Case Study: Northern Virginia Community College achieves enrollment growth and higher engagement with Salesforce for Nonprofits

Pivoting on a Dime to Surpass Enrollment Expectations

Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), a public community college serving more than 70,000 students in the Washington, D.C. metro area, faced the sudden disruption of COVID-19 and needed to quickly realign marketing to keep current students informed and recruit prospective learners. Already transitioning from manual processes to a digital approach, NOVA had to rapidly adjust messaging, expand target audiences (including those needing retraining or uncertain about four‑year plans), and shift campaigns to be more sensitive and supportive.

Using Salesforce Education Cloud and Pardot, NOVA automated, personalized, and measured its communications to identify prospects earlier, nurture them through the student lifecycle, and optimize digital spend. The team launched new audience‑specific campaigns in weeks, achieved email open rates 5–10% above prior averages and click-through rates 18% above industry norms, enrolled 2,500 high school students in summer dual enrollment (37% continued in fall), and posted an overall enrollment increase while similar two‑year schools saw declines.

Northern Virginia Community College

Toni Angelo

Director of Marketing