CONTENT STRATEGY · BRAND LEADERSHIP · ENROLLMENT
Tuition Transparency
Reframing the cost of private higher education through a clear, audience-first communications strategy.
Client
Bridgewater College
scope
Content Strategy · Enrollment Communications
Overview
The idea.
Bridgewater College was confronting a familiar problem in private higher education: its published tuition price did not reflect what most students actually paid.
The Tuition Transparency initiative replaced a $40,300 sticker price with a clear $15,000 tuition figure—and required a communications strategy that could make a dramatic change feel simple, credible and reassuring.
The goal was not just to announce a new number, but to change the way families understood the cost and value of a Bridgewater education.
The Challenge
Making the real cost visible.
Bridgewater’s published tuition was $40,300, but substantial institutional aid meant the price didn't reflect what most students actually paid. For prospective families—particularly first-generation and Pell-eligible students—the sticker price could become a barrier before they ever explored their actual cost. Changing the number was only part of the challenge. The College needed a communications strategy that could explain a dramatic tuition reset without suggesting a reduction in educational quality, alarming current families, or confusing financial aid.
the solution
One message. Multiple audiences.
I developed and directed an integrated communications strategy built around a simple idea: get real about the cost of college. The campaign established a consistent message architecture, then adapted it for audiences who needed to understand the change differently—prospective students, current families, alumni, faculty and staff, and the media.
The rollout included web and landing-page content, internal talking points, direct communications to parents and alumni, press materials, and thought-leadership content. Across every channel, the strategy returned to the same core promise: replace an artificially high sticker price with a realistic up-front number while preserving the value of the Bridgewater experience.
Featured Campaign Work
Parent Communication
Explaining the tuition reset to families
The new $15,000 tuition rate will apply to all new and current undergraduate students beginning fall 2024. Unless your academic progress or family’s financial circumstances change, your net tuition price — what you’ve actually been paying — will remain the same, with typical annual tuition and residential fee increases.
Web/Prospective Students
Making the real cost of college visible
We owe it to our prospective students and their families to be transparent. Beginning in fall 2024, our published tuition price will be $15,000 — a more realistic reflection of what students actually pay and a clearer starting point for families considering a Bridgewater education.
Media/public
Reframing the sticker price
Bridgewater College is changing its published tuition from $40,300 to $15,000 beginning with the 2024–25 academic year. The initiative is designed to lower a barrier to access and help students focus on great mentors, inspiring classmates and life-changing experiences — not a price tag.
