University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Enrollment Management Plan - Executive Summary
Enrollment and Retention Goals for the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
The five year goals of the UW – Stevens Point Enrollment Management plan are:
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Attain a stable enrollment mix of undergraduate and graduate students with a goal of
10,000 students.
Increase the number of out of state enrollments for all student types from 11% of total
enrollment to 16% of total enrollment.
Increase the undergraduate student retention rate from 81% to 86%.
Increase the transfer student retention rate from 80% to 84%.
Increase the diversity student retention rate from 80.7 to 83.2%.
Increase the percentage of new, domestic diversity admissions from 11% to 17% of total
new students.
Increase diversity student graduation rates from 48% to 54%.
Increase the four year graduation rate from 24% to 30%.
Increase the number of students receiving degrees by 7%.
Raise the average ACT score from 23 to 24.
Improve the quality of data and analysis toolsets for campus departments and decision
makers to effectively manage enrollment and retention.
Develop an Enrollment Management Unit that is focused on delivering high quality and
efficient enrollment services to the students, faculty and staff y of UW – Stevens Point.
Implement the International Admissions Recruitment Plan and the Admissions Office Annual Student Recruitment plan.
Context for the Enrollment Management Plan
The External Environment
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The population of 18 year olds within the State of Wisconsin is decreasing. In 2008
there were 71,000 Wisconsin high school graduates. In 2014-2015 the number of high
school graduates is projected to be 64,100 and will plateau at that level through 2020.
High school graduates are increasingly becoming more racially and ethnically diverse.
The percentage of diversity students which was 17% of the overall Wisconsin high
school graduating class in 2008 – 2009. By 2019 this segment of the population will
increase by four percent Diverse students do not typically attend college at the same
rate of white, Caucasian students. In 2013 approximately 1000 diversity students in
Wisconsin took the ACT exam for admission.
Increasing competition from for-profit colleges, private universities, and other University
of Wisconsin institutions.
Online instructional options, including Massive Open Online Courses, will continue to
increase in number and compete with traditional instructional modes, which will put
downward pressure on tuition revenues.
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Students and parents are increasingly sensitive to higher tuition costs and student loan
obligations. The public will want to see more value from a degree to reflect the
increasing investment.
The U.S. Department of Education is developing a quality ranking and rating system for
higher education that will determine institutional financial aid awards.
Growing demand from employers for workforce-readiness skills. Over the last two
decades employers have reduced or eliminated in-house training programs in favor of
partnering with higher education institution for employees that are prepared for the
workforce.
The Internal Environment
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University Strengths
o Unique mix of programs that is popular with students.
o High rate of success for graduates in further higher education and employment.
o High visibility and strong brand recognition within Wisconsin, especially within the
North Central Wisconsin region.
o Inclusive shared governance of the institution.
o Strong sense of institutional mission within faculty and staff.
o Caring and supportive environment for students.
o Implementation of new General Education Program requirements.
o Implementation of MAP-Works software.
o Implementation of a constituent relationship management system to manage
recruitment efforts.
o Low student loan default rate for student loans. The UW – Stevens Point three
year default rate for 2013 is 4%.
o Average student debt is $27,000 and is comparable to other UW institutions.
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University Challenges
o Enrollment imbalances in major programs.
o Class scheduling conflicts for students.
o Under-utilization of facilities resulting in decreasing state funding for
improvements to instructional space and an inefficient use of resources.
o Scholarships are largely given to upper classmen rather than being used to
attract new freshman.
o The University lacks a scholarship management system. A scholarship
management system would provide a central place for students to review
campus scholarships and apply for all eligible scholarships using one dynamic
form (form would provide/reduce fields based on the types of scholarships
applied for by the student). This type of tool would provide better service to
students, increase scholarship applications and maximize institutional resources
to provide students with an affordable education. The system would also allow
scholarship committees in Colleges/departments to use their existing processes
while having all of the student data/application materials online. Increasing
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scholarship access to existing students will promote an improvement in retention
and provide an opportunity to reduce student indebtedness.
Retention and graduation of diversity students is lower than overall student
retention.
University retention activities, while effective, lack a coordinated approach.
Online services are not comparable to our competitors.
Inability to automate registration functions significantly increases faculty and staff
workload.
Lack of analytic and predictive capabilities with student data creates a
competitive disadvantage.
Current student information system requires significant enhancement to provide
for requisite checking, for the historical dating of system actions to measure
student enrollment changes, for enrollment apportioning within sections, and for
automation of enrollment restrictions.
