practical skills, boost their confidence, and open doors to internships and career opportunities.
“We’ve noticed an impact in our upper-level courses since the students are more comfortable reading graphs, using data, and reading scientific articles,” said Malini Suchak, professor and chair of the program. “This really shows that we haven’t made the program easier—our students are achieving more.”
Extending support beyond recruitment
At Canisius, admissions counselors stay engaged through summer communications, orientation activities and early-campus touchpoints. This continuity helps students feel supported and builds on the trust established during admissions and recruitment.
The work starts in the admissions office. Information gleaned during the recruitment process can be a strong indicator of a student’s ability to be successful. By sharing this information with academic and support staff, Canisius ensures students receive tailored resources from the moment they step on campus.
For other institutions, creating seamless communication channels between admissions and academic teams can ensure that students’ needs are anticipated and addressed proactively.
For academic leaders, the takeaway is simple: getting students through the door is just the beginning. The real work lies in creating an environment where they feel supported, challenged and inspired to grow. When students thrive, the entire institution thrives with them—it’s the kind of success that speaks for itself.
