Georgetown University growth playbook

Write real descriptions for the homepage and Areas of Study. Give every card a "Program page" link. Pass the program into the inquiry form in the link so it is already selected, and move birthdate to the application. Add a monthly check that every entry has a topic, format and campus.

A student who has picked a program is the warmest lead the university gets. Removing the second search and the extra field turns more of them into inquiries that the newly staffed admissions teams can follow up, and a clear snippet earns more clicks for the most important page on the site.

[ ] Homepage meta description and share image
[ ] Areas of Study meta description (not the breadcrumb)
[ ] "Program page" link on all 278 cards
[ ] Inquiry link carries the program
[ ] Birthdate moved to the application
[ ] Every entry has topic, format and campus
[ ] Monthly data check

• Form changes need sign-off across schools

  Start with Graduate Studies programs that use the shared form.

• Prefill breaks for some programs

  Fall back to the current form when no match exists.

• Your websiteAreas of Study, the "Find Your Program" page, lists 278 programs (WordPress area_of_study entries), 20 at a time with "Load More", filtered by topic, program type, format, school and campus. Its meta description is the breadcrumb: "Home Academic Life Areas of Study Areas of Study". Cards expand in place ("View More") and some have no link to the program's own page: Addiction Policy & Practice, Master's offers only "Request More Information" and "Contact Program".Source
• Graduate inquiry form"Request More Information" on most graduate cards opens the same generic form, "Connect with Us" at gradapply.georgetown.edu, which asks for name, email and birthdate and then "Program(s) of Interest" from a list of about 280 options, so the program the visitor just chose is not carried over.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: "Georgetown offers a vast range of degree and certificate programs across our 11 schools. Find Your Program", linking to /academics/areas-of-study/. The homepage has no meta description and no social share image, so search results and link previews write their own.Source
• Your websiteProgram data: the newest entry, "Strategic Communications, Master's" (added October 8, 2026), has no topic, so the Communications filter does not show it. Four entries have no topic, four no format and 24 no campus.Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source

Write descriptions and share images for the homepage and each school homepage, fix the 404 template so it carries none, and check the top 50 landing pages in Search Console.

Snippets are the first words most prospective students read; a written one beats a guessed one and makes shared links look official.

• Schools manage their own sites

  Send each school a short template.

• Your websiteHomepage: "Georgetown offers a vast range of degree and certificate programs across our 11 schools. Find Your Program", linking to /academics/areas-of-study/. The homepage has no meta description and no social share image, so search results and link previews write their own.Source
• Your websiteThe School of Continuing Studies homepage has an empty meta description; the site's 404 page carries the meta description of a news story about a new scholarship.Source
• Competitor researchRivals' homepages: George Washington University, "Housed in a city unlike any other, our students gain an education unlike any other"; NYU School of Professional Studies, "continuing education, professional development, and graduate and undergraduate degree programs". Both publish homepage meta descriptions.See the research Source

Load the social feed only when it scrolls into view, or replace it with a few static posts updated weekly.

Halving page weight speeds up the first visit for international and mobile students at no cost to the content.

• Fewer feed clicks

  Compare; the feed is not a conversion path.

• Google PageSpeedMobile score 64 (desktop 93); lab LCP 5.9s. The homepage downloads 6.0 MB, of which a juicer.io social feed accounts for 3.4 MB in 38 requests. Real visitors pass Core Web Vitals (Chrome UX Report LCP 1.95s, INP 140ms, CLS 0).Source
• Your websiteHomepage: "Georgetown offers a vast range of degree and certificate programs across our 11 schools. Find Your Program", linking to /academics/areas-of-study/. The homepage has no meta description and no social share image, so search results and link previews write their own.Source

Drop past events from the sitemap, split news into its own sitemap, and make sure Areas of Study and admissions pages are listed first.

Clear crawl signals help the pages that recruit students get indexed and refreshed faster.

• Plugin limits

  Use the SEO plugin's sitemap settings.

• Your websiteSitemap: 4,556 URLs, 4,283 of them news posts, reaching back to coverage of Obama-era speeches; an event page from October 2020 ("Town Hall for Students Living Off Campus") is still listed.Source
• Your websiteAreas of Study, the "Find Your Program" page, lists 278 programs (WordPress area_of_study entries), 20 at a time with "Load More", filtered by topic, program type, format, school and campus. Its meta description is the breadcrumb: "Home Academic Life Areas of Study Areas of Study". Cards expand in place ("View More") and some have no link to the program's own page: Addiction Policy & Practice, Master's offers only "Request More Information" and "Contact Program".Source

Add a one-question survey on the last application page and to applicants who stop halfway, track drop-off by section in Salesforce, and fix the top two issues before the next deadline.

