This year marked my 18th NAGAP conference. For my acronym-challenged friends, this is the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals. My first presentation, in 1994 in San Francisco, was entitled “What is WWW?” Oh how the times have changed.

Over my career in higher education, I’ve attempted to bridge the divide between the undergraduate and graduate recruiting efforts — bringing the lessons learned recruiting an 18-year-old to the world of recruiting adults. However, I received pushback on a regular basis from the graduate professionals with claims of “we’re different” or “we don’t have the resources they have” or “we don’t have the same issues.”

Then came those pesky Millennials to their graduate program interview and campus tour with their parents in tow. And you all came running to us wanting to know what to do with them, why are they here, why do they think their child is so damn special.

Resisting the “I told you so” reaction, it was an opportunity to look beyond just the generational change occurring and help the world of graduate admissions become successful and more efficient in recruiting the next group of advanced-degree seekers.

The wonderful thing about college recruiting is that we can see at least 18 years in advance what is coming down the road to our campuses. Graduate programs get at least another four years to react. To those who are surprised that fewer students are graduating from high school than in prior years, shame on you.

In my presentation at NAGAP last week in Austin — “If I Ran the Zoo (and your admission office too)!” — I shared a number of Dr. Seuss quotes and lessons we can learn from them. One of my new favorites is:

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are easy.”

My recommendation to you: Don’t try to recreate the wheel and certainly don’t turn a blind eye to your undergraduate colleagues across campus. They’ve been through many of the battles you’re about to face. I’m astonished how many campuses I visit where you don’t even know each other!

There’s no time for silos in higher education — especially across the various recruiting and marketing functions. Buy your undergraduate office professionals a beer or a pizza (or both) and take advantage of their knowledge and experience. Don’t wait for someone else to make this happen — do it now. The answer is simple.

Download the slide deck from this year’s Dr. Seuss-themed NAGAP presentation.

Read more about our authors.  Brian is the CEO and Co-Founder of TargetX. Over twenty years ago, he started his career in admissions at a small, liberal arts college. He was a constant thorn in the admission director’s side – always wanting to try new ideas and technology. He took his energy (and vast collection of suspenders – it was the early 90′s) to lead the graduate and adult enrollment and marketing at a national university. In this leadership position, he helped differentiate his employer in one of the most crowded higher education marketplaces in the country and pioneered the use of the Internet in recruitment marketing. His passion sparked the genesis of TargetX, the company he has served for over 14 years as its co-founder and CEO. Along the way he’s earned his master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania and built TargetX into a multi-million dollar technology and consulting firm serving over 450 colleges and universities. Brian is now a voice of change in an industry at its tipping point, helping colleges who have the gumption to embrace more effective recruiting techniques as traditional methods wither away. He is also the author of “Overthrowing Dead Culture: A Vision to Change the World of College Recruiting” available on Amazon.com and BN.com.