By Malenah Hunter, Associate Director of Membership and Awards, AACRAO
If you’re still working on your Annual Meeting session proposal for #AACRAO2027 in Long Beach and need inspiration, we have you covered. The proposal deadline is September 15, 2026. This recap of #AACRAO2026 sessions is focused on making it as clear, quick, and simple as possible for learners to get enrolled, get registered, and get their degree.
Anyone remember SparkNotes? Use this like a mini-study guide on learner-centric policies and initiatives to work from.
The Case For Clarity
Josh Hibbard, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Whitworth University, explained how rethinking tuition and scholarships in enrollment planning led to a tuition reset and price clarity initiative. Families want simplicity when it comes to the cost of attendance, and some students won’t even apply based on the price shown on the website. For many institutions, lowering tuition might be seen as a decrease in value, merit, quality, and even bragging rights. What if they think we don’t even want them as students? Why should we go against our peers and consultants to chart a new path that may not work?
To get cross-campus buy-in, it had to be a university idea and not just a “Josh idea.” It wasn’t just about cutting costs by 50%, but about clarifying what parents and students would actually pay after all possible discounts, while still meeting revenue. Tuition had to be simple, transparent, and use GPA, need, and standard talent awards. So they reimagined their pricing model based on research and cross-functional input. There was overwhelming positive feedback from staff, which created internal alignment. Families were positively engaged, and conversations around price certainty improved on both sides of the desk.
While tuition transparency can be leveraged as a powerful enrollment and mission-aligned strategy, it shouldn’t be used as a marketing tactic like putting a sale sticker over the same or higher price. Never underestimate resistance from internal and external stakeholders, or miscommunicate lower versus clearer. This may not work for every institution, so it’s important to understand your market and allow adequate time to transition to the new model.
Propping Open the Door
Sisters with over 40 years of higher education experience, Dr. Juliette Punchello and Catharine Punchello of Thomas Edison State University explored why adult students continuously applied for college but never enrolled, opening the door but not entering. Despite the vast and evident benefits of earning a college degree (financial solvency, physical health, family stability, and more), the number of adult students actually enrolling in college is flat or declining. After time spent, application fees, and transcript costs, 60% of applicants abandon the process altogether. To get these students past the first step and through the door, they developed a strategic blueprint to bridge the adult learner enrollment gap, essentially holding the door open to success.
After profiling their adult applicants, they found that they weren’t looking for a campus experience to grow up in, but were making a serious decision for their professional and personal investment. Sure, they wanted to advance their career, have financial security, and be an example to their kids, but they didn’t want the costs, debt, and additional mental load of earning a degree. Rigid payment structures, unpredictable schedules, and slow or confusing responses are some of the driving factors keeping adults unenrolled. Basically, college for adult learners doesn’t mean they can forget about their other responsibilities. While most younger students can simply focus on classes and the typical “rites of passage,” older students are performing a complicated balancing act that can easily be broken by one more priority.
It’s not all on them, though. Many institutions fail to realize just how disorganized their system is because it (seems to be) working for the majority of their students. Common roadblocks like poor or nonexistent communication, bureaucratic red tape, user-unfriendly technology, and lack of overall institutional support become huge barriers to the applicants who are really trying. The solution? Implement transparent pricing with flexible payment plans, eliminate expirations and build articulation agreements to accept more credits, and provide supported pathways for students that value their prior knowledge and experiences. Decide early, respond quickly, and connect them to resources. Institutions should be building bridges to get adult applicants past the threshold. It’s not hand-holding, but door-holding.
Other Session Takeaways: The Short Version
- Get rid of operational inefficiencies and institutional policy hang-ups.
- Use technology to automate repetitive tasks and streamline processes.
- Respond to future and current students quickly (and accurately!).
- Share knowledge to avoid bouncing students (and other staff) around campus.
- Make costs clear and easy to understand (for students) and explain (for staff).
- Utilize research, staff input, and data-driven methods to implement new or “crazy” changes.
- Ask AND listen to real student problems to understand what they need.
- Remember, one strategy does NOT fit all students or institutions.
Did you miss the Tips for Submitting an Annual Meeting Session Proposal webinar? Watch the recording to help your submission for the September 15 deadline.
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