Small fixes on the application raise completed applications without any new marketing spend.

• Survey fatigue

  Ask one question only.

• HiringOperations Manager, MBA Admissions (posted October 19, 2026): runs applications for the "Full-time, Part-time and Part-time Online MBA", troubleshoots Salesforce, and will "identify innovative ideas for process improvement to enhance the quality of the applicant experience in relation to the online application"; represents MBA Admissions at recruitment events outside the DC region.Source
• HiringGeorgetown Law, Admissions and Recruitment Counselor (temporary, two posts on October 20, 2026): J.D., LL.M. and MSL admissions, "representing the law school at recruitment fairs, forums, and panels", Zoom interviews, and "implementing strategies for recruiting and yielding prospective students". Five seasonal undergraduate Application Reader posts went up on October 13.Source
• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source

Send every new inquiry a text within an hour with a link to book a call, and an FAQ page per program on clinical placements, on-campus intensives and weekly hours.

Fast, convenient follow-up and clear answers on the practical questions are what move working nurses to apply.

• Too many texts

  Cap at three before a reply.

• HiringAdmissions Specialist, Berkley School of Nursing (still open): programs on campus and online, including nurse practitioner tracks, Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia, Accelerated BSN and Master of Nursing-Direct Entry; follow-up "via phone, email, text, and in-person outreach as they move through the admissions funnel", with every touchpoint in the CRM.Source

Build one track per program: welcome, a faculty video, an alumni outcome, an info session invite, deadline reminders and a scholarship note, with branches for who opened what. Measure inquiry-to-application by track.

Relevant emails at the right moment move prospects to apply without more advertising.

• Too much email

  Stop the track when someone applies.

• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source
• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source
• HiringOperations Manager, MBA Admissions (posted October 19, 2026): runs applications for the "Full-time, Part-time and Part-time Online MBA", troubleshoots Salesforce, and will "identify innovative ideas for process improvement to enhance the quality of the applicant experience in relation to the online application"; represents MBA Admissions at recruitment events outside the DC region.Source

Agree a response time for inquiries and incomplete applications, show it on a shared Salesforce dashboard, and review the slowest stages every week with the agency.

Measured speed and shared visibility turn the agency relationship into a joint enrollment target.

• Contract terms

  Add targets at the next renewal.

• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source
• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source

Record each session, cut it into short answers by question, put them on the program page with a booking link, and send registrants who missed it the recording and a one-to-one call link.

Recorded answers reach more prospects and give admissions staff time for one-to-one calls.

• Dated content

  Re-record each cycle.

• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source

Match each admitted student in real-asset and finance tracks with an alumnus in their city or target firm for a 20-minute call, and track yield for those who took a call.

Personal conversations raise yield, and alumni value being asked.

• Uneven alumni quality

  Give a short guide.

• HiringAlumni Relations Manager, Steers Center for Global Real Assets (posted October 9, 2026): "connects alumni with opportunities to support students, programs, events, committees, chapters", coordinates "regional alumni chapters" and supports "admissions outreach" through coordinated alumni participation.Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source

Run monthly virtual sessions by region and time zone, with current students and alumni from that region, and let qualified attendees book their interview slot at the end.

Regional sessions reach candidates who would never attend an in-person fair, and booking on the spot shortens the funnel.

• Time zones

  Repeat sessions for Asia and Europe.

• HiringGeorgetown Law, Admissions and Recruitment Counselor (temporary, two posts on October 20, 2026): J.D., LL.M. and MSL admissions, "representing the law school at recruitment fairs, forums, and panels", Zoom interviews, and "implementing strategies for recruiting and yielding prospective students". Five seasonal undergraduate Application Reader posts went up on October 13.Source

Create one admitted-student page per program from a template: congratulations video, aid summary, deposit deadline, events, housing and visa steps, and a contact. Link it in every decision letter.

A clear next step right after admission is when yield is decided.

• Programs want their own style

  Keep a shared core and a custom section.

• HiringAssistant Director of Graduate Admissions (posted October 7, 2026): advises and counsels prospective students "on the admissions requirements for approximately 150 graduate programs" and coordinates "the release of admissions decisions" with the programs and the Office of Merit Aid.Source

Build one AI programs hub listing every degree, certificate, executive course and event by school, with filters and inquiry links, and add it to Areas of Study as a topic.

