Higher Ed Conversations

For many students, community college isn't Plan A. In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, host Cheryl Broom sits down with GradComm interns Mariana Rosas and Alexis Cabrera to discuss their unexpected paths to community college and how those decisions ultimately opened doors they never anticipated. Mariana shares why she walked away from a four-year university after orientation, eventual...

Higher education is facing a numbers problem, but the solution isn’t just about finding more students. In this Quick Take episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom explores the three major forces reshaping higher education: changing demographics, evolving student expectations, and declining public confidence. With fewer high school graduates entering the pipeline and more colleges competing for those stu...

In higher education marketing, everyone says they want to stand out, until it’s time to actually look different. In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Aaron Edgell, Chief Marketing Officer at Alliant University for an honest conversation about branding, institutional identity, and the difficult decisions required to create meaningful differentiation i...

College marketing teams are being asked to do more than ever before, often with limited time, staff, and resources. So how do you move beyond production work and become a strategic partner across campus? In this QuickTake episode of the Higher Ed Conversations Podcast , Cheryl Broom shares the mindset shifts community college marketing teams need to make to operate more strategically, efficiently,...

What happens when a routine day on campus turns into a viral public records crisis? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Katherine Hansen , Executive Director of College Relations and Marketing at Renton Technical College , to unpack a situation that many higher ed professionals aren’t prepared for but should be. Hansen shares a firsthand account of...

For years, higher ed marketing has revolved around one metric: the Click. But what happens when students stop clicking? In this Quick Take episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom explores how AI-powered search is fundamentally changing the way prospective students find and engage with institutions. From ChatGPT to Google’s AI overviews, students are getting answers without ever visiting a college’s web...

Today’s marketers aren’t just communicators, they’re storytellers competing for attention, emotion, and connection. In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations , GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Kelly Hiller from Purdue University to unpack how higher ed marketing has shifted from simply delivering information to crafting meaningful, human-centered stories that actually resonate. Together,...

Website search is one of the most-used tools on a college website, but for many institutions, it’s also one of the most frustrating. Prospective students often type a question into the search bar only to get outdated meeting minutes, random PDFs, or irrelevant pages. In this Quick Take episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom is joined by Joel Goodman , VP of Growth Strategy at Squiz , to unpack why thi...

Is your marketing really working, or are you just measuring the wrong thing? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations , GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Jeff Greenfield, CEO of Provalytics , to tackle one of the biggest challenges in higher ed marketing: proving ROI in a world obsessed with clicks. For years, marketers have relied on clicks as the gold standard. But Greenfield argues tha...

Student search behavior has changed dramatically, and if your college isn’t showing up in AI answers, your prospective students may never find you. Why? Today’s students are using generative AI as the starting point of their college search, often long before they ever visit a college website. In this quick-take episode, Cheryl Broom, CEO of GradComm, explores what happens when prospective students...

Today’s students are telling colleges exactly what they want. Are we listening? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations , host and GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with high school students Dylan and Piper for a candid conversation about how colleges are and aren’t connecting with prospective students. From inbox overload to the outsized role of social media, these students share their unfil...

Welcome to the very first Higher Ed Conversations: Quick Take, a new, bite-sized episode format designed for busy higher ed marketers who want actionable insights without a full-length listen. In this inaugural Quick Take, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom goes solo to share five of the most important lessons uncovered after analyzing over $4 million in digital marketing campaigns from community colleges...

Introducing: Quick Takes, a new series of bite-sized episodes from the Higher Ed Conversations podcast with GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom . No guests. No fluff. Just fast, focused takes on the trends, challenges, and strategies shaping higher ed marketing today. 👉 Enrollment got you stressed? 👉 Messaging not clicking? 👉 Need a sanity check on your campaign strategy? Send it in. Email us at hello@gr...

Fundraising events often get a bad rap in higher education. Too much work, too little return, and a whole lot of stress. But what if events could actually work as a meaningful part of your fundraising strategy? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations , GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Roger Devine , founder of SchoolAuction.net , to unpack how experience-driven fundraising events can ge...

What happens when your workplace values aren’t just posted on the wall, but actually shape how people lead, teach, and show up every day. In this inspiring conversation, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom talks with Andy Vaughn , President & CEO of Alliant University , about what it takes to build a campus culture of authenticity, inclusion, and mental wellness from the inside out. Vaughn shares his pe...

In this thought-provoking episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Leslie Vargas , Senior Public Affairs Officer at Riverside Community College District , to explore how implicit bias and microaggressions quietly influence higher ed marketing and what communications teams can do about it. Vargas shares candid insights on how seemingly small choices, like which photo you use, or how you de...

What happens when your marketing office feels more like a sandwich shop, cranking out whatever people order, than a strategic partner on campus? That’s exactly the challenge Rachel McClelland faced when she stepped into her role as Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Pellissippi State Community College . In this episode, McClelland joins GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom to discuss how s...

What does it take to pass a $600 million bond measure in a politically divided community? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with Alex Breitler , Director of Marketing and Communications at San Joaquin Delta College , to unpack the strategy, stress, and surprising joys of leading a successful bond campaign. Breitler shares how his background as a journa...

What happens when a university doesn’t just adopt AI, but bakes it into its DNA? In this episode of Higher Ed Conversations, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom sits down with two transformational leaders from American University's Kogod School of Business to explore how AI is reshaping everything from curriculum design to campus marketing and student support. Dean David Marchick and Professor & AI...

What does a Fractional CMO actually do and why are ed-tech companies and colleges leaning into this flexible leadership model? In this episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom is joined by Gil Rogers , founder of GR7 Marketing , whose deep roots in ed-tech and higher education make him a go-to strategist for institutions looking to get smarter, faster. Rogers shares what it really means to step in as a...

Did you know that nearly one-third of college students drop out after their first year? In this episode, Carey Dukes , assistant professor at North Greenville University and author of A Guide to Thrive! , joins GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom to explore why so many students struggle and what we can do about it. Dukes breaks down the six key variables he uses to measure college readiness, offering a fram...

GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom is joined by Marcela Andrés , CEO and president of designEDengagement, PBC , a consulting firm built around the idea that education can be transformed by enhancing the connection between students, families, educators, and communities. Andrés' book, Purposeful Educator Connections , discusses how educators can strengthen their relationships with students and highlight...

There is a push and pull between an advertiser’s desire to attribute advertisement spending to lead generation and their responsibility to respect consumer privacy. In this episode, Raj Sudra , the Chief Technology Officer at USA Today Co. (historically known as Gannett) & LocaliQ , joins GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom to discuss his role and the intricacies of digital marketing attribution. He exp...

In this episode, GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom is joined by Teege Mettille , Director of Enrollment Success at enroll ml , to talk about the crucial topic of college admissions. Mettille shares his personal journey from being a first-generation college student to a thought leader in admissions, emphasizing the transformative impact of higher education. The conversation explores his book, 'The Adm...

Dr. Tina King , President of San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) , joins GradComm CEO Cheryl Broom to talk about branding and how GradComm helped elevate the beauty already present in SDCCE to connect more with the community they served. In this episode, they discuss the unique aspects of SDCCE as one of the largest non-credit institutions in the nation, focusing on its mission to pr...