04/23/2026
We had a great time at the GEM (Graduate Enrollment Management) Summit hosted by NAGAP, The Association for Graduate Enrollment Management! We had many insightful conversations with leaders in graduate enrollment about the latest trends they're seeing and marketing challenges they face. Amelia Morrill, Director of SEO Operations at 5 Horizons, gave a presentation on "Education is a Business: Using ROI Data to Have Hard Conversations."
Amelia shared how 5 Horizons partnered with Emerson College to utilize data and assess the lifespan of two struggling programs. What are the top things to consider when you're faced with hard decisions about programs?
• Keep in mind the shift in higher education from mission-focused to ROI-focused.
• Know what data to analyze at each stage of the funnel to understand return on investment by program.
• If you have an academic program that's "just not it," be prepared with data and context, and begin conversations with leaders in the institution.
It can be deeply personal to faculty members to make changes to academic programs. It's everyone's responsibility, not just Enrollment, but the data around applications and yield numbers can be a huge signal about the health of a program.