EDMO Releases Report on Automation in Admissions 2026

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The report, based on an online survey of 40 higher education leaders, highlights several key challenges and opportunities facing institutions as they seek to balance enrollment growth with staffing constraints and rising expectations for faster student support.

According to the report, 70% of respondents cited staffing and workload as a major challenge in admissions. This underscores the ongoing pressure on admissions teams to handle increasing volumes of applications and inquiries while maintaining quality and efficiency. The survey also revealed that 65% of institutions identified transcript and credit evaluation as a largely manual process, highlighting a significant barrier to scaling operations.

In terms of automation maturity, 47.5% of respondents rated their institution’s admissions automation at 3 out of 5, indicating a moderate level of adoption. However, the report notes that despite growing interest in AI, automation remains a developing area. Budget constraints, change management, and staff readiness were cited as major barriers to further adoption. Additionally, 62.5% of respondents reported that applications typically take between 3 and 14 days to process, with document collection and credential evaluation often linked to turnaround delays.

Student support is another critical area of focus. The report found that 72.5% of institutions do not currently offer 24/7 or after-hours applicant support, indicating a gap in meeting students’ needs outside regular business hours. Common categories of student inquiries, such as application status and required documents, highlight the volume of recurring questions admissions teams manage throughout the applicant journey.

Fraud concerns are also on the rise, with 65% of respondents reporting an increase in application or financial-aid fraud over the past two years. While identity verification remains largely manual, only 15% of institutions reported using automated identity verification, underscoring the need for institutions to strengthen their verification processes as admissions and financial-aid workflows become increasingly digital.

The findings suggest that the next phase of admissions automation may increasingly focus on back-office and document-heavy processes where institutions continue to spend significant staff time. EDMO, the platform behind the report, emphasizes that the most meaningful use of automation is not simply doing the same work faster but redesigning workflows so that technology handles repetitive tasks while staff can focus on decisions, conversations, and student interactions where human judgment matters most.

EDMO, recognized as a Salesforce Fan Favorite Award Winner 2025 and a TDX Partner AgentPitch Winner, integrates seamlessly into existing CRM and SIS environments, helping universities work smarter without needing to rip and replace existing systems. The platform delivers intelligent tools that streamline enrollment workflows, reduce administrative burden, and enhance student engagement across the admissions lifecycle. With over 3 million student documents processed and more than $10 million in institutional cost savings, EDMO is positioned to support institutions in managing higher volumes, faster response expectations, and increasingly complex admissions processes.