Inquiry (vs. lead)
The rawest expression of interest — and why the inquiry/lead distinction changes every metric built on it.
Definition
An inquiry is a prospective student's first identifiable expression of interest: a form fill, an info request, an event sign-up. A lead, in stricter usages, is an inquiry that has passed some bar — valid contact info, target program, minimal qualification.
Institutions and vendors draw this line differently, which is why two schools' "cost per lead" can be incomparable even with identical math. The definition is a choice; consistency is the requirement.
Why it matters
Every funnel metric inherits this definition. A report that switches between inquiry-counts and qualified-lead-counts across months — or across agencies — manufactures trends that don't exist.
How Pennant treats it
Pennant reads funnel stages from your CRM's own statuses, so your institution's definition is the one in force — applied consistently across every channel, program, and cohort.