Tackling Summer Melt at Hartwick College

About the Episode: In this episode, we're joined by Bryan Gross, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athletics, and Gail Glover, Vice President for Strategic Communications at Hartwick College. Together, they discuss their strategic efforts to combat summer melt, an initiative that has brought together multiple divisions across the campus.

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Discover how Hartwick College established a new melt committee, implemented innovative communication plans, and redefined their orientation process with "Wick Week" to foster a sense of belonging among first-year students. Learn about the importance of process mapping, marketing strategies, admissions outreach, and the use of retention data in their mission to enhance student success.

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Join us as Bryan and Gail share insights on addressing financial implications, reestablishing financial policies, and the pivotal role of data in driving their initiatives. This episode is a testament to the impact of breaking down silos and leveraging cross-divisional relationships to achieve institutional goals.

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Key Takeaways

• Data-Driven Strategies Work: Hartwick leveraged melt rate data to quantify financial impact and rally campus-wide support for strategic initiatives.
• Collaboration is Key: Process mapping and regular cross-departmental meetings ensured alignment across enrollment, marketing, and student success teams.
• Personalized Engagement Reduces Melt: Tailored programs like residence hall previews and low-sensory move-in experiences helped students feel welcomed and supported.
• Iterative Change is Sustainable: Change doesn’t happen overnight—Hartwick adopted a phased approach to process improvements, building goodwill and maintaining momentum.

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Episode Summary

Understanding the Melt Problem

Summer melt, when admitted students fail to enroll, is a significant challenge for higher education institutions. Brian Gross outlined Hartwick’s data-driven approach to tackling the issue. By analyzing previous melt rates and their financial impact, the team quantified the stakes and set specific goals. In just one year, Hartwick reduced melt from 13.7% to 11.2%, saving the institution over $121,000.

However, the stakes remain high, with delays in FAFSA processing and shifting enrollment trends adding to the pressure. Recognizing the importance of collaborative solutions, Brian and Gail worked to break down silos and engage campus partners in addressing this challenge.

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Process Mapping: A Foundation for Collaboration

One of Hartwick’s standout strategies was the use of process mapping. Led by a dedicated committee, this initiative documented how each campus office interacted with incoming students. This exercise revealed redundancies, gaps, and opportunities for streamlining processes.

Importantly, senior leadership set the tone by first analyzing their own processes and sharing findings transparently. This demonstrated a willingness to change and encouraged buy-in across departments. According to Gail, the process also helped align communications and ensure that students and families received consistent, timely, and cohesive messaging.

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Personalized Engagement Strategies

Hartwick implemented several student-focused initiatives to address common melt triggers:

• Residence Hall Preview Days: Students and families were invited to preview residence halls, meet potential roommates, and plan logistics well before move-in day.
• Low-Sensory Move-In Week: Designed for neurodivergent students, this curated orientation experience provided a quieter, more manageable introduction to campus life.
• Relationship Building: Admissions teams received training on acting as trusted advisors, focusing on understanding and addressing student concerns.

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WIC Week: Welcoming Students with Tradition and Innovation

Hartwick’s WIC Week serves as a cornerstone of the student onboarding experience, blending longstanding traditions like the first walk and convocation with new initiatives that support student success. Gail highlighted the importance of balancing fun, tradition, and critical information, ensuring that students are well-prepared without feeling overwhelmed.

WIC Week’s thoughtfully curated schedule includes workshops on academic success, financial literacy, and community engagement, alongside opportunities for relaxation and social connection.

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Lessons Learned

Collaboration is the Key to Breaking Silos

Both Gail and Brian emphasized the importance of building relationships across campus. Regular meetings, mutual respect, and shared goals helped foster trust and alignment. By leading by example, senior leadership demonstrated the value of collaboration and inspired their teams to work together more effectively.

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Change Happens Incrementally

Brian advised institutions to adopt a phased approach to change, recognizing that small wins build momentum. For example, Hartwick chose to address the most critical process gaps in year one, leaving less urgent improvements for future cycles.

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Data Inspires Action

Quantifying the impact of summer melt in financial terms helped rally support from colleagues and leadership. By tying data to actionable goals, Hartwick created a clear roadmap for success.

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About the Show:  We hear it every day across campuses: “We need to be working more collaboratively.” The higher education industry is notoriously siloed, with colleagues struggling to connect, duplicating services or having disjointed messaging.

Breaking Silos aims to showcase the remarkable work of marketing professionals and their non-marketing colleagues from different departments across campus, who come together to achieve common goals, implement new initiatives, enhance the student experience, and foster better collaboration among teams.

Each episode features a marketer and their non-marketing colleague to talk about their partnership. This unique format will inspire marketers to try new things and connect with colleagues in new ways, while also allowing non-marketing professionals an inside look at some of the most collaborative projects in higher education marketing.

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Connect With Our Host:
Shane Baglini
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanebaglini/

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About The Enrollify Podcast Network: Breaking Silos is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too!  

Some of our favorites include Visionary Voices: The College President’s Playbook and The Application with Allison Turcio.

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.