The Blog
Whether you're just starting or scaling, the trends, tips, and to-dos to improve your parent engagement strategy.
Featured
You Can’t Do That in Your CRM: Benefits of a family engagement platform
What makes CampusESP different? Why is parent engagement easier in CampusESP? Why not just build it in your CRM? We walk through the differences and benefits of a built-for-purpose family engagement platform with our friends from Belmont University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Learn the main differences between building parent engagement in your CRM and having us build it for you quicker, better ... and with less risk.
How 3 institutions turned parent engagement into a powerful fundraising pipeline
See how Miami University (Ohio) achieved a 34% boost in parent donors, The University of Tulsa collected over $55,000 in Parent and Family Leadership Council dues in the first year, and Flagler College grew their parent giving program, with parents now accounting for 1 in 5 of all donors
5 family engagement strategies that drive enrollment success
When it comes to turning "maybe" into "yes" in the enrollment process, engaging families is more important than ever. But how can already-saturated teams, facing growing enrollment concerns, focus on the right outreach that will drive the action needed?
AI strategies for family engagement: save time and scale impact
Let’s face it — AI is everywhere. You’ve probably heard “AI is here to stay” more times than you can count (maybe even in your sleep). But here’s the thing: when it comes to family engagement in higher ed, AI is a game-changer.
3 steps to engage parents this yield season
You’re actively working on yielding students, but are you also working on yield their parents? Engaging parents now can help you recruit the entire family and grow your incoming class. Get 3 approaches you can still try to hit your goals.
Scale family communication with campus partners
One of the easiest ways to create more family content is also one of the smartest — partnering with other departments across campus. Learn how the pros at UNC Wilmington and K State created content teams, and how CampusESP helps you manage your new content engine.
The top family engagement resources of 2024 — it’s CampusESP Wrapped
Time to recap the top resources, advancements, and moments in higher education family engagement. We cover how over 400 colleges and universities used CampusESP to engage millions of families in 2024 … and the RESULTS.
4 ways to communicate FAFSA 2025 changes to families
Learn how admissions and financial aid teams are navigating the delayed FAFSA release to keep students and families informed about changes and resources for timely completion.
From “CC’d” to personalized platform: Why 3 universities moved parent comms from their CRM into CampusESP
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Lamar University share how CampusESP is quicker to set up, easier to maintain, and has proven results with families.
How to engage families around mental health for student success
Mental health continues to be a trending topic on campus and an area families need solid info on to support their students. The team at Georgia Tech takes us through their approach and programming.
Don’t fear FERPA. Let your students decide.
On every campus, there are many opinions of what FERPA means and how to regulate it. Few campuses ask the very audience it was made for: Students.
After all… Students want support from their families. Our data shows that students initiate 40% of FERPA waivers and only reject 5% of FERPA requests initiated by their parents.
How to keep families connected in a crisis
Last spring, 140 colleges and universities in the U.S. saw demonstrations on their campus. While mostly peaceful, each caused disruption and confusion for administrators, faculty, students... and the families miles away desperate to understand what was happening. University of Maryland, UNC Chapel Hill, and University of Oregon joined us to share their experiences updating families, and their learnings as they anticipate additional activity this fall.
Facebook won’t help you reach your parent engagement goals
Is Facebook helping or hurting?
Rather than creating a reliable way for your parents to receive information from your college or university, Facebook encourages collisions between parents and possible spreading of misinformation. It’s not the place for your parent engagement strategy to be centered.
Kickstart your next class: Enrollment planning for '24-25 starts NOW
2025 admissions planning starts in 3… 2… 1… but where do you start? How do you make next year better? University of Mary Washington and Franciscan University of Steubenville help you get ahead with tips, tricks, and strategies from explaining financial aid to utilizing alumni connections.
Your guide to creative and effective move-in communications
Move-in day is a monumental event for college families, and clear and comprehensive communications from you are crucial for a smooth transition. Check out how Flagler College, College of Charleston, and William Peace University are helping families prep and pack … and make move-in day smooth and celebratory.
5 key takeaways on family engagement from the 2024 CampusESP Summit
One day, 100+ family engagement pros, countless ideas shared success stories celebrated. If you weren’t able to join us in person, read up on the 5 themes that we saw throughout the Summit’s 20+ sessions and how these trends should impact your strategy.
How CampusESP for Event Management streamlines registration, communication, and check-in
From event registration and ticketing, to event promotion and attendee communication, to onsite registration and check-in, CampusESP is your end-to-end event management system. Even better – it's FREE and included for all customers.
What first-generation families want (And how to get it to them)
First-generation families need and want regular communications — they request content at higher frequency and engage more actively. By engaging first-generation families, who in turn will actively advise and support their first-gen students, institutions can create a stronger cycle of education and success. The pros at SUNY Oneonta and University of Alabama share how they do it.
Engage dual enrollment families to enroll and retain more students
Families are involved (and often driving) every step of the pipeline, from recruiting high schoolers into dual enrollment programs, to retaining dual enrollment students, to converting dual enrollment students into full-time students.
Empower first-generation success: 4 ways to strengthen family engagement in college
The percent of first-generation college student grows every year, and institutions need and want to engage them thoughtfully to ensure their success. By leveraging their families and educating that support system, schools can create a network of advisors. Check out these 4 proof points and insights from 3 institutions who have been there to start directing your strategy.

