2026 MEMS Awards
Call for Nominations
UPCEA Marketing, Enrollment Management, and Student Success
Nominations due July 10, 2026
UPCEA’s Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success (MESS) Network sponsors annual competitions for UPCEA members at the MEMS: Marketing, Enrollment Management, and Student Success conference. The 2026 MEMS awards program recognizes Excellence in Marketing, Enrollment Management, and Advancing Student Success.
We invite UPCEA members to submit their outstanding:
The top award recipients will be recognized in an interactive panel at the conference, providing insights into strategic thinking and best practices.
Before You Begin Your Awards Submission
- Make sure you’re an UPCEA member. These awards are open to UPCEA members only (either institutional or corporate). Corporate members are expected to submit nominations in conjunction with an institutional member.
Please note that by submitting an entry that you have worked on with a partner, you are agreeing that both parties are aware of and comfortable with the submission being made and, if selected as a recipient, will share the recognition with an institutional member. Information about UPCEA membership is available here.
- Review award criteria and required submission information before beginning your nomination.
- Be prepared to provide:
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A Nomination Summary (250–500 words)
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Quantitative Results / Impact Metrics
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Project or Initiative Timeframe
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Supporting documentation submitted as a single combined PDF
Excellence in Marketing Award
The Excellence in Marketing Award recognizes marketing campaigns that excel in creativity, execution, and impact. Regardless of institution size or budget, the award focuses on outstanding and effective marketing in the higher education field, based on overall creativity, messaging, campaign results, and design quality. Campaigns must be completed between 2024 - 2026 by UPCEA member institutions and may be developed and executed in-house or in partnership with an outside agency.
Criteria and Nomination Procedure
Criteria
- Nominee (campaign, program, or initiative) must be an institutional member of UPCEA. Corporate members may submit nominations only in partnership with an institutional member. Click here to check your institution’s membership status.
- Eligible campaigns must have been completed between 2024 and 2026.
- Previously submitted nominations are not eligible for consideration.
- The nomination should demonstrate:
- The campaign’s title, target audience, goals, objectives, and overall strategy. Submissions should also include examples of marketing materials, outcomes, and results.
- Intentional and effective execution in reaching its intended audience, providing evidence of measurable impact, such as enrollment growth, student support, student success, or advancement of institutional goals.
- Innovation and creativity in its design, messaging, and audience engagement strategies, including the use of novel or risk-taking approaches when appropriate.
- Effective and creative use of available resources to achieve meaningful results.
Nomination Procedure
- Complete the nomination form (opens June 15, 2026; deadline to submit nomination July 10, 2026).
- Supporting Document Requirements:
- Please upload one combined PDF containing all nomination materials (recommended maximum: 10 pages).
- Organize your PDF using the following format:
Cover Page
- Award Category
- University/Institution
- Department (if applicable)
- Submitter Name(s)
Submission Content
1. Narrative Statement
- Describe the marketing campaign, including its purpose, target audience, goals, and objectives.
2. Supporting Elements
- Include examples of campaign materials such as digital advertisements, email campaigns, social media content, print materials, videos, websites, landing pages, student stories, or other branded assets. Links to websites, videos, or digital campaigns may be included within the PDF and should remain accessible through December 2026.
3. Results / Impact
- Provide measurable outcomes and evidence of success.
- Include relevant metrics, benchmarks, enrollment data, retention data, engagement measures, or other indicators of impact.
Due to the volume of nominations received, supporting materials should be concise and focused on demonstrating the campaign’s creativity, effectiveness, and impact.
UPCEA Excellence in Enrollment Management Award
Enrollment management is central to the success of online and professional education units. In the last 40 years, enrollment management has evolved from a theoretical concept in undergraduate education to a highly sophisticated framework for attracting, retaining, and graduating students. The UPCEA Excellence in Enrollment Management Award recognizes an outstanding online and professional continuing education organization (unit or individual) that models best practices and combines process excellence with superior results. This award is affiliated with the UPCEA Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Network.
Criteria and Nomination Procedure
Criteria
- The nominee (person/unit) must be an institutional member of UPCEA. Corporate members may submit nominations only in partnership with an institutional member. Click here to check your institution’s membership status.
- The nominee must provide clear evidence of:
- Effective application of enrollment management strategies and tactics that support institutional enrollment goals, including recruitment, retention, persistence, student support, and student success.
