Case Study: Pfeiffer University achieves higher student retention through improved first-year orientation with ThoughtExchange

Driving retention from day one with a better first-year student orientation

Pfeiffer University, a private liberal arts college with about 1,500 students across three North Carolina campuses, needed a more relevant, energizing first‑year orientation to improve student experience and boost retention. Traditional outreach (phone and email) didn’t reveal what students and parents truly cared about, so leadership sought a way to gather timely, honest feedback before and during orientation.

Pfeiffer used Thoughtexchange to run confidential, real‑time “exchanges” that let students and parents share and rate thoughts from any device; staff also used live exchanges during sessions to surface and prioritize questions. That approach produced more engaging, data‑driven orientation content, richer insights to guide future decisions, and a faster, more responsive strategy to support student retention.

Pfeiffer University

Ken Russell

VP of Digital Transformation