Vanity vs. Value: How University at Buffalo Turns Student Insights into Enrollment Impact

Higher education teams have more data than ever, from email open rates and event registrations to student engagement metrics. But which numbers actually help institutions understand prospective students and make better recruitment decisions?

At Unibuddy’s Powered by Peers conference, Tyler Bingham, Assistant Director for Recruitment and Advisement at the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, shared how his team uses student conversations to inform communications, improve the prospective student experience, and understand enrollment outcomes.

Look beyond the numbers to understand student questions

Engagement metrics can tell you how many students are interacting with your institution, but conversations help explain what they need.

Tyler uses Unibuddy’s Insights dashboard to identify the topics and subtopics students discuss most often, helping his team understand where prospective students need more information or reassurance. Looking at when questions arise throughout the application journey also helps them understand how student needs change over time.

These insights offer a more useful picture than engagement figures alone: not just whether students are interacting, but what matters to them and where they need support.

Let student questions shape your communications

One example is the structure of Buffalo’s master’s program, which gives students flexibility in how they approach their curriculum. Although the university had detailed information available, prospective students continued to ask current students how to choose courses and plan their experience.

Rather than assuming the information on its website was sufficient, Tyler’s team used these recurring questions to rethink how it communicated the program. They began providing clearer information earlier in the recruitment journey, through the website and email communications.

Connect engagement to enrollment

Qualitative insights become even more powerful when combined with quantitative data. Buffalo compares student conversations with findings from focus groups to understand what influences students’ decisions and how their experiences align with their expectations.

The team also tracks engagement alongside recruitment outcomes. In the 2026 application cycle, 141 students who used Unibuddy applied, 101 were admitted, and 65 enrolled. With just 145 seats in the program, those students represented almost half of the incoming class.

These figures help demonstrate the value of student engagement and give the team a clearer picture of how peer connections contribute to recruitment.

Measure what helps students feel supported

Tyler also challenged the idea that recruitment communications should focus primarily on efficiency. Prospective students may want direct answers from real people, rather than another automated email or lengthy webpage.

By combining engagement data, conversation topics, and other recruitment touchpoints, institutions can build a more complete picture of how students interact with them and what helps them move forward.

Ultimately, data is most useful when it informs decisions. For higher education teams, that means looking beyond surface-level metrics to understand student needs, improve communications, and better support enrollment.

Want to make more informed recruitment decisions? Unibuddy Intelligence helps institutions understand what prospective students are asking, track engagement trends, and explore insights from student conversations.