PODCAST · education
The Application with Allison Turcio
by Allison Turcio
The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, tackles the topics others aren't – from empowering student influencers to harnessing AI. The Application is where uncharted territories in marketing get mapped out, designed to arm higher education enrollment marketers with tools to stay ahead of the curve.This podcast isn’t just about keeping pace with the market – it's about leading the charge. We're here to provoke thought, encourage innovation, and foster a community of forward-thinkers. Whether you're crafting your next campaign or redefining your institution’s marketing strategy, The Application is your essential resource for fresh, innovative approaches in higher
Episodes
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Ep. 107: Indiana State’s Playbook for Double-Digit Growth
Indiana State University welcomed its largest freshman class in six years while growing transfer and graduate enrollment by 13%. How? Christian Ponce, Executive Director of University Marketing at Indiana State University, joins us to break down the mindset behind their success: "Marketing…
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Ep. 106: Why Bethel University Uses a Job Guarantee in Higher Education to Drive Enrollment
Students pursue higher education to launch successful careers, yet many institutions hesitate to tie their enrollment strategy directly to post-graduation job outcomes. Allison speaks with Paul McGinnis, VP of Marketing & Enrollment at Bethel University, to discuss the university's bold “Bethel...
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Ep. 105: How Brandeis is Revolutionizing Cost Transparency
What if prospective students could know the real sticker price of their school’s tuition before they even applied? In this episode, Allison talks with Jennifer Walker, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Brandeis University, and Alan Mlynek, Chief Product Officer at Noodle, about Faye, an...
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Ep. 104: How Kennesaw State Built a 40-Student Influencer Team on a Shoestring Budget
Traditional higher education advertising is losing its cutting edge, and prospective students are tuning out polished, corporate-sounding enrollment pitches. Allison sits down with Cinnamon Dowd, Director of Enrollment Services Marketing & Communications, and Emily Williams, Social Media…
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Ep. 103: How to Design Student Experiences That Build Confidence
Most colleges say they're personalizing the student experience, but what if they're just making their marketing more relevant? Nathan Monk, Co-founder at Prospectus Plus, argues that higher education has confused personalization with relevance. In this episode, he explores why that distinction...
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Ep. 102: Building a Transfer-Affirming Institution
Transfer students represent one of the biggest enrollment opportunities in higher education, yet many institutions still treat them as an afterthought. In this episode, Allison sits down with Jaime Smith, author of The Complete Guide to College Transfer, to discuss what transfer students actually...
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Ep. 101: Why Strategy Should Come Before Tools
Artificial intelligence is changing how higher education teams work, but successful AI adoption is about much more than choosing the right tools. In this episode, Allison sits down with Tina Miller, Executive Director of Creative and Communications at Arizona State University's Enterprise...
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Ep. 100: What 99 Conversations Taught Me About Enrollment Marketing
For the 100th episode of The Application, Allison Turcio isn't looking back. She's looking at the assumptions shaping enrollment marketing and asking whether they're still true. After 100 conversations with enrollment leaders, marketers, researchers, financial aid experts, student affairs...
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Ep. 99: Stay Dangerous: How to Build an Enrollment Team That’s Ready for Tomorrow
Enrollment teams are being asked to do more than ever before, but many institutions are still operating with structures designed for a very different era of higher education. In this episode, Allison talks with Jack Corby, VP at Stevens Strategy, to explore what happens when enrollment teams...
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Ep. 98: Building Healthy Creative Cultures that Deliver Authentic Student Stories
In this episode, Allison sits down with Webb Lewis, Assistant Director, Marketing & Brand Strategy at the University of Mississippi, for a thoughtful conversation about burnout, creativity, purpose, and remembering your why in higher education marketing. They explore what happens when marketing...
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Ep. 97: How ODU Boosted Admitted Students Day Attendance by 30% in One Year
In this episode, Allison talks with Ashley Miller, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at Old Dominion University, about the strategy, resilience, and teamwork behind one of ODU’s most successful admitted student events to date. Ashley shares how her team increased their Admitted...
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Ep. 96: If Financial Aid Is an Afterthought, Your Marketing Strategy Is Broken
Financial aid is often treated like a backend function post-enrollment after the student has already decided. But in reality, it shapes everything. In this episode, host Allison talks with Rachel Gordon, VP of Student Financial Aid Services at American University of Antigua College of Medicine,...
