By Rachel Williams, NACAC Communications

ARLINGTON, VA (Nov. 18, 2025) — With the rise of direct admission practices around the country and emerging technology that is reshaping the field, NACAC and Augsburg University (MN) are working to reimagine the roles of admission counselors in the college admission process.  

In an initiative called Admissions Success Coaching, the goal is to develop a reimagined college admission process that supports a student's sense of belonging at an institution prior to matriculation. Postsecondary institutions now have an opportunity to help shape this reimagined process. 

Take Josué Fuentes, for example, a student in Minnesota who decided to pursue a postsecondary education after receiving automatic admission to a few colleges and universities through the state's direct admission program.  

"My main concern was whether or not I was going to get into any schools because I felt like I wasn't really competitive," he said. "Having that (automatic admission) made me feel at ease a bit, and it felt nice knowing that there was a place that wanted me to go there." 

One of those schools was Augsburg University. But where Augsburg stood out from the others was in its approach with prospective students, including Fuentes. Since direct admission meant time and effort didn't have to be spent getting students to apply, admission professionals could instead spend this time helping students make informed decisions about whether Augsburg was right for them. 

Now a biochemistry major at Augsburg, Fuentes credits his decision to attend Augsburg to the early outreach and support he received. For example, prior to him committing to Augsburg, an admission officer shared information about the school's Latin American student organization since Fuentes was involved in a similar group at his high school. He also received detailed information about how the university's financial aid works. 

"It really did help me make a decision, especially because finances were a big thing for me," he said. "Augsburg was really the only one that reached out. I didn't get any emails from other schools up until it was time to apply for housing and stuff like that." 

Fuentes was part of a pilot program called Augsburg Applies to You. But now with the help of NACAC's Center for Innovation in College Admission, this practice is being further developed with the goal of scaling it to other institutions. 

"The application of it is more about how we make an admission counselor role less about the institution and focused more on the students," said Robert Gould, vice president for strategic enrollment management at Augsburg. "It's twofold: It was based on the fact that we freed up capacity of counselors, and we've been hearing there are students asking for this kind of support." 

NACAC and Augsburg University, in collaboration with DC Education Group, are seeking institutions that are interested in piloting the Admissions Success Coaching program. Interested institutions are encouraged to fill out this survey. 

Pilot participants will help inform the development of a new coaching framework for admission staff and will receive a structured training program and supporting materials to then implement in Fall 2026 and measure its impact on student readiness.  

For more information about Admissions Success Coaching, see NACAC's Center for Innovation in College Admission. Also, read the latest issue of The Journal of College Admission, NACAC's quarterly magazine, which first reported on this initiative.