Family expectations are rising — right as higher ed faces its toughest climate.

Enrollment pressure. ROI skepticism. Budget cuts. Staffing strain.

Institutions are being asked to prove value — fast — while supporting students with fewer resources. And families are sitting at the center of it all.

They influence where students enroll, how they persist, and whether they believe college is worth the cost.

The 2026 Top Trends in Family Engagement Report analyzes engagement data from 7.8M+ family members across 450 institutions, showing how expectations are shifting and how colleges are responding.

The question isn’t whether families matter. It’s whether your strategy is keeping up.

Some of what you’ll uncover inside:

• Rising communication expectations
  Families expect more frequent, personalized outreach — yet many institutions are still under-communicating. In fact, 77% of parents expect communication weekly or more from their student’s college.

• Growing cost + ROI scrutiny
  Confidence in the value of college is slipping as families demand clearer outcomes and financial transparency. Satisfaction with tuition as a worthwhile investment dropped from 77% to 59% in just one year.

• New opportunities to scale with AI
  Institutions are using automation and AI to expand engagement without expanding staff, with 84% of CampusESP institutions actively using AI tools to support family communications.

How prepared is your institution to meet rising family expectations?

Where are you aligned — and where are engagement gaps making today’s challenges harder to solve?

Download the report to benchmark your strategy and see how institutions are using family engagement to navigate the road ahead.