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Ep. 95: The Roosevelt Pledge: How a Free Tuition Promise Drives Enrollment and Revenue
What if affordability isn’t just a financial aid strategy, but a positioning strategy? In this episode, we sit down with Nicole Barron, Senior VP of Enrollment Management at Roosevelt University, to unpack the Roosevelt Pledge, a program guaranteeing free tuition for qualifying students. What...
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Ep. 94: Beyond SEO: The New Content Strategy for AI-Driven Enrollment
AI isn’t just changing how students search for colleges, but changing how they decide. In this episode, we talk with Jason Smith, Founder of OHO Agency, about how generative AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming a new layer of the enrollment funnel. With more than 75% of students now using AI in…
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Ep. 93: Student-Shaped Storytelling: Why Real Voices Outperform Polish
What if the students already on your campus could shape your most powerful stories? Greg Carter, Director of Strategic Enrollment Marketing and Communications at Virginia Tech, joins Allison to share how they built a student-powered storytelling engine that actually moves the needle. In 2022, his...
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Ep. 92: Marketing People Remember: Inside Fordham’s Experiential Pizza Pop-Up
Higher ed marketing teams are competing in one of the noisiest environments we’ve ever seen, and traditional tactics often get lost in a “sea of sameness.” So Fordham University tried something different. At the NACAC conference, the team transformed a pizza shop across the street into a fully...
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Ep. 91: Higher Ed Marketing as Service: Own the Student Experience
What happens after a student clicks “Request Information”? For most institutions, that’s where marketing’s job ends. For our guest, that’s where it begins. Devin Purgason, Associate VP of Student Experience at Forsyth Technical Community College, explains how rethinking marketing as service...
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Ep. 90: Why Clear Communication is a Top Enrollment Tactic
Allison is joined by Laura Rudolph, Founder and CEO of Square One Consulting, and Kristin Nichols, CMO at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, to unpack the “secret language” of higher education. They argue that clarity is not just a best practice, but an act of equity, leveling the playing…
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Ep. 89: Student Personas: The Journey Mapping Playbook Colleges Need
In this episode, Allison talks with Day Kibilds, VP of Strategy at Ologie, and Bridget Campolettano, Executive Director of Communications - Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College, about the bold journey mapping project that transformed how Amherst College thinks about access, communication, and...
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Ep. 88: Student Fans: Using Taylor Swift's Playbook for Higher Ed Success
Allison is joined by Jenny Petty, VP of Industry Relations and Advisory Services at SimpsonScarborough, and Kerri Shook, Owner of ks strategy studio, to discuss rethinking student recruitment and retention by building a fan base. Inspired by Taylor Swift's “Eras” model, UM saw retention climb by…
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Ep. 87: Higher Ed Site Search: Your Enrollment Pulse
In this episode, Allison is joined by Jeff Dillon, Founder and CEO of EdTech Connect, to discuss a major research report on higher ed site search. Jeff reveals shocking data, including that 92% of schools ignore "no result" searches, a treasure trove of first-party data. He explains why your...
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Ep. 86: The Battle for the Movable Middle: Why Smarter AI Creates Smarter Yield Systems
Are you still trying to out-volume your enrollment problems? More apps, more emails, more FAFSAs? What if the real solution isn’t more noise, but sharper signals? In this episode, Geoff Baird, Founder and CEO of Enroll ML, joins Allison to pull back the curtain on higher ed’s “Category 5…
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Ep. 85: From “Apply Now” to “I Belong Here”: Personalization That Wins Students
What if your university’s marketing felt as irresistible as a Spotify playlist? That’s exactly what Lauran Hundshamer, VP of Enrollment and Marketing at St. Catherine University, is building. Instead of relying on tired “apply now” email blasts, her team is delivering personalized portals…
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AMA 2025 Recap: Part 3 — Reputation, Revenue, and Staying Sane
In this final installment of The Application AMA miniseries, Allison Turcio confronts three unavoidable realities shaping the future of higher ed marketing. But rather than offering recycled takes, this episode delivers three powerful reframes that challenge conventional thinking and offer…
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AMA 2025 Recap: Part 2 — AI and the College Search
In part 2 of her AMA Mini Series, Allison Turcio dives into the transformative role that AI and social media are playing in the college search process. The conversation centers on a big shift: AI tools and platforms like TikTok and YouTube have become the first stop for many students researching...
