The higher education landscape is noisy; there are a multitude of priorities vying for students’ attention at any given time in and outside of an institution. Students are especially sophisticated at picking up on indicators that provide information about their school and they are constantly scanning for ‘cues’ that signal whether an institution is a trustworthy partner in their success. From the clarity of a scholarship email notification to the organization of a physical waiting area, these silent signals form a student’s perception of your office’s ethos and professionalism. If digital and physical spaces lack consistency and accuracy, students will find it difficult to develop trust in the organization to manage their complex financial and academic tasks.

This session explores how the Student Services teams at the Office of the Registrar at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) embed strategic communication practices into departmental operations and planning. This includes implementing regular trainings to ensure messaging is consistent, warm and accurate, conducting planning sessions at the start of the term and compiling data from term-end reviews, conducting environmental scans of physical and digital spaces, and shifting student inquiry patterns to incorporate communications tactics into the departmental structure. By embedding strategic messaging into the core of administrative workflows, both campuses have moved beyond reactive service to a model of consistent, high-trust engagement. This practice reduces cognitive load for staff and creates an environment of ease and trust for students, while using a sustainable template for projects and planning for future cycles.

The Operational Cycle Framework will outline how we use term-start/end reviews, boilerplate responses, and staff “syncs” to ensure that the information we provide is as consistent and professional as the environment we provide it in. Through the lens of two strategic case studies, we will discuss:

The Get Finished Scholarship: How we used targeted outreach to move students from inquiry to action and increased degree completion.

The Summer Enrolment Project: How we utilized a multi-channel communication strategy to promote and increase summer enrolment.