Ruffalo Noel Levitz and CampusESP Partner to Engage Parents of College Students and Alumni


Firms combine innovation in college parental engagement with decades of experience in higher education enrollment and fundraising to harness the influence of parents.

February 14, 2019—Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with CampusESP, the leader in college parent and family engagement. Together their partnership will help colleges and universities engage parents as key influencers for enrollment, student success, and fundraising.

According to research from RNL and CampusESP, six out of 10 prospective college students say their parents are very involved in the college selection process, while four out of 10 current college students communicate with their parents on a daily basis. This level of parental involvement and interaction is increasing, which positions parents as an important factor in the college search process, student completion, and alumni giving.

CampusESP is a pioneer in leveraging parental engagement for higher education outcomes. The all-in-one CampusESP platform helps institutions connect with parents, through personalized communications, alerts via web and mobile devices, and an electronic FERPA management process. CampusESP helps institutions turn parents into advocates for enrollment, student success, and fundraising. CampusESP partners are seeing student retention up to 15 percent higher when parents use the platform. More than 300,000 parents use the platform nationwide, and 72 percent say that CampusESP helps them better advise and support their students.

“We ‘nudge the nudgers,’” said CampusESP CEO Dave Becker. “Parents want to be involved in their students’ education, and their involvement is almost always the most influential voice for students. We create a partnership between an institution and parents so that both can be better advocates for their students.”

RNL has decades of experience in student recruitment and retention, partnering with more than 3,000 colleges and universities in its 45-year history. The firm’s services for student recruitment bring together omnichannel communication outreach, advanced analytics, and unparalleled strategic expertise in the field. By combining their capabilities with CampusESP, RNL plans to achieve “total engagement” with students and their families.

“Parents have always had a great influence on enrollment,” said Todd Abbott, senior vice president at RNL. “The difference today is the ability for children and campuses to connect and engage those parents. Our partnership with CampusESP will provide campuses with an unparalleled combination of student recruitment and retention solutions amplified by the impact of CampusESP on engaging parents as enrollment influencers.”

To learn more about the partnership, visit RuffaloNL.com/Campus-ESP

About CampusESP

CampusESP is a strategic family engagement platform that enables institutions to inform the greatest influencers in students’ lives—their parents. From impacting enrollment, to student success, to annual giving—keeping parents effectively engaged has proven to be critical for institutions looking to better support their institutional goals. CampusESP supports that objective through personalized communications and parental alerts delivered via the web and straight to their smartphones. Learn more at www.campusesp.com.

About Ruffalo Noel Levitz

Ruffalo Noel Levitz is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. More than 1,900 colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations rely on RNL for advanced analytics, personalized engagement, and industry-leading insights to achieve their missions. The firm is focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right college or university, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. Ruffalo Noel Levitz conferences, research reports, papers, and articles help clients stay on top of current trends. Learn more at www.RuffaloNL.com.