AI programs are among the most searched in graduate education, and one page lets Georgetown compete on breadth.

• Ownership across schools

  Each school owns its listing.

• HiringAssociate Director, AI Initiatives, McDonough (still open): to "expand the Initiative's visibility, reach, and impact" and "Manage website updates, newsletters, and other communications materials in partnership with MarComm". Georgetown's AI page lists an undergraduate Certificate in AI and the School of Continuing Studies' Master's in AI Management.Source
• Your websiteAreas of Study, the "Find Your Program" page, lists 278 programs (WordPress area_of_study entries), 20 at a time with "Load More", filtered by topic, program type, format, school and campus. Its meta description is the breadcrumb: "Home Academic Life Areas of Study Areas of Study". Cards expand in place ("View More") and some have no link to the program's own page: Addiction Policy & Practice, Master's offers only "Request More Information" and "Contact Program".Source
• Your websiteProgram data: the newest entry, "Strategic Communications, Master's" (added October 8, 2026), has no topic, so the Communications filter does not show it. Four entries have no topic, four no format and 24 no campus.Source

Add program markup (name, school, credential, format, campus, link, inquiry URL) to each entry from the data already in WordPress, and check it in Google's test tool.

Structured facts make programs eligible for richer results and accurate answers, using data the site already stores.

• Markup errors

  Validate before release.

• Your websiteAreas of Study, the "Find Your Program" page, lists 278 programs (WordPress area_of_study entries), 20 at a time with "Load More", filtered by topic, program type, format, school and campus. Its meta description is the breadcrumb: "Home Academic Life Areas of Study Areas of Study". Cards expand in place ("View More") and some have no link to the program's own page: Addiction Policy & Practice, Master's offers only "Request More Information" and "Contact Program".Source
• Your websiteProgram data: the newest entry, "Strategic Communications, Master's" (added October 8, 2026), has no topic, so the Communications filter does not show it. Four entries have no topic, four no format and 24 no campus.Source
• Competitor researchRivals' homepages: George Washington University, "Housed in a city unlike any other, our students gain an education unlike any other"; NYU School of Professional Studies, "continuing education, professional development, and graduate and undergraduate degree programs". Both publish homepage meta descriptions.See the research Source

Publish one comparison page across the formats, with a short quiz that recommends a format and links to its info session and inquiry, and give admissions staff the same table for calls.

Prospects who pick the right format apply sooner and drop out less; staff answer the same questions once.

• Outdated details

  Review the page each cycle.

• HiringOperations Manager, MBA Admissions (posted October 19, 2026): runs applications for the "Full-time, Part-time and Part-time Online MBA", troubleshoots Salesforce, and will "identify innovative ideas for process improvement to enhance the quality of the applicant experience in relation to the online application"; represents MBA Admissions at recruitment events outside the DC region.Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source
• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source

Agree a shared prospect view across the graduate offices: one identity, all program interests and touches, with each school keeping its own process. Start with Graduate Studies and McDonough.

A joined-up view stops duplicate outreach and lets offices suggest the right program when a prospect's first choice is not the best fit.

• Privacy and governance

  Limit fields and follow university data policy.

• Graduate inquiry form"Request More Information" on most graduate cards opens the same generic form, "Connect with Us" at gradapply.georgetown.edu, which asks for name, email and birthdate and then "Program(s) of Interest" from a list of about 280 options, so the program the visitor just chose is not carried over.Source
• HiringAssistant Director, Graduate & Executive Degree Programs Admissions, McDonough (posted September 24, 2026): recruiting for the Master of Science in Management, "on and off campus information sessions, online information sessions", "engaging, cultivating and managing the recruiting pipeline", managing records in Ellucian Banner, "process flows between Salesforce and Ellucian Banner" and Salesforce dashboards.Source
• HiringAssistant Director of Graduate Admissions (posted October 7, 2026): advises and counsels prospective students "on the admissions requirements for approximately 150 graduate programs" and coordinates "the release of admissions decisions" with the programs and the Office of Merit Aid.Source
• HiringAdmissions Specialist, Berkley School of Nursing (still open): programs on campus and online, including nurse practitioner tracks, Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia, Accelerated BSN and Master of Nursing-Direct Entry; follow-up "via phone, email, text, and in-person outreach as they move through the admissions funnel", with every touchpoint in the CRM.Source

Publish an outcomes panel on each program page: where students interned and work, median time to job where available, and two short stories, updated yearly.

