VisualZen, the leading authority in higher education onboarding, today released its case study, "Orientation After the Fire – 2025," drawn from a national webinar that attracted more than 160 registrants and over 200 recording requests. For university CIOs, vice presidents, vice chancellors, and enrollment leaders, this report delivers data-driven strategies to combat summer melt, enhance persistence rates, and optimize operations under budget and staffing constraints.
The upcoming 2026 release of VisualZen’s onboarding operating system, VZOS, provides a game-changing solution, integrating AI-driven analytics with governance frameworks to deliver measurable retention gains while fitting seamlessly into enterprise systems.
Hosted by VisualZen CEO David Morales, the webinar featured orientation leaders from seven institutions — Christopher Newport University, the University of West Florida, Coastal Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Baylor University, Binghamton University and the University of Colorado Boulder — who shared lessons from 2025 and their outlook for 2026. (Note: Not all institutions represented are current VisualZen clients; their perspectives were shared as part of a peer-learning panel.)
“Onboarding is the cornerstone of retention and institutional resilience,” Morales said. “This case study arms executives with proven tools to address enrollment volatility. The 2026 VZOS release empowers campuses to scale smarter, not harder, with outcomes tied directly to persistence and ROI.”
Executive Insights
- Proven resilience: UNC Charlotte streamlined operations by cutting low-impact programs and reallocating resources for maximum impact. Christopher Newport aligned messaging across campus, ensuring consistent communication from leadership to frontline staff.
- Pressure points: West Florida reported commuter disengagement tied to session length. Binghamton faced infrastructure breakdowns during orientation check-ins. Colorado Boulder struggled with unregistered guest surges, underscoring the need for predictive planning.
- 2026 solutions: Baylor is shifting to 10-minute AI-optimized videos to boost engagement. Coastal Carolina is deploying multi-step check-ins to track attendance in real time and cut costs. Colorado Boulder is expanding facilities to sustain hybrid onboarding at scale.
- AI’s strategic edge: Leaders emphasized AI’s role in tracking registration patterns, repeat resource usage (e.g., financial aid visits), and module drop-offs, enabling proactive interventions to reduce melt and demonstrate ROI.
Why VZOS Matters
VZOS integrates AI analytics with human-centered governance to address executive priorities:
- Retention impact: Predicts melt and tracks persistence by cohort, supporting interventions that keep students enrolled.
- Operational efficiency: Streamlines check-ins and workflows, reducing staff burden and integrating with existing SIS/CRM systems.
- Scalability and ROI: Deploys rapidly without costly overhauls, delivering measurable outcomes within the first year.
- Governance framework: Ensures onboarding processes are measurable, improvable, and not dependent on individual talent.
Take Action
With enrollment pressures mounting, this case study offers a roadmap to strengthen onboarding and retention. Access the full report, executive summaries, and webinar replay at: www.govzo.com/case-studies/orientation-after-the-fire-2025
About VisualZen
VisualZen is an onboarding expert for higher education, helping institutions reduce melt, improve retention and strengthen belonging through adaptive, human-centered orientation systems. Its onboarding operating system, VZOS, combines powerful technology with a proven governance methodology, enabling colleges and universities to scale trust and performance. Guided by the principle “people first, systems second,” VisualZen empowers leaders to create seamless onboarding experiences that are measurable, improvable and built to last. For more information, visit www.govzo.com.
Media Contact
David Morales
+1 855-676-3546
david@govzo.com
