Episode #22
Beyond the Recruitment Funnel: Are We Delivering the Belonging We Market? | Dr. Andre Richburg
Higher education marketers talk constantly about belonging, community, and inclusion. But what happens when students arrive on campus and the experience doesn’t match the promise? In this episode of The Education Marketing Leader , Chris Rapozo sits down with Dr. Andre Richburg , Vice President for Strategic Enrollment at Methodist University , to explore what it means to move beyond recruitment and create an institution where students actually feel supported, connected, and positioned to succeed. Drawing from more than 20 years in higher education and his doctoral research on Black male students transferring from community colleges to predominantly white four-year institutions, Dr. Richburg shares what institutions often overlook in the transfer experience. Chris and Dr. Richburg discuss the difference between marketing belonging and delivering it, why retention should be part of enrollment strategy from the beginning, and how representation among faculty, staff, and institutional leaders can influence a student’s sense of connection. They also explore the experiences of students navigating culture shock, microaggressions, code-switching, and the challenge of finding community after transferring to a new institution. In this episode: • Why transfer students need a different approach to onboarding and financial support • What Dr. Richburg learned from Black male transfer students through his doctoral research • Why representation among faculty, staff, and leadership matters • How colleges can communicate support and community before a student ever enrolls • The role of code-switching and microaggressions in the student experience • Why retention belongs in strategic enrollment management from day one • How students can recognize the difference between authentic belonging and marketing “window dressing” • What four-year institutions can learn from community colleges about making students feel seen and supported For enrollment and marketing leaders, the challenge is bigger than getting students through the recruitment funnel. The experience students encounter after enrolling has to live up to what they were promised before they arrived. Listen today.
