February 5, 2026 Higher ed marketing and communications often comes down to one deceptively hard job: getting people to “play nice in the sandbox.” In a recent CUPRAP webinar, leaders from Swarthmore College shared practical case studies on how their teams improved collaboration across Communications, Admissions, Advancement, and the Provost’s Office—while also rolling out a major institutional rebrand. Their message was refreshingly concrete: collaboration isn’t a vibe. It’s infrastructure. When you build the right systems, partners don’t have to “try harder” to work well together—the process pulls everyone into alignment. Here are the key takeaways—and how you can apply them at your institution. 1. Stop hoping for collaboration. Build a system that produces it. Swarthmore’s biggest wins didn’t come from better intentions or more meetings. They came from creating repeatable structures: Clear intake pathways (forms, single points of contact within their office and campus partners) Shared timelines and expectations Templates for partners to use without going rogue Cross-team roles designed specifically to bridge gaps Takeaway: If your work depends on collaboration, don’t leave it to personality. Design it into the workflow and job descriptions. 2. Faculty storytelling needs a pipeline, not a pile of emails. Swarthmore’s communications team identified a familiar challenge: important faculty achievements were sometimes missed—not due to lack of care, but because there wasn’t a reliable way to flag what mattered most. Emails arrived inconsistently, details were incomplete, and communicators couldn’t be experts in every discipline. What they changed They rebuilt faculty news promotion with two key moves: Faculty Spotlight (launched) A dedicated, magazine-style faculty feature experience on the website, built to showcase the breadth of scholarship and teaching. Faculty were selected in consultation with the Provost’s Office, and the content was created for repurposing across web, social, and alumni publications. Faculty Submission Form (in development at time of webinar) A structured submission process embedded in their CMS (Drupal), designed to replace scattered emails with consistent data capture. The goal: make it easy for faculty to submit news, make it easier for comms to triage impact, and increase the team’s ability to say “yes” to more coverage —even if some items aren’t full story-worthy. What made it work The Provost’s Office wasn’t just consulted—it was positioned as a co-owner and advocate, which is essential for adoption. Budgeting included freelance support for writing capacity. ITS support was required for a workable technical workflow. The team was realistic about the hidden bottleneck: scheduling and producing photography. Takeaway: The fix isn’t “ask faculty to email us.” The fix is a pipeline that captures the right info, flags impact, and supports different content formats. 3. Event branding isn’t decoration—it’s trust, clarity, and performance. For Advancement, Swarthmore focused on Alumni Weekend as a flagship rebrand opportunity—an event already filled with joy, emotion, and identity. Why that mattered: new visual systems can trigger skepticism, especially among loyal audiences. But a celebratory event provides a natural opportunity to introduce change in a way that feels welcoming. Why branding mattered (beyond aesthetics) Swarthmore highlighted practical benefits that resonate across institutions: Unified narrative: consistent design makes varied stories feel connected Trust & credibility: well-designed communications reduce skepticism and confusion in an era of scams/phishing Recognition: alumni can instantly identify official event messages in a crowded inbox/feed Stronger experience: a coherent brand environment elevates engagement and belonging Improved performance: better design and consistency correlated with improved email metrics and event attendance A smart language move In some environments, “branding” can be a loaded term. Swarthmore initially framed their approach as “institutional visual storytelling” to reduce resistance and keep stakeholders engaged. Process mattered as much as design They used rebranding as an opportunity to reset timelines and expectations: Email planning with an ideal multi-week runway for drafting, review, approvals, and final checks Print planning with longer lead times due to vendor dependencies Takeaway: Branding becomes easier to defend when you connect it to trust, recognition, and measurable performance—not just visuals. 4. If a relationship is strained, treat the relationship as the project. One of the most resonant moments of the webinar was a candid look at a previously strained relationship between Communications and Admissions. What they heard: From Admissions: “I waited until the last minute so you couldn’t tell me no.” From Comms: “Admissions is the problem child—good luck.” They named what many teams experience: when trust erodes, people work around each other. And that damages outcomes. What changed everything They didn’t just “collaborate more.” They changed the structure: Leadership from the very top (the Dean and VP of Communications) was committed to improving this relationship and understood its impact on the College’s bottom line A dedicated Admissions communications lead became the single intake point for all communications projects going through the Admissions Office Intake was built into Admissions’ system (Slate) and routed into Comms’ project workflow (Wrike) Teams were intentionally embedded: Comms attended Admissions weekly meetings and retreats Admissions comms lead participated in Comms retreats and professional development Monthly leadership touchpoints between both offices kept priorities aligned The empathy insight that mattered They surfaced a root cause: people in Admissions were asked to do communications work without it being in their job description or skill set. Naming that created space for empathy and justified the staffing change. The results they credited Stronger coordination through major disruptions (FAFSA delays, SCOTUS decision) Higher morale and smoother execution Recognition from senior leadership Admissions became a high-trust, high-priority partnership instead of a friction point Takeaway: When the partnership is broken, your next campaign won’t fix it. Your operating model will. 5. “Easy wins” that scale into culture change Swarthmore’s recommendations weren’t flashy—but they’re the kinds of moves that compound: Create partner-friendly templates (flyers, posters, email modules) Establish lead-time norms for video, web, and email requests Build a simplified style guide for non-designers Maintain regular leadership alignment Invest in rapport: informal connection builds the trust that makes hard feedback possible Takeaway: If you want fewer last-minute requests, you need more clarity, easier tools, and a process people can follow without friction. Final thought: Collaboration is built, not wished for. Swarthmore’s “sandbox strategies” weren’t about perfect harmony. They were about building roles, systems, and shared expectations that make collaboration the default. If your institution is navigating rebranding, partnership challenges, or capacity constraints, this webinar offered a powerful reminder: You don’t need everyone to agree. You need a process that helps everyone move. Want to implement one thing this month? Pick one: Build a structured intake form for a recurring content need Create a simplified style guide for partners Establish a standard lead time policy for major deliverables Formalize a single point of contact for a high-impact partner office Small infrastructure changes can create outsized results. Members can watch the recording of this CUPRAP webinar with Swarthmore by logging in.