Chatham University

In Their First Full Cycle, a Deposit Record Years in the Making

The Challenge

Chatham University, a private in Pittsburgh, PA, needed to build a recruitment engine capable of engaging prospective students earlier, more consistently, and with greater personalization at every stage of the funnel. Without a fully connected enrollment communications infrastructure or campaigns designed to reach students from sophomore year through decision day, the institution was operating with limited tools and a compressed timeline that made meaningful relationship-building difficult. Deliverability was a compounding problem—messages weren’t reaching inboxes, and students were navigating many disconnected systems that stifled engagement and conversion. Opportunity was there—the infrastructure to capture it was not.

The Turning Point

Chatham engaged Waybetter in late 2024 to put the institution in position to reach and convert prospective students far earlier than it had before. The 2026 recruitment cycle would be the first full cycle with Waybetter actively shaping the experience from the top of the funnel all the way through deposit.

The Work

Working closely with the Chatham enrollment team, Waybetter delivered:

  • A full buildout of Slate communication flows spanning the entire funnel—sophomore inquiry, junior inquiry, senior inquiry, parents, incomplete applicants, admits, and deposited students—ensuring consistent, timely outreach to every prospective student from first contact through enrollment

  • A deliverability overhaul that brought Chatham’s communications back into the inbox—implementing domain warming, prioritizing sends to the most engaged audiences first, and leveraging reputation monitoring tools to track performance and course-correct in real time

  • A centralized admitted student experience — with financial aid packages now surfaced directly through the Slate status portal — that doubled the share of admitted students viewing their award from 35% to 70% in a single year

  • A dedicated Parent Portal that brought families into the enrollment experience with personalized, real-time visibility

The Results

In their first full cycle with Waybetter, Chatham University posted its highest deposit total in at least four years—reaching the milestone of 400 deposits before May 1 and finishing ahead of target.

  • Deposits up 38% 402 total, the highest in at least four years
  • First year domestic deposits up 45%— surpassing the final FY domestic deposit total by April
  • 65% of deposited students were enhanced responders to Waybetter campaigns
  • Athlete share of the deposited class decreased by 13 percentage points, reflecting a more balanced and sustainable enrollment mix
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deposits responded to WB campaigns
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Working with Waybetter has genuinely changed what our team is capable of.

They didn't just build something and hand it off — they helped us work through real challenges, like deliverability issues we'd been wrestling with and getting financial aid packages to actually release out of Slate. Having a partner that understood both the technical side and the enrollment stakes made all the difference. Now we have infrastructure we trust, and students are getting the right information at the right time."

— Brandy Gershon, Vice President of Enrollment Management, Chatham University

The Road Ahead

With the infrastructure now fully in place and the results of year one validating the approach, Chatham is positioned to build from a stronger foundation than ever before. Waybetter is continuing to refine and deepen the engagement strategy—strengthening sophomore outreach, further personalizing communications at every touchpoint, and ensuring that every prospective student has a reason to believe Chatham is the right fit from their very first interaction.