Education
Enrollment marketing that survives an audit
Under Title IV, how your agency is paid is a compliance question — and most agencies don’t know it
The rule most agencies miss
You can’t pay per enrollment. Neither can we
Pay-per-enrollment and pay-per-qualified-applicant pricing is normal in most industries and is a live problem in this one
The incentive compensation ban, in plain terms
- What it says. Under the Higher Education Act, an institution’s Program Participation Agreement commits it not to provide any commission, bonus or other incentive compensation to individuals or entities based directly or indirectly on success in enrolling students or securing financial aid.
- It reaches contractors. “Or entities” is the operative phrase. An agency paid per enrolled student is inside the ban, not outside it.
- What sits outside. Department guidance treats general advertising and marketing that provides information about the institution or its programmes to the public as outside the ban — along with policy decisions about recruitment and enrollment, and recruiting foreign students residing abroad who are ineligible for Title IV.
- The bundled services exception from 2011 permitted arrangements where an outside company supplies a bundle including course design and counselling rather than recruitment alone. It has since attracted substantial scrutiny and litigation, and should not be treated as a settled safe harbour without current legal advice.
The practical upshot: we work on retainer or scoped fees. Not because it suits us, but because the alternative puts your Title IV eligibility on the table to save you a line item.
Source — U.S. Department of Education, Program Integrity Q&A on Incentive Compensation; statutory basis at HEA §487(a)(20). General information, not legal advice.
What shapes the strategy
Three constraints that aren’t marketing decisions
90/10A proprietary institution must draw at least 10% of revenue from non-Title IV sources. Two consecutive years in breach costs eligibility for at least two yearsHigher Education Act, 90/10 revenue requirement
0%Share of your agency fee that may legally depend on enrollments secured, if you participate in Title IVHEA §487(a)(20); Dept. of Education guidance
MonthsTypical gap between first enquiry and application for a degree programme — which makes last-click reporting close to useless hereEnrollment cycles are seasonal and multi-touch; measurement windows should reflect the programme
Where applicants are lost
You bought the enquiry, then sent a brochure
Institutions spend heavily to generate interest and then respond with an automated confirmation and a PDF, days later. Meanwhile the prospect is comparing four institutions and remembering which one answered their actual question.
The decision is also rarely made alone. A prospective undergraduate and a parent are asking different things — one about experience and belonging, the other about total cost and where graduates end up. Nurture that speaks to only one of them loses the other.
And because the cycle runs over months, the touch that gets last-click credit is almost never the touch that persuaded anyone. Institutions measuring on final click reliably defund the content doing the actual work.
How we run it
The education playbook
01
Structure the engagement compliantlyRetainer or scoped fees, documented, with no element tied to enrollments. This is the first conversation, not an afterthought in the contract.
02
Publish cost and outcomes plainlyTotal cost and graduate destinations are the two questions every family is really asking. Answering them directly outperforms campus photography and is the safest content you can publish, because it’s verifiable.
03
Build nurture for two audiencesStudent and parent, or student and employer for professional programmes. Different concerns, different sequences, same applicant.
04
Segment by programme, not by institutionUndergraduate, graduate and continuing education recruit entirely different people through entirely different channels. One blended strategy underserves all three.
05
Set measurement to the real cycleAttribution windows sized to a months-long decision, with assisted conversions reported beside final click so early-stage content isn’t cut for failing to close.
06
Keep student records out of ad platformsEducation records carry protections that prospect data doesn’t. Building audiences from enrolled student data is a decision for your registrar and counsel, not the marketing team.
What we run for institutions
Where the leverage is
Corunit CRM
Applicant pipeline from first enquiry to enrollment, with nurture that runs for months without anyone remembering to send anything.
Enquiry response
Answers the specific question about fees, entry requirements or start dates immediately, instead of confirming a brochure request.
Programme SEO
Depth per programme — curriculum, cost, outcomes, entry routes — because that’s what people actually search for.
Social media
Where undergraduate discovery now happens, and where institutional culture is legible in a way a prospectus can’t manage.
Website & applications
Fast, accessible, and structured so a prospect can find the cost of a specific programme in two clicks.
Reputation management
Student reviews and rankings shape the shortlist long before a prospectus does.
Good questions
Education marketing, answered
Not sure whether your current agency arrangement is compliant? That’s worth checking before the next audit rather than during it.
Can we pay an agency per enrolled student?
Not if you participate in Title IV. Under the Higher Education Act, an institution’s Program Participation Agreement commits it not to provide any commission, bonus or other incentive compensation to individuals or entities based directly or indirectly on success in enrolling students or securing financial aid. That reaches contractors as well as employees, which is why per-enrollment agency pricing is a compliance problem rather than a pricing preference. We work on retainer or scoped fees for exactly this reason.
What activities does the incentive compensation ban actually cover?
Securing enrollment and securing financial aid. Department of Education guidance treats general advertising and marketing that provides information about the institution or its programmes to the public as outside the ban, along with policy decisions about recruitment and enrollment, and recruiting foreign students residing abroad who are ineligible for Title IV. The line sits between promoting the institution and being paid for the individual enrollment.
What is the bundled services exception?
Guidance issued in 2011 allowed an exception where an outside company provides a bundle of services — course design, student counselling — alongside recruitment rather than recruitment alone. It has attracted considerable subsequent scrutiny and litigation, and shouldn’t be treated as a settled safe harbour without current legal advice. If an arrangement depends on it to be lawful, that arrangement deserves a fresh look.
What is the 90/10 rule?
A proprietary institution must derive at least 10% of revenue from sources other than Title IV funds. Breaching it in two consecutive institutional fiscal years costs Title IV eligibility for at least two years. It affects marketing because it shapes which programmes and which student populations you need to attract — a strategy question long before it becomes a campaign question.
How long is the enrollment decision cycle?
Long, seasonal and shared. Degree decisions are researched over months, often over a year, and are usually made jointly by a prospective student and a parent or partner with different concerns. Two consequences: last-click attribution is close to meaningless, and your nurture sequence matters more than your ad creative, because the gap between first enquiry and application is where most prospects are lost.
Does FERPA affect our marketing?
It affects what you can do with enrolled student data rather than prospect data. Education records are protected, so using them for marketing, remarketing audiences or lookalike modelling raises real questions. Directory information may be disclosable if the institution has designated it and given notice — but treating a student record as a marketing list isn’t a decision the marketing team should make alone.
What content actually drives applications?
Cost and outcome transparency, well ahead of campus imagery. Prospective students and their families are trying to answer two questions: what does this cost in total, and where do graduates end up. Institutions that answer both plainly, with real figures, outperform those competing on photographs of lawns — and it’s the safest content to publish, because it’s verifiable.
Should we advertise on TikTok and Instagram?
For traditional-age undergraduate recruitment, yes — that’s where discovery happens now, and where an institution’s culture is legible in a way a prospectus can’t convey. For graduate, professional and continuing education the audience skews elsewhere and search plus targeted content usually returns more. The mistake is running one channel strategy across programmes that recruit completely different people.
What is the biggest avoidable loss in enrollment marketing?
Slow, impersonal follow-up after an enquiry. Institutions spend heavily to generate interest, then respond with a generic brochure confirmation days later. A prospect deciding between four institutions notices which one answered their actual question quickly. Fixing the nurture sequence is almost always cheaper than buying more enquiries.
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