Expanding the Touchpoints: In-School Engagement and the 13th Year Plan

Digital recruitment dominates today’s enrollment landscape. But Weston Noyes of 13th Year believes institutions should not replace digital strategy. They should expand it.

Through interactive kiosks placed inside high schools, 13th Year helps colleges create measurable, real-time engagement in the environments where students are already thinking about their future.

In this conversation, Weston shares how 65-inch interactive kiosks create simple pathways to connection. Students can scan QR-enabled video content, explore institutional profile pages, or opt in for outreach through a $1,000 scholarship program.

With nearly 70% of scholarship applicants requesting direct contact from partner institutions, one insight stands out. Students do not just want information. They want connection.

What you will learn

Presence builds trust. Consistent visibility inside a student’s school day creates familiarity that digital impressions alone cannot.

Connection drives action. High opt-in rates signal a desire for genuine connction, not just brochures.

Digital and physical work together. In school engagement can move students from awareness to action.

Transcript

Cathy Donovan [00:00:00]
Hello and welcome to the Innovating Enrollment Success podcast, where we explore how colleges and universities are connecting with prospective students and how students are finding their way to their right fit. Enrollment marketing today is largely digital: search campaigns, social media name buys, email nurture flows.

Institutions are investing heavily in reaching students online. But what if the opportunity isn't to replace digital marketing? It's to expand it. What if alongside the inbox and the Instagram feed, institutions could create a presence inside the spaces where students already spend their time, their schools?

I'm Cathy Donovan, Agency Marketing Director at Paskill. We help institutions connect insight, creativity, and strategy to drive enrollment success.

Today I'm joined by Weston Noyes of the 13th Year. His work includes a kiosk-based engagement system currently active in schools across Indiana and Michigan, with a goal of reaching 100 schools by the end of the year.

Just recently, about four kiosks generated over 150 student leads. Weston, welcome. Let's start talking.

Weston Noyes:
Awesome. Well thanks for having me, Cathy.

Cathy Donovan:
So let's just start at the beginning. What is 13th Year? And how does the kiosk system function inside a school?

Weston Noyes:
Yeah, so 13th Year is a student-first organization, and we've designed it to help high school students directly connect with post-secondary opportunities.

And so we do that through what is called our Student Pathway System kiosk. It's a 65-inch interactive touchscreen placed directly inside of high schools. And so we do this by primarily featuring colleges' interactive video content who are desiring to reach high school students.

Cathy Donovan:
Okay. So when these kiosks are placed, how is it working? How are students discovering and engaging with them? Talk me through that.

Weston Noyes:
Yeah, so we try to put our kiosks in high-traffic areas within the high school. So you can think of places like a cafeteria, a main hallway, maybe the student commons. Oftentimes we'll also go near guidance counselor offices.

They're six and a half feet tall, so they're kind of hard to miss. And students discover them naturally just by walking through the building every day. We also partner with guidance counselors, and so guidance counselors are telling them about our kiosks and what they offer.

And so the students see the colleges' content that catches their attention. And because of the interactive nature of it, curiosity turns into engagement very, very quickly.

Cathy Donovan:
That's very cool. So what does that student experience look like from that first interaction with the screen — they're just walking to lunch — to what that lead might look like for the institution that invested in your kiosk?

Weston Noyes:
Yes. So we have designed it to have three main ways that students can connect with colleges directly from our kiosk.

The first is when colleges use the kiosk for playing content, they can put a QR code on their content. Students walking by — in today's day and age, we're very used to that — scanning a QR code, and they can learn more instantly that way.

The second is that if a student goes up and taps the kiosk while one of the college's videos is playing, it's going to take them directly to a dedicated profile page that's on that kiosk. So on that page, they're going to be able to find things like URL, email, phone number. But then the big one we put on there is a QR code that links directly to that institution's either admissions page or a recruitment page — whatever link they want, we will put in there for them.

