Join us for a special live Enrollment Spectrum Podcast recording as we sit down with Raj Raghunathan, PhD, to explore connections between his research and EMA's newest special report, An Independent School Education: Family Perceptions of Value and Affordability. Dr. Raghunathan, H.E. Hartfelder/The Southland Corporation Regents Chair of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, is an internationally recognized researcher, writer, and speaker. His work examines how judgments and decisions shape happiness, fulfillment, and perceptions of value. Dr. Raghunathan's insights—featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, and a TED Talk that reached millions worldwide—position him uniquely to shed light on today's independent school marketplace. The session will explore how behavioral science shapes the ways families perceive tuition, investment, and the long-term value of an independent school education. This live conversation offers a front-row seat at the intersection of theory and practice—blending research, storytelling, and actionable insights to strengthen enrollment management strategy.

Dr. Raghunathan's work has appeared in top journals, including The Journal of Marketing, The Journal of Consumer Research, The Journal of Marketing Research, and The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. His work has been cited in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review. Dr. Raghunathan's Psychology Today blog, Sapient Nature, has over 2.5 million page views. His online course on Employee Happiness was rated a Top MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) of 2019 and currently has over 10,000 students. Dr. Raghunathan's book, If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?, has been translated into 13 languages and has been featured in the Atlantic, Time, Guardian, Times of India, Live Mint, and Mid-Day. Dr. Raghunathan's TED talk was viewed live (on STAR TV) by over 17 million people worldwide.

EMA members can access the full report, An Independent School Education: Family Perceptions of Value and Affordability, and dig deeper into the results on the accompanying data dashboard by logging into EMA's Community: community.enrollment.org.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Manoj Thomas, Cornell University's Sabanci Professor of Management and Marketing and Associate Dean of New York City Initiatives. A leading behavioral scientist, Manoj explores how unconscious mental processes shape consumer decisions, from pricing psychology to the subtle cues that influence how we perceive value.

We discuss his research on behavioral economics and pricing strategy, and connect these insights to independent school strategic enrollment management. Drawing on his expertise as both a scholar and engaging educator, Manoj offers a fascinating perspective on the psychology of decision-making and what it means for independent schools navigating questions of affordability, value, and perception.

EMA members can access the full report, An Independent School Education: Family Perceptions of Value and Affordability, and dig deeper into the results on the accompanying data dashboard by logging into EMA's Community: community.enrollment.org.

​In this episode, we sit down with Mark Mitchell, Vice President of Access and Affordability at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and Amada Torres, Vice President for Studies, Insights, and Research at NAIS. Together, Amada and Mark bring deep expertise on various factors influencing independent schools today, and they are both authors of How Parents Pay School Costs: 2023 NAIS Financial Aid Parent Survey.

This episode is part of a mini-series inspired by EMA's latest research report, An Independent School Education: Family Perceptions of Value and Affordability. Guest co-host Ari Betof, Co-Founder and Partner at Mission & Data, will join me throughout this mini-series.

While the survey populations and methodologies differ, together, the EMA and NAIS reports offer a more comprehensive view than either does alone.