In today’s turbulent higher education landscape, the word “teach-out” has become an increasingly common and critical part of strategic planning conversations. As more colleges face closure or consolidation due to enrollment pressures, financial instability, and shifting student demand, the likelihood of being asked to participate in a teach-out or having to coordinate one is growing.
Every closure reduces the diversity of higher education offerings. For small, mission-driven colleges — especially in art and design, like mine — each loss narrows the landscape. It also redistributes student interest and changes the competitive dynamics of your region.
Marketers must track these shifts carefully. Where are students going instead? How does this change our market share? Can we serve these students in ways that honor our mission while adapting to their needs?
In the summer of 2024 my institution, Moore College of Art and Design, was engaged in three very different types of teach outs, one building off the other. Teach-outs come in different forms depending on the institution, circumstances, and agreements between schools. No two teach-outs unfold the same way. Some are coordinated in advance, allowing for deliberate planning. Others require swift action and improvisation.
For marketing and enrollment teams, planning for a teach-out is far from your standard recruitment process; instead, it is a process that requires logistics; it’s about mission alignment, student care and institutional readiness — and, above all, compassion and empathy.
Attracting Teachout Students To Your Institution
When a college or university announces closure, marketing and communications teams play a critical role in reaching out to affected students with compassion, clarity, and urgency.
Communications are typically personalized and emphasize how the receiving institution is ready to support students through the transition from academic advising and credit transfer evaluation to housing and financial aid assistance. The messaging highlights the school’s alignment with the students’ original academic goals and values, underscoring that their momentum toward graduation won’t be lost.
Marcomm teams also convey that the institution understands the emotional and logistical stress of a sudden closure and is prepared to offer a streamlined path forward. The goal is to make students feel welcomed, understood, and reassured that their academic journey can continue with minimal disruption in a community that values their experience and contributions.
One final consideration: your own balance sheet. In the wake of closures, families are asking tougher questions about financial viability. Your ability to demonstrate fiscal health and sustainability is now a core part of your recruitment narrative.
This doesn’t mean boasting. It means being transparent, grounded, and aligned. Can you show how your business model supports student success and institutional stability? Do your marketing messages inspire confidence?
Becoming a Teachout Partner
The key to navigating a successful teachout as a receiving institution is to prepare before you’re forced to react. Institutions that are well-networked and proactive will be better positioned to support students and benefit from the partnership when the moment comes.
While agreements are formalized through MOUs and legal counsel, teach-outs are often built on relationships — long-standing connections between presidents, provosts, deans, and enrollment leaders. When trust exists between institutions, navigating a teach-out becomes less about negotiation and more about shared responsibility. These relationships also shape how quickly schools can move from first contact to implementation.
It’s important to invest in regional and mission-aligned networks long before a crisis emerges. Being part of these circles ensures you’re not on the outside looking in when a neighboring institution needs to find a home for its students.
Creating the Right Fit
Not every teach-out is a perfect match. Institutions need to consider whether they are a strong academic, cultural, and geographic fit for the incoming students. Do your programs align? Can students make a smooth credit transition? Does your support structure meet the needs of students who may be dealing with uncertainty and loss?
Mission alignment doesn’t mean sameness. It means shared values, a commitment to student success, and the capacity to help learners thrive through change. Clear communication about how your institution will meet these needs is essential.
An effective teach-out partnership includes:
- Clear articulation agreements
- Dedicated support staff for incoming students
- Financial aid packaging flexibility
- Transparent credit transfer and degree completion plans
- Enrollment management coordination between campuses
These aren’t just student-facing items, they also need internal champions. Admissions counselors, academic advisors, faculty, coaches, and financial aid officers all need tools and talking points to serve teach-out students confidently.
The Logistics of Teachout Support
Teach-out timelines vary dramatically. Some schools give 18 months of notice. Others, just weeks (or minutes). The ability to rapidly mobilize depends on having a playbook in place.
What deadlines must you meet? When do transfer students need to enroll to stay on track? How do your marketing campaigns, application systems, and financial models adjust for incoming cohorts?
Institutional agility isn’t about rushing it’s about having repeatable, scalable processes.
Teach-outs can strain systems. New students need onboarding, housing, academic advising, and cultural integration. Your team must be prepared for an influx of students with different backgrounds and experiences.
Ask yourself:
- Do we have the right staffing?
- Is our communication plan inclusive and responsive?
- Are our support services trauma-informed?
Welcoming teach-out students is more than offering space. It’s creating a space where they can belong.
A teach-out is a team sport. From legal to marketing, every function must be coordinated. Marketing and enrollment leaders play a unique role in managing urgency while maintaining clarity and compassion.
You’ll need to:
- Empower staff with up-to-date information
- Maintain morale during high-stress periods
- Track and evaluate teach-out performance metrics
Creating a project-based structure with clearly defined roles and timelines can make the difference between a smooth transition and an operational scramble.
Teach-outs are no longer rare emergencies. They’re recurring features of a sector in transition. Whether you’re extending a hand or bracing for impact, your preparation matters.
For higher education marketers and enrollment leaders, the time to build your strategy, relationships, and internal readiness is now. Because when the call comes, you won’t want to be catching up, you’ll want to be ready to lead.
