McDaniel College
From Fragmented Systems to Full‑Funnel Momentum
The Challenge
In Maryland’s crowded higher ed market—surrounded by public and private universities with strong name recognition—McDaniel’s enrollment team was managing too many moving parts. Search and application strategy were split between two separate vendors, creating constant data imports, exports, and handoffs between systems. Campaigns lived in different platforms. Reporting was inconsistent. Coordination was harder than it needed to be.
In Spring 2023, McDaniel partnered with Waybetter to bring focus and cohesion—centralizing all campaigns in Slate, streamlining the technology stack, and rebuilding the student experience from the ground up.
The Turning Point
At the heart of the McDaniel story is a shared belief: enrollment marketing should be flexible, student-centered, and relentlessly practical. For Executive Vice President of Constituent Engagement Janelle Holmboe, that meant finding a partner who could move beyond rigid playbooks and actually build the infrastructure needed to deliver results.
Waybetter joined the team to unify strategy, reimagine Slate from the inside out, and collaborate with McDaniel’s staff to design campaigns, portals, and communications that could adapt in real time.
The Work
Waybetter constructed a full-funnel system tailored to McDaniel’s offerings and priorities, spanning both undergraduate and graduate audiences. Key initiatives included:
- Search, yield, and app-gen campaigns designed to grow the top of the funnel and increase conversion at every stage
- Custom portals for visitors, applicants, parents, events, and graduate programs
- Complete rebuild of all Slate communications flows, including inquiries, incomplete apps, admits, and transfer students
- Digital advertising and print campaigns that reinforced McDaniel’s value proposition
- Development of a Counselor Command Center and reporting dashboards to help staff focus on high-impact tasks
- Slate audit, branding, and application creation to streamline and strengthen daily operations
- Launch of the Carroll County Scholars Program portal, an initiative offering college-readiness workshops, program guidance, and a guaranteed McDaniel scholarship—creating deeper engagement with local high school students even before they apply.
Graduate enrollment also received a dedicated lift, with comm flows and a portal experience built for six distinct programs, including Counseling, Data Analytics, Education, HR, Kinesiology, and Public Administration.
Results
McDaniel’s undergraduate enrollment metrics show sustained growth:
- Fall 2024 deposits increased 10% over the previous year, reversing a prior decline.
- Fall 2025 deposits increased again, maintaining the gains achieved the year before.
- Applications increased 8% for Fall 2025, following a 12% increase the year before.
continued deposit increase from 2024 to 2025 (awaiting final census)
These results reflect not just two strong years, but a durable foundation built for future growth.
What made Waybetter different is that they cared about enrolling students—not just selling us a formula for how to do it.
With previous partners, I often felt like I had to push them to do more or to fight harder for us. With Waybetter, it’s the opposite. They push us. They challenge us. They show up like an extension of our team. And they’re flexible. If we want to test a new part of our comm flow or stand up a new portal, we can just do it. That agility has been essential.”
The Road Ahead
With a streamlined tech stack, cohesive strategy, and new infrastructure in place, McDaniel is well-positioned to grow both undergraduate and graduate enrollment. The road ahead is about continuing to meet students where they are—and showing them what’s possible on the Hill.