And then the third way is that at every school we're in, we offer a $1,000 cash scholarship to any student in the school. So when a student applies, they're asked what colleges they're interested in. And our partner institutions — what we do is we list them prominently when students are making that decision. And so they are the first choice a student can make.

And at that point, students can actually opt in to be contacted directly by that college, which is really neat. Because about 70% of the students that fill out our scholarship ask to be directly connected to that university.

So really three ways — just to summarize — the video content that the college has put on there, secondly the profile page, and then thirdly our 13th Year scholarship that we give.

Cathy Donovan:
I love that. You're definitely meeting students where they are.

So we know in our work digital marketing is meeting students when they scroll at any point of the day, any place that they're looking at their phone. But the kiosk model is meeting them where they learn — maybe where they're feeling those pressures or thinking about next steps in their education.

I'd like to hear from you why you think it's important to engage students directly within their current learning environments.

Weston Noyes:
Yeah, we believe that it's so important to engage students where they're learning, and that's because we believe that's where the decisions of the everyday — that's where they're really being shaped.

High school students are surrounded with tons of information online. I think we could all agree that social media can be a very noisy and crowded space. And so when you meet them inside the school in a place that they already trust and they spend a lot of time, the engagement becomes more meaningful and in turn it becomes more impactful.

We're giving students the chance to explore opportunities in real time — between classes, maybe during lunch, maybe as they pass the guidance counselor's office — when college for them is top of mind.

And it's not just that. It allows universities to reach students not just in that 11th to 12th grade window, but you're reaching the ninth through 12th grade window when you're in these high schools. And so it creates access, it creates awareness, and it helps students ultimately discover options that maybe they wouldn't have considered otherwise.

And then for colleges, it's extremely powerful because it's direct measurable engagement with students at the exact moment that they're thinking about their future.

Cathy Donovan:
I can completely appreciate that with two teen daughters where it's hard to get their attention.

So talk a little bit more about that physical presence inside the school and how that might complement existing digital recruitment strategies, not replace it.

Weston Noyes:
Yeah, so a physical presence inside a school complements digital recruitment because it really bridges the gap of the strength of digital marketing — which is awareness — to now bringing students into action.

First, it's going to give colleges confidence that they're actually reaching the students they want to reach. Not just impressions online, but real engagement with real students in the exact environment where these decisions are happening.

Second, it connects with students at the right moment. Digital ads are great for building familiarity, but timing matters. I might see an ad for running shoes while I'm playing with my kids at night, but that's not the moment I'm ready to buy running shoes. The moment I'm ready to buy running shoes is after I ran and realized my shoes are worn out.

College recruitment works the same way. Students may see a school's content online, but that might not be the moment they're thinking about that college. Inside the school building though, college is a daily conversation.

When students see a university's presence in that environment, it becomes much more powerful. And our kiosks then give them a way to go from "I've heard of that school" to "Let me explore that school right now."

Cathy Donovan:
Very cool.

I'm curious about repeated exposure. Say they're in that school every day and they're seeing that kiosk every day. Talk about what that change might look like.

Weston Noyes:
Yes. Well repeated exposure in a familiar space absolutely changes the way students are exploring their college options.

One of the things that differentiates what we do is that it isn't a one-time impression, but consistent visibility. When a student walks past the kiosk every day, that school starts to become familiar. That familiarity builds trust. And over time, that trust builds curiosity.

Another key piece is that we allow the content to always stay fresh. Colleges can update their messaging as often as they want — even daily — from their own dashboard. Whether that's a new video, a deadline reminder, a campus event, scholarship giveaway, or spotlight on a specific program.

Students aren't seeing the same static brochure all the time. Ultimately it's about having the right content in the right place at the right time, which our kiosk allows colleges to do every single day that school is in session.

Cathy Donovan:
I'm also curious about the information that you're getting from the kiosk. You talked about generating about 150 leads in one week, which is impressive. But numbers tell just part of the story. What are you learning about students' interests or concerns through this model?

