How to Engage Prospective Families of Higher-ed Students

Behind every confident student is a family ready to support them, and colleges that understand this are seeing great results. A 2025 study by CampusESP found that students with involved parents have retention rates 5.7% higher on average, with some colleges seeing increases up to 20.9%. This proves that family engagement is not just helpful, it’s essential. From the virtual tour to submitting the application form, building strong connections with families can boost student success and help colleges grow.

What is Family Engagement?

Family engagement refers to the active involvement of students’ families in the college admissions process. It includes keeping families informed, addressing their issues, and making them feel valued and involved throughout the educational journey. This helps build trust and improves the relationship between the family and the college.

5 Effective Family Engagement Strategies

Family engagement is an important factor in the college decision-making process, as families play a key role in supporting students. By using AI tools, universities can improve family engagement, making the entire admissions process more personalized.

24/7 Support with AI Chatbots

AI chatbots help colleges stay available to families at all times by answering questions instantly, even after office hours. This means families get quick help whenever they need it, which builds trust and keeps them engaged. For example, Florida SouthWestern State College used an AI chatbot that saved 230 staff hours and helped boost student registration rates through efficient responses. With Emdo Conversation Intelligence, colleges can achieve inquiry response times of under 1 minute, ensuring faster and accurate interactions that improve the overall experience.

Use Personalized Communication

Personalizing communication based on the interests and needs of prospective families is a great way to increase engagement. A 2024 EAB survey showed 93% of students are more likely to consider a college further if they receive personalized messages. Sending updates on programs, event invites, or application tips builds stronger connections. According to a 2025 CampusESP study, student persistence can increase by up to 15% when parents receive alerts on financial aid, holds, and status changes.

Source: CampusESP 

Offer Virtual Campus Tours 

AI virtual campus tours allow families to explore college campuses from the comfort of their homes. These campus tours provide a convenient way to showcase campus facilities and the overall environment, helping families make better decisions. A 2024 EAB survey found 35% of students took their first virtual tour before applying, showing how important these tools are for engaging families early in the decision-making process.

Source: EAB

Ongoing Engagement & Feedback

Regular updates and feedback are important for keeping prospective families engaged during the admission process. By sending updates on application progress, colleges ensure families stay informed and connected. This method has been proven to increase applicant engagement by 50%, ensuring families feel supported throughout the process.

Predictive Analytics for Better Outreach

AI-driven predictive analytics help colleges identify which families are most likely to enroll, allowing them to focus their outreach efforts on the right students. By analyzing data, colleges can send personalized messages to those who are most interested. For example, Texas Tech University increased its enrollment by 9% by using these tools to improve its enrollment efforts. efforts. Emdo’s Conversation Intelligence improves this by detecting student intent in real time, helping colleges identify at-risk students and personalize their outreach more effectively.

Conclusion

Strong family engagement can make a big difference in a student’s college journey from application to enrollment. By using AI tools like chatbots, virtual tours, and predictive analytics, colleges can build strong connections with both students and their families. When families feel informed, they’re more likely to trust the university and help their child make the right choice.

FAQs

Question 1. How to engage prospective parents effectively?
Answer. Use personalized communication, AI chatbot, virtual campus tours, and regular updates to make parents feel informed and involved throughout the admissions process.

Question 2. Why is prospective parent engagement important?
Answer. Prospective parent engagement is important because parents play a significant role in a student’s decision-making process. When parents are involved, they help build trust, increase student confidence, and contribute to higher retention rates.

Question 3. What role does technology play in prospective family engagement?
Answer. Technology like AI chatbots and predictive analytics makes it easier to provide timely support, answer questions, and send relevant information to families.

Also read: Franklin & Marshall Partners with EDMO to Boost Student Engagement and Admissions

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WRITTEN BY

Aastha Aarya

Sr. Content Writer

Aastha Arya is a Senior Content Writer at EDMO who writes about topics covering education technology, AI, and case studies pertaining to the higher education sector. She has a 4-year of experience in this field and also likes to delve deeper into the role of AI tools empowering universities by automating high-priority tasks such as document review, processing, responses to student queries, etc.

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