Higher Ed's Largest Podcast Network Launches Enrollify Futures to Help Professionals Put AI to Work on Campus

The new professional development hub from Enrollify, by Element451, helps higher education professionals turn AI experiments into real results, with courses taught by the network's own hosts

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Enrollify, the largest podcast network dedicated to higher education, today announced the launch of Enrollify Futures, a home for campus professionals to develop tangible AI skills. Its first courses are led by the network's hosts, a mix of higher ed leaders and AI practitioners, and designed to turn early AI use into everyday practice. The network will also feature AI-focused shows centered on the courses, and the new Enrollify AI Job Board connects those skills to learners' next opportunities. The first courses begin in January 2027.

Element451, an early sponsor that launched its own show on the network in 2021, acquired Enrollify in 2023 to deepen its investment in professional development for colleges and universities. Today the network features eight flagship shows, with three of them ranking in the top 5% of more than 3.8 million podcasts worldwide, according to Listen Notes.

AI is reshaping how students learn and how campuses run. According to EDUCAUSE, 94% of higher ed employees used AI for work in the past six months, yet training remains the resource they say they need most. A 2026 Digital Education Council survey found that 88% of students use AI in their learning, but only 29% believe their instructors are well equipped to guide them. With the technology changing every few months, closing that gap takes ongoing training from the people who are doing the work themselves.

That's what Enrollify Futures provides. Rather than teaching a single tool, it prepares higher ed professionals for the way AI is already changing their jobs. Courses focus on durable skills that outlast any one model, such as judging what AI produces, deciding what to delegate, and designing workflows where people and agents work together. Learners build skills that compound across their careers, and their institutions gain staff who can redesign work, not just speed it up.

Futures launches with three inaugural courses, each designed around the daily work of higher ed teams. Every instructor is an Enrollify podcast host, hand-picked for the work they do with AI, and every course ends with a working result.

• Building Your First Higher Ed AI Agent, led by Brian Piper. Over four weeks, learners build a scheduled, multi-skill agent and learn a method they can reuse in any tool their institution approves. Learners who demo a working agent earn the Enrollify AI Agent Builder badge.
• AI for Enrollment Management & Student Engagement, led by Dr. Allison Turcio and Rishab Malhotra. Over six weeks, enrollment teams redesign one stage of their funnel and decide what stays human, what AI assists, and what AI can own. They finish with a tested AI component, a measurement plan, and a one-page case for leadership.
• State of AI 101, led by Dr. JC Bonilla. This self-paced quarterly briefing covers what has changed in AI and what works now, and it ends with a 90-day action plan. Learners can take it on its own, and it's included with both course tracks.

Piper, host of "AI for U," is the former director of content strategy at the University of Rochester. Turcio, host of "The Application," is dean of enrollment and marketing at Siena University. Malhotra, co-host of "Higher Ed Pulse," is the founder of AIDO and a former enrollment AVP. Bonilla, academy director and co-host of "Higher Intelligence," is the former COO and head of AI at Element451.

"Nearly every higher ed professional is already using AI. What they're missing is someone who has done the work showing them how to rebuild their job around it," said Bonilla. "That's what our instructors do on their shows every week. Now they're teaching it."

Futures also includes the new Enrollify AI Job Board, which helps institutions reach candidates ready to lead their AI efforts. Element451 customers will have free access to Enrollify Futures resources when the full program becomes available in 2027.

Enrollify will introduce Futures at the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Denver, Nov. 8-11, where Enrollify hosts will take the Exhibit Hall Stage for a live session on AI, risk, and the tough leadership calls facing higher ed. Attendees can learn more at Element451's booth, No. 413, and at an Enrollify and Element451 evening event Monday, Nov. 9, at FlyteCo Tower. RSVP at https://luma.com/elemen-qbmq.

About Enrollify
Enrollify is higher education's largest podcast, content, and career growth network, with three shows that rank in the top 5% of all podcasts globally. Its creators are higher ed professionals, from enrollment deans and marketing leaders to AI builders. Through Enrollify Futures, the network offers AI courses taught by higher ed leaders and the Enrollify AI Job Board. Enrollify is part of Element451. Learn more at enrollify.org.

About Element451
Element451 is the AI platform that moves every student forward. Built for higher education, it takes action across the entire student journey, from prospect to success, so institutions see better enrollment and student outcomes while staff focus on the moments that matter most. Bolt is the agent platform for higher education, deploying specialized agents that work alongside any CRM to do the work that never got done. Element is the AI CRM for higher education, bringing marketing, admissions, and student success into one source of truth, with Bolt agents built in. Element451 supports more than 400 institutions, including the North Carolina Community College System, University of Massachusetts Global, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, and the University System of Georgia. Learn more at element451.com.

Chris Griffin
[email protected]
781-385-9007

SOURCE Enrollify