Mallory is joined by Andrea Gilbert and Mike Bell from Everspring to discuss their latest AI search trends report. The report finds big brand universities can be cited in AI overviews on non-branded searches as low as 1%, while smaller private schools see higher citation rates, driven by useful, specific content (e.g., career center pages) rather than brand campaigns. They discuss how reduced AI visibility affects enrollment and revenue, budget allocation challenges, and why AI rewards context, substantiation, and diverse formats.

In this episode of Funnel Vision, Rishab Malhotra sits down with Valpo’s LeAnn Hughes and Rosa Alvarado to discuss how their team turned around a decade of enrollment decline through strategic leadership, trust, and a focus on core value.

Mallory is joined by Megan Cabrera, Director of Strategic Enrollment Management at Okanagan College, about an enrollment trap she calls “residual momentum,” where funnels look stable after marketing spend is cut, then collapse years later. Megan recounts pulling investment from a long-time feeder market during a budget crunch; applications initially held steady, but after partner institutions became degree-granting competitors, yield dropped from 25–50 students to 3–5. They discuss why dashboards lag reality and what earlier signals to watch, including engagement velocity, market penetration, conversion quality, competitor visibility, and relationship health with high schools. Megan argues for integrated, cross-department KPIs to fix handoffs, shares a digital check-in system built with IT to improve service and capture friction-point data, and cautions that AI and CRMs worsen problems without connected systems, data governance, shared definitions, and clear ownership.

In Part 3 of Funnel Vision, host Rishab Malhotra welcomes Anna Esaki Smith, author and co-founder of Education Rethink, to examine the critical state of higher education. Moving past the usual focus on demographic cliffs, they discuss the systemic health of colleges, framing the industry's condition as a need for urgent care rather than a simple checkup. Anna and Rishab explore the root causes of current challenges, including self-inflicted issues like rising tuition costs, administrative bloat, and the complex data game of merit aid discounting. Anna introduces her book, Make College Your Superpower: It's Not Where You Go, It's What You Know, advocating for a shift in student focus from brand prestige to skill acquisition. This transition is essential as the global economy shifts toward knowledge-based employment and AI integration. The conversation expands to the global demographic crisis, comparing the U.S. to Japan’s struggles with an aging population, and analyzes how institutions must adapt to survive. They forecast a future defined by consolidation, mergers, and a stronger alignment with workforce needs. Despite the bearish climate, both remain optimistic, arguing that these challenges provide a unique opportunity for institutions to become more resilient, innovative, and deeply responsive to the evolving needs of students.

Howard Heevner, co-founder of the National Alumni Survey, argues the core problem with institutional giving isn’t debt, apathy, or generations rejecting philanthropy—82% of alumni gave or volunteered last year—but a “30-point cliff” between 87% who love their education and only 17% satisfied with the post-graduation relationship. Alumni who feel their priorities are extremely well known give about $500,000 lifetime versus under $4,000 when they don’t, highlighting the cost of not listening. Heevner critiques transactional, forced-choice fundraising and warns technology and AI can make outreach more efficient but not more trustworthy.

The higher education sector is facing a quiet talent crisis: a staggering 74% of higher ed marketers are actively considering an exit from the industry. Mallory sits down with Shane Baglini, Executive Director of Marketing and Branding at William & Mary, to uncover the systemic issues fueling this exhaustion and explore how institutions can reverse the trend. Drawing from his own journey climbing from a small four-person team at Muhlenberg College to overseeing 22 creatives at a historic flagship university, Shane breaks down the unique hurdles of stepping into a high-visibility executive marketing role. They dive headfirst into a problematic culture where leadership often misinterprets professional development and personal LinkedIn branding as a “flight risk” rather than a powerful, organic extension of the university's reach.

In Part 2 of this Pulse Check series, host Rishab Malhotra sits down with Clay Harmon, executive director of the Association of International Enrollment Management (AIRC), and Clare Overmann, CEO of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA), to discuss the vital intersection of domestic and international enrollment strategy. The conversation highlights how higher education institutions have historically managed these areas as separate, siloed entities, often leading to fragmented institutional strategy.

Carrie Phillips chats with Brian Piper, host of AI for U, live at Engage Summit 2026 in Charlotte, NC.

The financial pressures squeezing higher education are real, but when it comes to the complex world of mergers and acquisitions, focusing solely on the spreadsheet is a critical mistake. In this episode of The Higher Ed Pulse, Mallory sits down with Dr. Morgan Johnson, VP of Academic Experience at The University of Arizona Global Campus, to discuss the human layer of higher ed M&A. Having recently defended her dissertation on the leadership competencies essential to navigating mergers, Morgan shares firsthand insights from more than 20 senior leaders across three completed institutional mergers.

Welcome to this brand new Pulse Check Series, hosted by Rishab Malhotra, Founder and CEO of AIDO. Higher ed has been running two separate plays for too long. Domestic over here, international over there, and strategy getting lost in the middle. We're going to laugh. We're going to cry. We're going to question why they gave me a microphone — but we've got university and enrollment leaders, association heads, and tech innovators who have something to say about it. Guest Names:  Dr. Matt Boyce, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, UMass Amherst  Dr. Kalpen Trivedi, Senior Vice Provost for Global Affairs, UMass Amherst - - - -Connect With Our Host:Mallory Willsea https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorywillsea/https://twitter.com/mallorywillseaAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:The Higher Ed Pulse is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too!Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — The AI Workforce Platform for Higher Ed. Learn more at element451.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.