Outcomes are the main question for graduate applicants and the hardest claim for rivals to copy.

• Small cohorts

  Show ranges and suppress tiny groups.

• Your websiteAcademic Life page: "11:1 Students:Professors", "560+ Fulbright U.S. Student Grantees In Georgetown's History", congressional "Hillternships", and DC internships across NGOs, Fortune 500s and start-ups.Source
• Competitor researchRivals' homepages: George Washington University, "Housed in a city unlike any other, our students gain an education unlike any other"; NYU School of Professional Studies, "continuing education, professional development, and graduate and undergraduate degree programs". Both publish homepage meta descriptions.See the research Source
• Your websiteAreas of Study, the "Find Your Program" page, lists 278 programs (WordPress area_of_study entries), 20 at a time with "Load More", filtered by topic, program type, format, school and campus. Its meta description is the breadcrumb: "Home Academic Life Areas of Study Areas of Study". Cards expand in place ("View More") and some have no link to the program's own page: Addiction Policy & Practice, Master's offers only "Request More Information" and "Contact Program".Source

Add an optional "interested in study?" question to event registration, send interested registrants the matching program track, and report applications that started with an event.

Events are a trusted first touch, and asking costs nothing.

• Consent

  Keep the question optional and clear.

• Your websiteHomepage news and events: Eduardo Peñalver inaugurated as Georgetown's 49th president; a "$10M Gift Allows First-Generation College Recipients To Attend Georgetown Free of Cost"; upcoming events include the virtual "Knowledge@Noon: Human-Centered Performance in the Age of AI".Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source
• HiringAssociate Director, AI Initiatives, McDonough (still open): to "expand the Initiative's visibility, reach, and impact" and "Manage website updates, newsletters, and other communications materials in partnership with MarComm". Georgetown's AI page lists an undergraduate Certificate in AI and the School of Continuing Studies' Master's in AI Management.Source

Work with college-access groups and school counselors to share a short explainer and a virtual session for first-generation students, and track applications from those partners.

A clear "free for you" message removes the cost barrier that keeps first-generation students from applying at all.

• Eligibility confusion

  State the gift's terms exactly.

• Your websiteHomepage news and events: Eduardo Peñalver inaugurated as Georgetown's 49th president; a "$10M Gift Allows First-Generation College Recipients To Attend Georgetown Free of Cost"; upcoming events include the virtual "Knowledge@Noon: Human-Centered Performance in the Age of AI".Source
• HiringGeorgetown Law, Admissions and Recruitment Counselor (temporary, two posts on October 20, 2026): J.D., LL.M. and MSL admissions, "representing the law school at recruitment fairs, forums, and panels", Zoom interviews, and "implementing strategies for recruiting and yielding prospective students". Five seasonal undergraduate Application Reader posts went up on October 13.Source

Give chapters a kit (slides, video, sign-up QR) and host one recruiting night per chapter per year, with admissions joining by video.

Local alumni make Georgetown tangible far from DC, at a fraction of travel cost.

• Brand consistency

  Use a shared kit.

• HiringAlumni Relations Manager, Steers Center for Global Real Assets (posted October 9, 2026): "connects alumni with opportunities to support students, programs, events, committees, chapters", coordinates "regional alumni chapters" and supports "admissions outreach" through coordinated alumni participation.Source
• HiringOperations Manager, MBA Admissions (posted October 19, 2026): runs applications for the "Full-time, Part-time and Part-time Online MBA", troubleshoots Salesforce, and will "identify innovative ideas for process improvement to enhance the quality of the applicant experience in relation to the online application"; represents MBA Admissions at recruitment events outside the DC region.Source

Inventory senders (Mimecast, CRM platforms, event tools), align them, then move to quarantine and reject over a quarter.

It protects applicants and keeps real admissions mail out of spam folders.

• Breaking a department's mail

  Roll out by percentage.

• DNS checkgeorgetown.edu publishes DMARC with p=none, so receiving servers take no action on mail that fails checks.Source
• HiringAdmissions Manager, Admissions and Marketing Automation, McDonough School of Business (posted October 19, 2026): split between admissions for the "Master of Science in Business Analytics Online (MSBA Online)", where they "partner with an external agency to ensure that we meet target enrollment goals", and "building, executing, approving, and optimizing email marketing templates, landing pages, and lead-nurturing workflows across the entire Graduate & Executive Degree Programs portfolio".Source