Insights for Fall from an Enrollment Expert

Navigating the complexities of college admissions and enrollment is no small feat, but Jacqueline Trujillo has spent years working in the field. With a decade of experience ranging from classroom teaching to high-level enrollment management, Jacqueline brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to her current position. 

Here at College Board, she is dedicated to assisting colleges in optimizing our enrollment products into their strategies to achieve their recruitment goals. As the academic year progresses, Jacqueline shares valuable insights on how College Board’s Access Plan can help institutions manage their priorities and enhance their recruitment efforts.

Can you share some details about your background in enrollment and role here at College Board?

• Jacqueline: I have ten years of experience in education. I started as an educator and then moved into enrollment management. I spent time as the director of admissions and then interim vice president for enrollment at a small liberal arts college in Philadelphia. After that, I joined College Board, where I serve as director of recruitment and enrollment solutions. My role involves helping colleges onboard and navigating enrollment products at College Board to meet the colleges’ recruitment and enrollment goals.

Colleges have a lot of competing priorities in the fall. How can a College Board Access Plan help enrollment offices manage these priorities?

• Jacqueline: It’s a busy time of year in enrollment offices, but priorities will vary depending on the institution’s role and focus. For institutions that are focusing on first-year enrollment, an Access Plan can help them fill the top of funnel. You’ll find that we have the volume necessary and typically acquire students earlier than other enrollment platforms. We have a robust 2028 cohort that will continue to grow throughout the fall, and new students are entering Connections^TM starting October 24, so it’s crucial to have a plan to start engaging them. Access Plans can also help institutions find new recruitment markets. By taking advantage of features like Segment Analysis Service^TM (SAS), institutions can identify new territories to find best-fit students.

What challenges might a university face if they wait until spring to get an Access Plan or to start exploring features?  

• Jacqueline: Waiting until spring means less time to use the subscription, which runs annually based on the academic calendar. If you don’t have an Access Plan or you’re not active in the one you have, you risk missing the peak engagement period when students are most receptive. Most students come into Search in September, with about 67% entering through digital pathways. Connections will also see an influx of new students starting in late October. Other institutions with Access Plans will have already made first impressions on these students, and there will be less lead time for schools to prepare for outreach. 

As an admissions/enrollment officer, which products impacted your enrollment cycle goals the most? Which were most beneficial?  

• Jacqueline: At a small school, budget constraints limited our ability to try out all the products available. However, we used RepVisits to plan visits and college fairs and filled the funnel with high-yield prospects through Search. Slate was also a great resource for our application and outreach. We were able to conduct some analysis of top platforms for the generation of leads, and we consistently found that College Board was the best first source for student leads. So, if my school were to spend money anywhere, it would be on Search.

You’ll be presenting at College Board Forum later this month. Can you share a little about your session?

• Jacqueline: The session I’ll be presenting is called “From Data to Decisions: Your Guide to a Year-Round Search and Connections Roadmap.” It’s all about calendarizing your Search and Connections priorities for the full enrollment cycle. We’ll help you think through each season of the cycle and identify how Search and Connections can help you with your priorities. There will also be a panel of institutions sharing their communication strategies and how they use their Access Plans to achieve their enrollment goals.

Any last words of wisdom for our partners in admissions and enrollment?

• Jacqueline: Lean on College Board. We’re here to help with your enrollment strategy, to answer questions about your Search filters, and provide tips on building Connections communication plans. You have a personal strategist available year-round and we are happy to help.