Alvernia University
Deepening Engagement, Expanding the Pipeline
The Challenge
Alvernia University, a private Franciscan institution in Reading, Pennsylvania, serves roughly 2,800 students across more than 50 undergraduate programs. With a strong regional presence and a reputation for student-centered education, Alvernia’s enrollment team was closely monitoring the competitive landscape, and recognized an opportunity to deepen engagement with prospective students even earlier in their journey.
Alvernia already had recruitment strategies delivering results—enrolling six of the seven largest classes in university history between 2018 and 2024. But leadership understood that student behaviors were evolving and competition was intensifying. Reaching prospective students during their sophomore and junior years, not just their senior year, represented a strategic opportunity to build stronger relationships and a more robust pipeline from the very start.
The Turning Point
When Alvernia engaged Waybetter in 2024, the opportunity was clear: build a proactive, full-funnel, multi-channel approach to recruitment that would begin engaging students earlier than ever before—and sustain that connection all the way through census.
Waybetter’s approach is rooted in a simple belief: enrollment marketing works best when you’re communicating relevantly to multiple audiences at once, inside campaigns that are living and adaptable—not set-it-and-forget-it. From sophomore year through census, that meant building personalized journeys of emails, texts, ads, and print that all funnel into a dynamic, personalized site: an evolving hub where students find relevant content, videos, peer interaction, and calls-to-action that shift based on where they are in the process.
The Work
Just two years in, the results reflect a program built to last. Working closely with the Alvernia enrollment team, Waybetter delivered:
- A full-funnel, multi-channel portal buildout — personalized journeys of email, SMS, print, and digital ads that engage every audience from sophomore inquiry through census, including prospects, transfer students, parents, incomplete applicants, admits, and deposited students
- One campaign, infinitely personalized — every student sees messaging tailored to their unique status and behavior, so no two experiences look alike
- Custom reporting and a live dashboard — giving the Alvernia team real-time visibility and the intelligence to act on it
The Results
In the first full cycle with Waybetter actively nurturing all class years through enrollment, Alvernia posted its strongest deposit total in at least four years.
Compared to Fall 2025:
- Deposits up 38%—the highest in at least four years
- Inquiries up 134% since the start of the partnership—reflecting a fundamentally healthier pipeline driving results at the bottom of the funnel
Alvernia surpassed its deposit target before May 1— ahead of schedule and on pace for its strongest incoming class in years.
Historically, we've built 20-35% of our class in the two weeks around May 1. This year, we saw students enrolling much earlier, enabling us to shape the class with greater intention and ultimately set new enrollment records."
The Road Ahead
With a full-funnel strategy in place and record inquiry growth, Alvernia is well-positioned to build on this momentum. Waybetter is deepening the sophomore engagement strategy, refining communications across every touchpoint, and continuing to ensure that the right students find their way to Alvernia. Yield begins with first touch and Alvernia is now positioned when students first appear.