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AMA 2025 Recap: Part 1 — Retention as a Marketer’s Job
In this special bonus episode from the AMA Mini-Series, hosted by Allison Turcio, she dives into one of the most pressing—and often overlooked—topics in higher education: retention. As Allison shares, we can’t out-recruit poor retention. This episode unpacks why student persistence isn't just a...
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Ep. 84: Performance TV: Your New Enrollment Channel
In this episode of The Application, Allison sits down with Jennifer Lonchar, Co-founder of AmbioEdu, to demystify performance TV. Jennifer explains how this new approach to streaming ads moves beyond brand awareness to become a measurable, personalized, and highly effective tool for driving...
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Ep. 83: Storytelling as Strategy: How to Drive Enrollment Through Authentic Voices
What happens when storytelling stops being a side project and becomes the main event? In this episode, we talk with Kelly Peiffer, VP of Communications and Advancement at Manor College, to explore how stories drive not only connection but measurable enrollment results. Kelly shares how her team...
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Ep. 82: Don’t Lose Them at Hello: Build Prospect Nurturing Plans That Work
Every email, text, and touchpoint with a prospective student matters. Get it right, and you move them closer to enrollment. Get it wrong, and you may lose them to another institution. In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Starkey-Wood, Sr. Director of Digital Strategy at Stamats. She breaks down...
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Ep. 81: Cost, Courses, & Careers: How Prospects Really Use Your Website
When a prospective student lands on your website, what do they really want to find? It might not be what you think. In this episode, Grant De Roo, Founder and Principal at ADV Market Research & Consulting and Jarrett Smith, Senior VP of Strategy at Echo Delta share results from surveying over…
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Ep. 80: Social Media That Speaks Student: Capturing the Campus Experience
Campus social media is at its best when it feels alive. It should feel like walking the quad, chatting with students, and catching those unexpected moments that make a place unforgettable. In this episode, we talk with Eve Gaciarz, Associate Director of Social Media at Yale School of Management,...
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The Admissions Travel Season Playbook — Part 4
In the final installment of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, Allison Turcio addresses a critical question: what do you do with everything you’ve learned on the road? Too often, valuable insights from conversations with students and counselors stay locked in notebooks, heads, or voice memos....
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Ep. 79: The SHIFTS Framework: A New Approach to Enrollment Marketing
In this episode, Allison and Dallin Palmer, Co-Founder of HALDA, discuss the shift in enrollment marketing from an institution-centric approach to a relationship-first mindset. Dallin unpacks the SHIFTS Framework, a powerful roadmap for building authentic connections with prospective students.…
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The Admissions Travel Season Playbook — Part 3
In Part 3 of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio dives into how admissions counselors and enrollment marketers can stop working in silos and start building a stronger, AI-powered partnership. Fall travel is a team sport, but too often it feels like two separate games. By...
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The Admissions Travel Season Playbook — Part 2
In this episode of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio tackles the crucial moment that determines whether your travel season efforts pay off: the follow-up. A great high school visit or college fair conversation is only the beginning. Without timely, relevant, and...
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The Admissions Travel Season Playbook — Part 1
Welcome to Part 1 of this mini series — The Admissions Travel Season Playbook. In this episode of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio dives into how admissions counselors can make their high school visits more personal, engaging, and effective — without reinventing the…
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Ep. 78: How to Win at Student Search Behavior in the Age of AI
In this episode of The Application, Allison is joined by Faton Sopa, Cofounder and CEO at Manaferra, to dissect the groundbreaking findings from the State of College Search 2025 report. Based on a survey of over 1,500 recently enrolled students, Faton reveals a seismic shift in student search...
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Ep. 77: Pillars and Layers: How to Sync Ads, CRM, and Emails to Drive Enrollment
In this episode, Allison sits down with Simon Lewis, founder of Binary & Co., to dive deep into his Pillars and Layers framework. This smarter, student-centered approach helps nurture higher-ed leads throughout their long and emotional decision-making journey. We explore why lead capture is only...
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Ep. 76: The Beyoncé Standard of Brand Activation: The University of Cincinnati's "Our City" Campaign
What if your institution stopped playing it safe and started thinking like a startup? DéRecco Lynch, Assistant Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at the University of Cincinnati, asked that question and answered it by launching Our City, one of higher ed’s boldest brand activations. In this...
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Live at eduWeb Summit: From Logos to Loyalty: What Makes a Great Higher Ed Brand
Allison Turcio delivers a recap of one of the most compelling sessions from EduWeb Summit 2025 from R. Ethan Braden, Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University. Braden tackled the question we all wrestle with: Does your brand actually matter? His answer:...
