Professional development matters in every industry but is especially crucial in higher education. In this typically slow-moving field, learning about the most recent marketing and recruitment trends is crucial.
That’s where higher education conferences come in. With the right knowledge and approach, your institution can shift and evolve the way it recruits future students—which is becoming more important than ever in an age of declining high school graduation rates. At conferences, you can gain that knowledge while also connecting with others facing the same challenges as your institution.
Don’t underestimate the power of higher education conferences to offer key networking opportunities. Learning together with others in your field allows you to build connections that pay off, personally and professionally, for years down the road. These are our top higher education marketing conferences in 2025, listed by their date from soonest to latest.
Carnegie Conference 2025
- When: January 15-16, 2025
- Where: Orlando, FL
- Learn More
Hosted annually in Disney World, the Carnegie Conference brings together higher education marketing and admissions professionals who want to learn about unique perspectives in higher ed recruitment. Many speakers come from outside of higher education, but the topics are still focused specifically on the most pressing needs in the field—including a pre-conference Slate camp for admissions offices looking to optimize their CRM.
AAC&U 2025 Annual Meeting
- When: January 22-24, 2025
- Where: Washington, D.C.
- Learn More
Under the theme “Reaffirming Higher Education’s Public Purpose”, college and university leaders and administrators will once again meet in the nation’s capital to discuss the strengths and challenges facing the industry today. The focus is on establishing and building on higher education as a public good, helping to find ways to address rapidly mounting challenges, and finding innovation possibilities on your own campus.
ACCU 2025 Annual Meeting
- When: January 31-February 3, 2025
- Where: Washington, D.C.
- Learn More
Hosted by the Association for Catholic Colleges and Universities, this conference is specifically designed for leaders of faith-based institutions around the world. Administrators from Catholic colleges can share ideas and discuss timely issues, with pre-conference tracks for senior mission, student affairs, diversity, and academic administrators offering additional insights and networking opportunities.
InsightsEDU 2025 Conference
- When: February 12-14, 2025
- Where: New Orleans, LA
- Learn More
Declining high school populations means adult learners are becoming more important than ever. At InsightsEDU, you can learn specifically about recruiting these audiences, including not just graduate students but also adult and online first-year students and certificate learners. Sessions range from building a more agile admissions team to successfully utilizing streaming TV in your advertising efforts.
OLC Innovate 2025
- When: April 1-5, 2025
- Where: Nashville, TN
- Learn More
Given the rise of online learning, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) innovation meet-up has become one of the most important higher education leadership conferences to attend in 2025. Hear about best practices, share your institution’s own innovations, and work together to develop online and blended learning experiences for future and current college students under the theme of “The Rhythm of Innovation: Hitting the High Notes in Digital Education.”
HLC Annual Conference: Higher Learning 2025
- When: April 5-8, 2025
- Where: Chicago, IL
- Learn More
Hosted by the Higher Learning Commission, administrators in higher ed can learn about anything from trends and development in accreditation to best practices in recruiting new students. The 2025 conference focuses broadly on the evolving needs of today’s students, providing hands-on opportunities to learn about the many ways in which colleges and universities can meet these needs and innovate their practices.
AACSB International Conference and 2025 Annual Meeting
- When: April 7-9, 2025
- Where: Vienna, Austria
- Learn More
As one of the world’s top accrediting agencies for business schools, AACSB will host a compelling higher education conference in 2025 that will bring together more than 1,200 professionals from 60+ countries for both learning and networking. If you’re up for a European trip for this year’s location, it’s a conference specifically designed for business school leadership looking to “exchange ideas, make friends, and create lasting partnerships.”
NAGAP 2025 Graduate Enrollment Management Summit
- When: April 23-25, 2025
- Where: San Francisco, CA
- Learn More
As the premier conference for master’s and doctoral program enrollment, NAGAP’s annual event includes anything from marketing sessions to best practices in enrollment projections. The four-day event also offers numerous networking events and opportunities, from mini golf to themed dinners for graduate admissions, marketing, and recruitment professionals around North America.
