Scott Smiley
Director of Admission
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Evolution of Enrollment
Management
In the beginning…

End of Post World War II Growth

Enrollments were on the Decline

Increased Cost, Increased Tuition

Sellers Market to a Buyers Market

“For Profits” Pressured Not-for-Profits to use a more
formal business process.

Benchmarking, Total Quality Management,
Continuous Improvement, Team Building…

Many Different Business Models have come and gone
and Enrollment Management has become the
common practice encompassing many variables.

Based on the circumstances of the 60’s & 70’s,
Enrollment Management was a practical necessity
before it became a theoretical basis for organizing
recruitment and retention.

In essence: grow, change or close your doors
Enrollment Management

Defined as:

“An organizational concept and a systematic set of
activities designed to enable education institutions to
exert more influence over their student enrollments…”

“Organized by strategic planning and supported by
institutional research, enrollment management activities
concern student college choice, transition to college,
student attrition and retention, and student outcomes.”
Foundational Focus of EM
EM - Evolving

Typically brings together the
functions having to do with the
recruiting, funding, retaining and
replacing of students as they move
through the system.

Challenges - Offices involved in
early models of EM included
Admissions, Financial Aid with
some Retention Strategies but
tended to be limited by silos on
the academic side and the student
affairs side.
Goals of EM

Improving yields at inquiry, application, and
enrollment stages

Increasing net revenue

Increase proportion of students capable of paying most
or all of unsubsidized tuition (“Full-pays”)

Increasing demographic diversity

Improving retention rates

Increasing applicant pools
Impact of Early EM

Admission Counselors moved from “Gatekeeper” to Salesman

Admissions Marketing began to grow

Initial Pricing and Financial Aid Strategies began to surface

Changes in organization structure began to occur

More formalized retention and focus on transfer students
Impact of Early EM

Student Information Systems and Research began to
provide additional data

Demand Analysis and Institutional Response began to
anticipate immediate and long-term student demand

Having more data, provided better tools for predicting
enrollments and grew from there

Yield Analysis was just one primary tool prior to more
advanced Student Information Systems
EM Grows Up

More Complex
Issues

Require a More
Complex Model
Strategic Enrollment
Management
Why SEM?

Changing Demographics

Budget Crises

Shifting Public
Perceptions of Higher
Education

Creeping Consumerism

Continued Demand for
Numbers AND Quality
Definition of SEM

SEM is a comprehensive process designed to achieve
and maintain the optimum recruitment, retention, and
graduation rates of students, where optimum is
defined within the academic context of the
institution.

SEM includes Enrollment Management but is much
more

Institution-wide process that cuts across all functional
domains within an institution.
Goals of SEM

Stabilize Enrollments



Link Academic Programs and SEM




Revenue planning model
Enrollment = Dollars = Resources = Quality
Optimize Resources



Establish stable departments (improve quality/retention)
Align academic planning, review, & assessment with budget prep, master plan,
curriculum plan…
Stabilize Finances


Stop declines, manage growth or smoothing fluctuations
Working w/ specific majors (increase #’s, manage over-enrollment pressures)
Dollars = Resources
Managing # of employees, redirecting efforts, maximizing campus information systems
Improve Services


Decrease redundancies
Shorten response times, increase student/employee satisfaction, reduce overhead &
paperwork
Goals of SEM

Improve Quality



Improve Access to Information



Cannot function w/o integrated information system
Data is critical, need people who can get at it
Reduce Vulnerability to Environmental Forces




Focus efforts on quality
Better defined: inputs – process – outputs
Monitor and evaluate environmental signals
Mitigate negative impact of local/regional events
Good/thorough environmental scan is critical
Evaluate Strategies and Tactics



Track initiatives against results
What worked, what didn’t work
Assessment is key
Strategic Enrollment
Management (SEM)
SEM’s Impact on Admissions

Data is your friend

Assessment is required

Research
 Demographic Trends
 Student Perceptions
 Program Effectiveness

Internal/External
Instruments
 NSSE
 ASQ/ASQ+
 Climate Survey
 Focus Groups

Strategic Plan (ties to
University Goals and
tactical activities

S.W.O.T. Analysis

Data Mining/Analytics

Environment Scan

Benchmarking

Surveys (non-enrolled)

Provide Feedback to
Middle Management or
Upper Mgmt on SEM Plan
SEM’s Impact on Admissions

Consider Integrated Marketing
Communication when
designing publications,
messages and electronic media
• Include
Faculty/Current
Students in the
Decision &
Recruitment Process

Establish a common, consistent
brand and a “tagline”. Once
established, do not change it
• Training is Critical –
must know the
product, key selling
points, and have
ability to convey that
message to multiple
audiences.
SEM’s Impact on Admissions

Usually requires or
required some form of
organizational
restructuring

Breaks down previous
department silos

Involves integrated
committees or more
formal reporting
structure.

Collaboration is critical.

Example:
 University of Rochester
combined Admissions,
Financial Aid, Institutional
Analysis, Intercollegiate
Athletics, Communication &
Public Relations, Student
Affairs Reps,
Advising/Retention Offices
 DePaul University combined
Admissions, Financial Aid,
and Records with Marketing
and University Relations,
Enrollment and Marketing
Research, Career Services
and Employee Relations
Questions/Discussion
The Evolution of Enrollment
Management Resources

Machado-Taylor, M., Peterson, A., Taylor, J., & Wilkinson, R.B. (2007). A
Practical Guide to Strategic Enrollment Management Planning in Higher
Education. Virginia Beach, VA: Educational Policy Institute.

Kurz, K. & Scannell, J. (2006 May). Enrollment Management Grows Up.
University Business. Available online:
http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/enrollment-management-grows

Henderson, S. & Swann, C., (1998). “Strategic Enrollment Management”.
Dolence, M. (pg 71). Handbook for the College Admissions Profession.
Washington, D.C., American Association of Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers.

Kotler, P. & Fox, K. (1985). Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions
(pgs 17, 131, 317). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.