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Live at eduWeb Summit: AI-Powered Retention Strategies You Can Use Without Big Budgets
Allison breaks down one of the most buzzed-about sessions from LeduWeb Summit 2025, sharing about Western Governors University’s approach to using AI and decision intelligence to stop student dropouts before they happen. WGU’s tech-forward system can predict, with 80% accuracy, which students are...
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Live at eduWeb Summit: Smarter Student Recruitment Starts with Better Data
Allison unpacks a powerhouse session from EduWeb 2025 featuring Montclair State University’s innovative approach to enrollment marketing. By leveraging National Student Clearinghouse data and integrating it into Slate, Montclair isn’t just re-engaging stop-outs—they’re stealing market share and...
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Ep. 75: AI-Powered Search Strategy: What Higher Ed Marketers Need to Know
Search marketing isn’t what it used to be, and in higher ed, that opens the door to new possibilities. In this episode, Sarah Russell, Vice President of Marketing at Education Dynamics, joins Allison to explore how AI is reshaping the way prospective students search for and engage with colleges…
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Live at eduWeb Summit: The Student Search Process in 2025: Parent and Counselor Insights
Allison Turcio dives into a fascinating panel discussion from EduWeb 2025 featuring the real decision-makers in college admissions: parents, school counselors, and high school teachers. They revealed how students actually search for schools, what turns families off immediately, and what colleges...
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Live at eduWeb Summit: How to Align Marketing Strategy with Student Identity and Mission
In this recap episode from EduWeb Summit 2025, host Allison Turcio shares a transformational case study from Vermont Law and Graduate School that proves why authenticity—not polish—is the future of higher ed marketing. Struggling with brand confusion after adding new grad programs, the school…
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Live at eduWeb Summit: What Higher Ed Marketers Must Know About Student Search Behavior in 2025
Reporting from eduWeb Summit 2025, Allison Turcio unpacks groundbreaking research presented by Faton Sopa of Manaferra — research that redefines how students actually search for colleges in today’s digital-first landscape. Spoiler alert: the traditional enrollment funnel is officially broken.…
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Live at eduWeb Summit: The ROI of Clear Messaging in Higher Education Marketing
Recorded live from the eduWeb Summit 2025, Allison Turcio breaks down insightful research shared by Grant De Roo of ADV Market Research and Kristen Lainsbury, VP for Communications and Marketing at Bates College. The focus? Brand clarity in higher education—and how it significantly affects...
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Live at eduWeb Summit: The Future of SEO for Higher Ed: Lessons from Boston University
In this special EDU Web Summit 2025 takeaway, Allison breaks down one of the most buzzworthy sessions of the conference — Boston University’s Metropolitan College’s SEO-savvy content strategy. Discover how they turned old newsletters and student spotlights into a powerhouse enrollment marketing...
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Ep. 74: Podcasting as a Full-Funnel Grad Recruitment Strategy
What if your most effective recruitment tool starts with a microphone? In this episode, Dr. Chris Lewis, Director of Graduate Programs at the University of Michigan-Flint and host of Victors in Grad School, shares how a grassroots podcast grew into a strategic enrollment asset. Chris walks us...
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Live at Engage Summit 2025: AI Is the New Front Door to Your College
Allison takes listeners behind the scenes at the Engage Summit 2025 and breaks down a powerful insight from Mallory Willsea’s session. From the rise of ChatGPT-powered college research to the blunt, late-night questions students won’t ask on tours, this episode unpacks how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, tackles the topics others aren't – from empowering student influencers to harnessing AI. The Application is where uncharted territories in marketing get mapped out, designed to arm higher education enrollment marketers with tools to stay ahead of the curve.This podcast isn’t just about keeping pace with the market – it's about leading the charge. We're here to provoke thought, encourage innovation, and foster a community of forward-thinkers. Whether you're crafting your next campaign or redefining your institution’s marketing strategy, The Application is your essential resource for fresh, innovative approaches in higher
HOSTED BY
Allison Turcio
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Application with Allison Turcio have?
The Application with Allison Turcio currently has 137 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Application with Allison Turcio about?
The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio,...
How often does The Application with Allison Turcio release new episodes?
The Application with Allison Turcio publishes regularly with 137 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Application with Allison Turcio?
You can listen to The Application with Allison Turcio on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Application with Allison Turcio?
The Application with Allison Turcio is created and hosted by Allison Turcio.
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