AI Search, Cross-Border Demand, and Performance Channels for Universities Launching and Scaling Online Programs

Description

Audience-building for online programs is undergoing a meaningful shift in 2026. Across major markets, universities launching new online and professional programs are actively rebuilding how they reach, engage, and enroll prospective students. What was once handled through familiar paid search and brand campaigns is now becoming more integrated with cross-border channel strategy, AI-mediated discovery, and multi-platform performance. This discussion will explore how leading universities are approaching audience strategy for newly launched online programs, from channel mix and source-market prioritization to creative positioning, attribution, and the prospective student experience. We will examine how institutions are identifying audience signal, improving acquisition efficiency, and building internal alignment across enrollment, marketing, and program leadership as the digital landscape continues to evolve.

Speakers

Carrie Miller

Senior Researcher, the Online Learning Consortium

Christian Hicks

Director of Graduate & Online Undergraduate Enrollment, Eastern University

Chad Mezera

Assistant Provost for WVU Online, West Virginia University

Jessica Butts Scott

Associate Vice President of Online and Continuing Education , University of Alberta

Dr. Lina Parra

Director of Spanish Language and Graduate Management Programs, New England College

Guided Questions

Carrie Miller

Carrie, OLC’s 2026 survey work treats student well-being as a course-design issue, not simply a support-service issue. Before a university markets an online program in a new country, what should its marketers learn from the people who design and support the courses so the campaign matches the experience students will actually have?

Jessica Butts Scott

Jessica, suppose a faculty team at the University of Alberta sees a burst of inquiries for an online certificate from a country the university has never served. As UAlberta’s inaugural AVP for online and continuing education, how would you test that opportunity before faculty, marketing, and student support start building around it?

Dr. Lina Parra

Lina, you came to the United States on an international student visa and later worked across admissions, advising, financial aid, retention, and career services. When a prospect in another country compares two similar online programs, what do universities most often misunderstand about the decision that student is actually trying to make?

Chad Mezera

Chad, after helping grow the nation’s first fully online IMC master’s into WVU’s largest master’s program, with enrollment up 777%, where do you draw the line between the parts of a growth model that can be standardized across an online portfolio and the parts that must stay tied to a specific program and audience?

Christian Hicks

Christian, picture the student who clicked an Eastern ad, asked about one of the university’s 70-plus online programs, and then stopped responding. Your team handles questions about program fit, applications, aid, and billing every day; what are students like that telling you about why they hesitate, even when the campaign dashboard looks healthy?