What They Got Right

If you watched our conversation last week with Patty Lemon from Saint Martin’s University, one thing probably stood out: their team doesn’t just move fast—they move with purpose. And that purpose doesn’t come from pushing harder. It comes from clarity.

In a month like November, when most admissions offices are running at capacity, clarity is easy to lose. The volume of applications, the pace of outreach, the number of student touchpoints—all of it builds. And when the work piles up faster than your systems can filter it, the pressure quietly shifts from the team’s time to their attention.

What Patty showed us is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

At Saint Martin’s, counselor focus is a leadership priority—not an individual responsibility. Their systems are designed not just to show what happened, but to surface who matters. Every day, counselors know which students are worth their time—because recent behavior, timing, and signal strength make that decision for them.

That’s not about prediction. It’s about prioritization.

They’re not tracking volume for the sake of reporting. They’re interpreting it to make real-time choices. That means fewer repetitive follow-ups, fewer dead-end nudges, and far less energy spent sorting lists that don’t evolve.

And it’s working—not because they’ve added more automation, but because they’ve removed the ambiguity.

That’s the shift enrollment teams need to carry forward. The goal isn’t to do more. It’s to eliminate the work that doesn’t matter. It’s to protect counselor attention, so the students who are moving get real connection. And it’s to build an operating system that holds up when the pressure hits—not one that depends on constant hustle.

If your team felt the strain this month, it may not be a sign that they’re at capacity. It may be a sign that your prioritization layer isn’t doing its job. Because when counselors can see clearly, they move confidently. And when they move confidently, everything improves: productivity, morale, and student response.

This isn’t a staffing problem. It’s a systems question.

Clarity isn’t a luxury. It’s the requirement for sustainable, human-centered enrollment work. And as the cycle moves into winter, the teams that get this right now will carry that advantage into yield season—and into next year’s strategy.

Miss the conversation? Watch the full video podcast with Patty Lemon here: crowdcast.io/c/vppatty