Jun 30, 2025
#167 Listen up all my higher ed peeps. I’ve got something special here. Mark Young is the Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions & Divisional Strategy at UW-Milwaukee, and he’s been rewriting the recruitment playbook.
Here’s the short story.
When Young got to UW-Milwaukee, there was no recruitment plan. So he got to work. And in short order, turned transactional recruitment into relational recruitment.
No more just shoving forms at students.
Instead, the focus is on creating emotional connections and making students feel seen from day one.
The result: record numbers of students!
Here’s how Young and his team did it + so much more:
0:00 — Intro and Mark's role explained
5:30 — Defining and building culture (students and staff)
16:30 — Why only undergrad admissions?
20:30 — Current challenges in higher ed
33:00 — What's working now?
48:00 — Traditional media’s role
50:00 — Department transformation since 2021
58:00 — Record enrollment numbers and retention focus
1:03:00 — Metrics and obsession with data
1:10:00 — Wisconsin vs. out-of-state recruitment strategy
1:20:00 — AI adoption in admissions
1:25:00 — Final thoughts
Get in touch with Marc here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-young/
Connect with Pat here: pmcgovern@ascedia.com
Oh, before you go, please do us a favor. Take a minute and leave us a review. That’s the energy that powers this supertanker!
Thanks, you’re the best!
Want more marketing insights? Take a look at our full lineup.
This podcast is sponsored by Ascedia. A web development and digital strategy agency helping clients win in the digital space.