Manual enrollment processes throughout the university increase the error rate,
lower staff productivity and negatively impact data quality.
Lack of eform/business process management system slows the timeliness of
forms processing.
Lack of a student an interactive degree audit, online student planner and
communications tracking module to ensure effective academic advising and
advisor/student interaction.
Institutional Enrollment Strategies
 Develop a reporting system to forecast course demand and maximize enrollment and
capacity planning.
 Increase funding for freshman, diversity, and out-of-state scholarships.
 Systematize the Project Win-Win concept of awarding associate degrees for students
who withdraw or leave prior to completing bachelor degree.
 Implement the International Student Recruitment Plan.
 Review options for 2+2 enrollment agreements with international institutions.
 Develop and implement an annual recruitment plan for the Admissions Office.
 Develop recruiting materials that are consistent, comprehensive, and uniformly branded.
 Develop adult outreach programs that can be completed online or in the
evening/weekend.
 Review program capacities, projected enrollment growth targets, and departmental
staffing and fiscal capabilities.
 Review registration and academic policies to ensure that they enhance student retention
and comply with appropriate state and federal regulations.
Retention Strategies
 Develop a campus-wide retention plan.
 Implement MAP-Works or its equivalent for all student types.
 Implement a pre/co-requisite checking system to ensure adequate course preparation
prior to enrollment in a class.
 Implement an enrollment system that allows for the automated apportioning of highdemand classes to minimize course bottlenecks.
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Implement the use of provisional admissions for programs with a retention problem.
Implement a conditional admission process for students who need specific skills
remediation and for academically suspended students seeking re-admission. An
admissions/retention committee would establish admissions criteria for specific admits
based on their academic needs.
Review current campus retention strategies to determine effectiveness and how to
maximize benefits from these efforts.
Develop on-campus support services for out-of-state students, international students,
and adult learners.
Enrollment Management Unit Strategies
 Review Office of the Registrar staffing to ensure redundancy of key processes and to
project future operational needs.
 Evaluate, plan, and implement a “one-stop” enrollment services model.
 Integrate departmental functions wherever possible to improve efficiencies and services.
 Review and revise the new and transfer student orientation processes to improve
service to students.
 Develop an online registration process for new students and transfer students.
 Review current operations to ensure compliance with the Department of Education
regulations.
 Develop an organizational structure that emphasizes cross-training and cross-support
functions within Enrollment Management departments.
 Coordinate and enhance unit communications to ensure effective student recruitment
and excellent service to students, faculty and staff.
 Align recruiter responsibilities with dedicated territories in order to focus efforts on the
most productive regions and to provide prospective students with the best possible
service.
 Provide Admissions recruiters with knowledge and understanding of financial aid award
processes to improve service to prospective students. This strategy would provide a
single point of contact for prospective parents and students to obtain answers to
admissions and financial aid questions.
Enrollment Management Technology Strategies
 Review the Student Information System to determine whether to upgrade or replace.
 Implement digital imaging across all Enrollment Management offices to reduce
operational costs and improve the quality and speed of services. Convert all existing
student records to a digital storage format.
 Implement digital forms/business process management software across all departments
within Enrollment Management.
 Implement an online service desk tool to provide 24/7 student access to FAQ’s and
troubleshooting.
 Purchase and implement software that will provide departments and colleges with an
efficient method to process scholarship applications and a tool that will provide students
with an easy way to find and apply for scholarships on campus.
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Implement constituent relationship management recruitment software within the various
Colleges, Continuing Education and in International Admissions to increase the applicant
pool, to develop enrollment targets by major and track recruitment activities to determine
effectiveness.
Upgrade existing degree audit software to provide an interactive degree audit tool, a
what-if degree review and a student plan of study.
Purchase and implement a reporting and analytics software solution that will provide
academic departments with key administrative and evaluative data for their programs.
Data and Analytics Plan – Measuring Effectiveness
 Develop data definitions and metrics to ensure consistent measure of enrollment and
retention goals.
 Develop enrollment targets by program within CRM system to measure recruitment
productivity.
 Develop effectiveness measures for each unit within Enrollment Management.
 Develop effectiveness measures for retention programs across the campus.
 Develop predictive and analytical business intelligence capabilities to project enrollment
and retention for the University.
 Develop institutional enrollment and retention reports to be utilized by academic
departments for planning, advising and evaluation.
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