Our New Staffing Model Playbook for Higher Ed CMOs

In today’s fast-changing recruitment landscape, CMOs need to be even more strategic in their staffing and resource decisions. In particular, their decision-making must allow their teams to focus on what matters most: attracting, engaging, and enrolling the next generation of students.

I felt this challenge firsthand in my former role as a higher ed CMO. Today, in my work with marketing and enrollment leaders across the country, I see many facing the same “build vs. buy” dilemma. Often, they’re also being asked to “do less with less”— prompting tough decisions about what to insource, outsource, or pause entirely.

So how can higher ed CMOs adapt their staffing models to meet today’s realities? Here are three practices you should consider.

1. Insource core capabilities aligned with strategic assets

Your brand is more than a logo—it’s a strategic asset that reflects your institution’s identity through visuals, messaging, and storytelling. That’s why your brand and key assets like your website and social accounts should be managed by in-house experts. To protect these assets and keep students engaged, teams need core skills in content, web development, and analytics.

Make your university’s brand pillars work harder for enrollment marketing

2. Outsource functions where you need scale, specialization, and staffing support

While your brand and digital presence are best kept in-house, not every marketing function needs to be. It can also be costly to do everything internally—nearly $1 million in projected salaries and benefits for key roles alone. External partners can help you scale, bring in specialized talent, and improve your digital experience.

Scale: Personalized outreach across email, social, text, print, and other platforms can be daunting—or even impossible—for small university marketing teams. Partnering with enrollment solutions providers gives you the reach and responsiveness you need while freeing up your team to focus on brand, messaging, and strategic priorities.

Here’s how a small marketing team grew grad enrollment by 35% in one year

Specialized expertise: Agency-grade marketing talent is hard to hire and retain—and it doesn’t always make sense to hire when you can outsource on demand. Tapping into external experts in areas like AI-ready search optimization, digital media buying, data science, or content strategy gives your team fast access to high-skill support. These partnerships can also strengthen your team’s capabilities, improve enrollment outcomes, and reinforce credibility with campus stakeholders.

Staffing support: Working with trusted agency partners makes your team more resilient to higher ed marketing staffing challenges like turnover or attrition. Agencies can step in quickly with the skills and resources you need when key university staffers leave their roles.

3. Elevate digital experiences while advancing in-house skills

Today’s students expect personalized, intuitive digital experiences—just like what they get from consumer brands. Uncovering what motivates them, crafting messages that resonate, and delivering those messages across digital touchpoints can help your institution stand out and accelerate enrollment.

But internal teams can’t always meet these expectations alone. External experts can elevate your university’s digital experience while bringing in proven practices like:

• Design thinking: Mapping the student journey to identify key moments for engagement
• Testing and iteration: Using data to refine messaging and user experience
• Evidence-based decision making: Diagnosing performance issues and optimizing strategies in real time

By working alongside experienced partners, your team can gain new skills, improve outcomes, and build a stronger foundation for long-term success.

Final takeaways

Higher ed CMOs must decide what marketing functions to outsource vs. insource to stay competitive in today’s changing landscape. Protecting brand integrity, tapping into external expertise, and embracing more innovative practices can help your institution meet the demands of modern marketing—and achieve stronger enrollment results.

To sum up, here’s your new higher ed CMO staffing model checklist:

• Be strategic about what to insource vs. outsource: Keep core brand and digital assets in-house, but outsource for reach, specialization, or speed.
• Invest in your team while meeting today’s expectations: The right external partner can help you deliver better digital experiences—and bring in proven practices to upskill and strengthen your team.
• Build a staffing model that’s flexible and future-ready: Be ready to scale quickly, fill gaps during turnover, and adapt to fast-changing enrollment and marketing demands.