- Agility and adaptability in responding to enrollment challenges and opportunities through the implementation of new or innovative approaches that maintain or grow enrollment.
- A student-centered approach that aligns enrollment strategies with the needs, experiences, and success of learners.
- Alignment with the institution’s strategic vision and demonstrated contribution to broader institutional goals.
- Efforts to expand participation, access, and opportunity to higher education or professional development.
- Creative and effective use of available resources to achieve measurable enrollment outcomes.
Nomination Procedure
- Complete the nomination form (opens June 15, 2026; deadline to submit nomination July 10, 2026).
- Supporting Document Requirements: Please upload one combined PDF containing all nomination materials (recommended maximum: 10 pages).
- Organize your PDF using the following format:
Cover Page
- Award Category
- University/Institution
- Department (if applicable)
- Submitter Name(s)
Submission Content
1. Narrative Statement
- Describe the individual, program, initiative, or institutional unit being nominated.
- Explain the enrollment challenge addressed, the strategies implemented, and the significance of the work.
2. Supporting Elements
- Include relevant materials such as communications, reports, dashboards, testimonials, process documentation, or other supporting evidence.
- Links may be included within the PDF.
3. Results / Impact
- Provide measurable outcomes and evidence of success.
- Include metrics such as enrollment growth, retention, persistence, student engagement, operational improvements, or other indicators of impact.
- For individual nominations, describe the nominee’s specific contributions and results achieved.
Due to the volume of nominations received, supporting materials should be concise and focused on demonstrating the effectiveness and impact of the nomination.
UPCEA Excellence In Advancing Student Success Award
UPCEA recognizes that student success is paramount to the mission of every institution of higher education. Online and professional education units recognize they must deliver strategic, cross-functional projects, initiatives, and services that maximize the success of adult and non-traditional students. To that end, UPCEA aims to play an active role in preparing members for advancing the success of students in both credit and non-credit programs by acknowledging best practices and initiatives that “move the needle” in the advancement of student success.
This award is aligned with the Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Network, which engages members in actively building the competencies, skills, and confidence needed to attract and retain students in a changing and competitive marketplace. The award recognizes an institution that has implemented a successful strategic initiative, project, or service that has resulted in significantly advancing the success of adult and/or non-traditional student audiences.
Criteria and Nomination Procedure
Criteria
- The nominee (initiative, project, or service) must be an institutional member of UPCEA. Corporate members may submit nominations only in partnership with an institutional member. Click here to check your institution’s membership status.
- The initiative, project, service, or institutional unit should be recent enough to demonstrate relevance while allowing sufficient time to provide evidence of sustainability, effectiveness, and achievement of intended outcomes.
- The nomination should demonstrate:
- Innovation, creativity, and sustainability in the design and implementation of the initiative, project, service, or student success strategy.
- Measurable impact on student success outcomes, supported by quantitative and/or qualitative evidence such as retention, persistence, engagement, student opportunities, connection to the institution, or program completion.
- Effective assessment and evaluation practices that demonstrate achievement of goals and continuous improvement.
- Alignment with the needs of adult and non-traditional learners and contribution to institutional student success goals.
Nomination Procedure
- Complete the nomination form (opens June 15, 2026; deadline to submit nomination: July 10, 2026).
- Supporting Document Requirements: Please upload one combined PDF containing all nomination materials (recommended maximum: 10 pages).
- Organize your PDF using the following format:
Cover Page
- Award Category
- University/Institution
- Department (if applicable)
- Submitter Name(s)
Submission Content
1. Narrative Statement
- Describe the student success initiative, project, service, or institutional unit being nominated.
- Explain the student success challenge addressed, the goals of the initiative, and how it advanced success for adult and/or non-traditional learners.
2. Supporting Elements
- Include relevant materials such as program resources, assessment reports, testimonials, communications, student support materials, or other supporting evidence.
- Links may be included within the PDF.
3. Results / Impact
- Provide measurable outcomes and evidence of success.
- Include quantitative and/or qualitative indicators such as retention, persistence, completion, student engagement, student satisfaction, access, participation, or other student success measures.
- Include a summary of evaluation findings and assessment results.
Due to the volume of nominations received, supporting materials should be concise and focused on demonstrating the innovation, effectiveness, and impact of the nomination.
Questions?
Jacqueline Romero
Associate Director, Programs, UPCEA
jromero@upcea.edu
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