ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN
JULY 2011
Dave Veazey
Director, Enrollment Management
Introduction
SNRAS has spent the past two years devising strategies to provide for student success in the fields of
Natural Resource Management and Geography. The intent of this document is to describe and justify
the current strategies to recruit, retain, graduate and most importantly, facilitate academic and
professional success to students that desire to pursue knowledge in areas of expertise provided by the
faculty within the school.
SNRAS approaches strategic enrollment management not as a large, obtuse complex program or as a
single minded strategy to increase tuition revenue but rather as a means to target communication and
support to students with the inherent desire to pursue academic interests aligned with the school. By
its very nature, SNRAS provides a very specific and unique learning environment. Students exiting high
school do not necessarily understand either Natural Resources or Geography as a reasonable or
“normal” academic pathway such as the liberal arts, sciences, education or engineering. It is instead
one that is pursued typically by individuals with family connections to agency careers or, more
frequently, students mid-career that change majors when they discover a fascination with the more
applied and interdisciplinary nature of the degrees. Given these conditions, the enrollment
management strategy for SNRAS must be finely tuned to meet student needs and efficiently utilize
limited resources designated for such activity.
The following plan is laid out in chronological order. Recruitment is the first section and describes our
methods of reaching out to K12 schools and college students both as a service to the community and as
a means to attract students. Secondly, retention strategies are outlined which have been developed to
ensure students are connected to the schools and succeeding such that they stay on a course to timely
graduation. Finally, we describe our future plans to improve our understanding of what our graduates
experienced during their time at UAF and what they actually do following graduation. This information
will help us to continue to improve upon our recruitment and retention efforts with the goal of
providing the most effective, enriching and efficient means to educate our students in the future. The
final section titled “Relevance” is a brief description of what we believe to be some of the major
challenges to our disciplines and some of the strategies we are discussing to convert them into
opportunities.
Recruitment
UAF Recruitment
SNRAS has not been active in UAF-wide recruitment activities. It is often challenging to find K12
students who have an interest in our degrees if they even know they exist. The time spent on typical
college recruitment events in schools seems an inefficient use of time for the most part. However, this
is a means to communicate with both high school counselors and with the UAF recruitment community
and more interaction in this area is desired.
Goal: Enrollment Management Director regularly attends recruitment team meetings and travels
periodically to some high school recruiting events
Goal: Enrollment Management Director meets personally with high school counselors
K12 Outreach
A major strategy for SNRAS has been to become involved in the K12 schools with the curriculum as
opposed to the typical recruitment methods. This is a valuable exercise as it is consistent with the
mission of outreach while also providing a more targeted recruiting opportunity. The Geography unit
has engaged a great deal offering K12 programs to students and teachers while also offering college
courses in local area high schools. SNRAS activities include FFA, Alaska Geographic Alliance, BLOBe
program and MapTeach. An effort is currently underway to create a career pathway in Natural
Resources at Effie Kokrine high school.
Goal: Continue with programs that engage K12 teachers and students in both NRM and Geography
curriculum.
Goal: Offer appropriate college courses in local area high schools
Goal: Work with the newly formed Early College of Alaska to include Geography curriculum in the
planned first year of operation at West Valley High School in Fall of 2012
Student Contact
A significant effort in the Enrollment Management office has been to make personal contact with
students that have either applied or expressed interest in degrees in the school. This occurs both by
phone and email. Director regularly advises new students, graduate and undergraduate, assisting them
in the application process and in registering for classes. The personal contact is an important means by
which SNRAS is enhancing student recruitment
Goal: Make personal contact with all incoming students each semester
Marketing Products
Development of communications materials for marketing is an on-going effort in the public relations
office. Activities and events are regularly posted and reported on the website and brochures are
produced for distribution regarding degree programs. As degree programs and courses are modified
communications to students must continue to enhance enrollment and interest in the school.
Goal: Publish communications that are timely and relevant to changes in the school
Retention
Advising
Students are assigned advisors upon admission to the program. Unfortunately, given the nature of NRM
students in particular, many are transfer students or change of major. As a result it is sometimes
difficult to maintain current status of students.
Goal: Keep an updated list of students and advisors each semester
Goal: Keep an updated list of students and chosen option each semester
Goal: Advisors contact each student every semester
Goal: Identify faculty that are exemplary advisors and create workloads accordingly to ensure students
are served well
Connection to School
Students are more likely to be retained if they take an active involvement in the discipline and school
activities. In addition, undergraduates that are able to connect with graduate students can learn about
the field from individuals more like them. It is the goal to create more of a community of students
around the school to maintain the interest of students.
Goal: Provide more TA assistantships for graduate students
Goal: Maintain active and engaging Resource Management and Geography student groups
Goal: Provide opportunities for internships, employment in the school and research assistantships for
undergraduates
Graduates
Tracking graduates
SNRAS has fallen behind in tracking graduates and maintaining records on their professional activities
after graduation. It is important to maintain contact with graduates, not just to stay connected with
alumni but to know about and understand their achievements and professional growth after their time
at UAF
Goal: Track contact and employment information of graduates
Contact with Alumni
SNRAS regularly publishes Agroborealis which provides a database of individuals interested in the
activities of the school. This information keeps the school connected with alumni and creates a culture
in which alumni stay involved to help with future recruitment and program modification
Goal: Maintain a list of alumni and regularly communicate with them
Goal: Conduct surveys and/or focus groups to learn from alumni about the value of the degree to them
professionally and to direct future program direction
Relevance
Name
Both Natural Resources and Geography are terms that appear today to be misunderstood or antiquated.
While courses have evolved and include climate change, biogeography and food security, the titles of
the programs currently project what appears to be a decade’s old professional pursuit that lacks
relevance to today’s job environment. Terms like Environment, Earth Systems and Sustainability are
more reflective of the work being done in the school and should be incorporated into degree titles.
Goal: Create course titles and degree names that have a more modern and refined image to appeal to
the current day
Delivery
Only one course in the school is delivered fully on line. While the school offers many distance courses it
has not been standardized to the program level and therefore is not clear to students or helpful for
those that might need courses yet to be offered by distance. Alaska is a state driven and funded by its
natural resources and it is therefore appropriate to create a fully on line degree. While there will be
challenges regarding laboratory courses and core curriculum, SNRAS should endeavor to create such a
degree. In addition, the Geography degree should also be available in such a manner
Goal: Create an entirely on line Natural Resources degree offered statewide anywhere in Alaska
Goal: Create an entirely on line Geography degree offered statewide anywhere in Alaska