Ep. 79 - Valerie Fox: The New Front Door to Graduate Enrollment

About this episode

Val Fox discusses strategies for improving graduate enrollment in higher education.

In a higher ed landscape crowded with sameness, how can institutions truly stand out and drive enrollment growth, especially for graduate and professional programs? This week on The Signal: On Air, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Val Fox, a strategic advisor at EAB with decades of experience leading marketing at both major universities and consumer brands like Bose. Val argues that the biggest mistake institutions make is trying to scale the undergraduate playbook for their graduate programs, which are often fragmented, under-resourced, and siloed. Val shares critical insights from EAB's latest research on the modern adult learner, revealing a fundamental shift toward stealth shopping, digital-first decision-making, and a surge in AI adoption for program discovery. She explains why "supportive faculty" and "strong outcomes" are just the category minimum, not differentiators, and offers a practical guide on how to build a genuine brand "moat" by getting specific. Tune in to learn how to move from endless debate to disciplined experimentation, align your cross-functional teams, and ensure your institution is visible at the new AI-powered front door of higher ed. Key Takeaways Stop…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Dillon

Guest: Val Fox

Topics covered

• graduate enrollment
• higher education
• marketing strategy
• adult learners
• AI in education
• branding

Keywords

• graduate programs
• enrollment growth
• digital decision-making
• stealth shopping
• supportive faculty
• strong outcomes
• branding strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EAB, Bose

More episodes of The Signal (formerly the EdTech Connect Podcast)

• Ep. 91 - Mallory Willsea: Activity vs. Strategy—Why Higher Ed Marketing Measures the Wrong Things · June 12, 2026 · 32 min
• Ep. 90 - Haley Platt: Breaking the Information Barrier: How First-Gen Students Navigate College · June 5, 2026 · 31 min
• Ep. 89 - Leslie Weller: How AI Site Search Turns Student Discovery Into a Competitive Advantage · May 29, 2026 · 32 min
• Ep. 88 - Brian Clark: Building RISD's Digital Future at Scale · May 22, 2026 · 30 min
• Ep. 87 - Grant Greenwood: How to Automate What Actually Matters in Enrollment · May 15, 2026 · 36 min
• Ep. 86 - Arjun Arora: From Enterprise AI to Education—Why the Best Tech Solves Human Problems · May 8, 2026 · 31 min