CASE Annual Conference on Marketing and Branding
- When: June 4-6, 2025
- Where: Los Angeles, CA
- Learn More
CASE has made a name for itself in fundraising and donor relations consulting, but its marketing conference reaches beyond that. Thanks to its emphasis on consistent branding across all core university audiences, from prospective students to alumni, it has established itself as one of the top conferences for higher education professionals to attend in 2025.
eduWeb 2025 Summit
- When: July 15-17, 2025
- Where: Portland, Maine
- Learn More
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of your website and digital presence in communicating with core audiences. In the past 15+ years, eduWeb has established itself as the top conference focusing exclusively on those digital channels. This year’s tracks focus on digital user experience, enrollment growth, analytics, leadership and career development, strategy and planning, branding, and AI.
National Small College Enrollment Conference 2025
- When: TBD
- Where: TBD
- Learn More
Not all higher education marketing conferences in 2025 are designed for every type of institution. Here is one that shines because of its more narrow focus. Built specifically for professionals from small colleges and universities, sessions range from admissions and enrollment management to student retention and financial aid. For three days, you’ll learn from and interact with professionals in similar situations as you.
NACAC Conference 2025
- When: September 18-20, 2025
- Where: Columbus, OH
- Learn More
Known most for its national college fairs hosted around the United States, NACA is also home to one of the best 2025 higher education conferences for undergraduate enrollment. The various events at the conference are specifically designed not just to share trends and best practices, but combat burnout among admissions professionals through an event emphasizing community. Enrollment professionals will also appreciate the tight connections drawn between marketing and admissions in recruiting students.
P3 EDU 2025
- When: TBD
- Where: Denver, CO
- Learn More
The rare invite-only event on this list, P3 has become the key higher education administration conference to attend. Boasting past speakers like the governor of Colorado and the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, its focus is squarely on innovation in higher education for future success and sustainability. Lectures and keynotes at the conference also tend to emphasize the importance of public-private partnerships in the industry.
Digital Collegium (Formerly HighEdWeb) 2025 Annual Conference
- When: September 28-October 1, 2025
- Where: Grand Rapids, MI and Online
- Learn More
Hosted by the Higher Education Web Professionals Association, HighEdWeb started as a website-focused conference—but has since gone far beyond it. Today, it offers sessions that range from web development and programming all the way to promoting your institution on social media, offering something for higher ed professionals in nearly every organizational unit. Heads-up: In November, the conference will rebrand as Digital Collegium, changing its name but not its emphasis on all things digital recruitment.
EDUCAUSE 2025 Annual Conference
- When: October 27-29, 2025
- Where: Nashville, TN and Online
- Learn More
Delivering higher education today would be impossible without technology. EDUCAUSE focuses on that premise, making it the top higher education technology conference in 2025. It’s ideal for IT professionals at colleges and universities, but it can also offer insights for professionals in other functional areas that leverage and use these technologies.
2025 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education
- When: TBD
- Where: TBD
- Learn More
As it does most years, 2025 will end with what might be the most comprehensive marketing higher education professional development conference. Hosted by the American Marketing Association, the AMA Symposium offers no less than five different tracks ranging from branding to student affairs communication. More than 1,500 professionals from around the country attend, share insights, and network with each other each year.
Set Your Calendar Now To Attend the Best 2025 Higher Education Conferences
With the 2024 calendar year coming to an end, now is the perfect time to schedule your event attendance calendar for 2024. Each of the higher education marketing conferences above offers plenty of networking and abilities to grow your professional profile. At the same time, they all tend to come with different focus areas, including anything from adult learners to graduate, business, and web-specific emphasis.
Pick the ones that best match your interests and needs, then learn from these conferences to continue innovating and improving your institution’s operations and strategy.
And of course, conferences are far from the only opportunity to engage in recruitment and communication-related professional development in higher education. Smaller efforts, from webinars to written content, can be just as valuable. Discover more higher education resources on our blog to get started.
