Enrollment Growth in a Downturn

Washington and Lee University

At Washington and Lee, I led the university’s first digital-first recruitment initiative, bridging the long-standing divide between Admissions and Communications. The goal was to modernize how the institution attracted, engaged, and converted prospective students—using data, design, and storytelling to create a more human digital experience.

The challenge was steep: traditional recruitment channels were disrupted by the pandemic, enrollment was declining nationally, and the university’s digital ecosystem was fragmented across departments and platforms.

Admissions and communications operated in silos, creating inconsistent messaging and limited insight into the student journey. Plus, W&L needed to sustain interest and engagement while competing in an increasingly digital landscape. The pandemic disrupted traditional recruitment at a time when college enrollment was at historic lows.

Approach: Building a Digital Ecosystem Around the Student Journey

Rather than designing a website, we built a system — one that could evolve with changing technology and audience expectations.

• Shifted focus from institutional priorities to user needs, designing a site that felt more like a conversation than a course catalog.

• Unified CRM, CMS, and analytics tools — integrating Slate, Ingenuix, WordPress, BigTree, and SiteImprove to align recruitment messaging with behavioral data and user pathways.

• Established governance frameworks that brought decentralized teams into one editorial and digital workflow, ensuring consistency and agility.

• Redefined content tone and navigation to reflect inclusive, student-centered language and a clear, data-backed UX structure.

• Expanded digital storytelling, launching segmented microsites (for first-gen and international students), interactive video libraries, and a robust virtual tour experience.

• Humanized outreach through counselor-led messaging, geo-targeted advertising, and personalized drip campaigns across print, email, and digital.

• Ensured accessibility and compliance with WCAG standards while improving readability and performance metrics across platforms.

Impact: Turning Digital Experience into Measurable Enrollment Growth

• Increased undergraduate applications by 32.5% during a national decline in enrollment.

• Established a data-informed content strategy model now used for recruitment and alumni engagement.

• Transformed a siloed web presence into an integrated, user-driven digital ecosystem that strengthened trust, equity, and conversion across every channel.