Weston Noyes:
One of our biggest surprises has been the high levels of engagement. Almost 70% of students who filled out our scholarship asked to be directly connected to colleges. That's two-thirds raising their hand saying yes, reach out to me.

I think that tells us students don't just want information. They want connection. They want guidance, follow-up, and a sense that someone is paying attention to them.

I remember choosing my college. I didn't make my decision purely based on rankings. I made it based on a relationship. A coach consistently followed up with me and built trust over time.

Students today want that same thing. We're trying to bridge the gap between interest and a real institutional relationship.

Cathy Donovan:
Agree completely. So talk about how this approach might create opportunities to understand what students want beyond basic forms.

Weston Noyes:
 Our kiosks are highly customizable. We can work with colleges to create interactions that feel fun and natural for students while providing meaningful insight.

For example, we can run engagement tools like games or interactive prompts. In exchange, students can answer a quick question about something specific they care about — maybe proximity to water, campus life, pets, whatever matters to them.

It becomes a two-way experience. Students explore, and colleges learn what students actually want in real time.

Cathy Donovan:
That's great. So how can this insight strengthen an institution's broader enrollment strategy?

Weston Noyes:
The more you understand who you're reaching, the more effectively you're going to reach them.

This engagement gives universities clear feedback on what's resonating, what questions keep coming up, and where interest is strongest. Colleges can act on that in real time.

Digital strategy is important. But when you combine it with direct insight and physical presence, you can allocate resources more wisely and strengthen your entire enrollment funnel.

Cathy Donovan:
If your goal is reaching 100 schools this year, how is this scalable?

Weston Noyes:
It delivers a lot of impact at a price point that makes sense. Colleges are getting consistent student engagement, real recruitment leads, dynamic content, and analytics to understand what's working.

Instead of paying for something broad that's tough to track, colleges see real-time results — how many students interacted, what content they viewed, and what they're interested in.

That combination of low cost, high visibility, measurable outcomes, and actionable lead generation allows it to scale quickly.

Cathy Donovan:
What should enrollment leaders take away from this approach?

Weston Noyes:
You can't replace presence.

Digital strategy matters. But students make life-changing decisions in real environments — hallways, counseling offices, classrooms, conversations with friends.

We hope leaders think about how they can show up consistently where students already are, not just where they scroll.

Cathy Donovan:
How do you think adding that in-school touchpoint might change the long-term relationship between institution and student?

Weston Noyes:
Context is king.

When students see messaging every day inside their high school, it communicates something different. It lowers the barrier to that first step.

For this generation especially, taking the first step can be difficult. We hope our kiosk creates a lasting relationship by making that first engagement easier.

Cathy Donovan:
Just to close this out — if enrollment leaders are already investing heavily in digital strategy, what's the opportunity in adding physical presence inside schools?

Weston Noyes:
If I had to boil it down to one word, it would be assurance.

Assurance that you're reaching the right students, in the right place, at the right time.

Cathy Donovan:
Well, you sold me — but I'm in Pennsylvania. Are you coming here anytime soon?

Weston Noyes:
Yes. We're expanding as we speak. We recently got a yes to go into a new state, and we're excited about what's ahead for 13th Year.

Cathy Donovan:
Fantastic. Thank you so much for joining me today.

The conversation makes one thing clear to me. Enrollment marketing doesn't have to be digital or physical. It can be both. Because when institutions expand their touchpoints and meet students where decisions are forming, they deepen trust and build stronger pathways to college.

To learn more about Weston Noyes and 13th Year, check out our show notes or visit 13th-year.com.

And if you'd like to talk about how Paskill helps institutions build layered, insight-driven enrollment strategies, we'd love to continue the conversation.

Thanks for listening to the Innovating Enrollment Success podcast. Weston, thanks so much again for joining.

Weston Noyes:
Thank you, Cathy. It was a pleasure.