“If you want to catch fish… you have to go fishing”: Enrollment Management in the Strategic Age Daniel T. Barkowitz AVP Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs Valencia College
Enrollment Management (EM): A Brief History • Age of Recruitment • 1970s through mid-1980s • Focus on financial aid packaging and leveraging / enhanced recruitment models • Age of Structure • Mid-1980s through 2005 • Added organizational structures (EM divisions, redefinition of Student Affairs) • Age of Academic Context • 2005 to now • Added a recognition that academics are an integral part of EM
A Move to Strategic Enrollment Management • “...a comprehensive process designed to help an institution achieve and maintain the optimum recruitment, retention and graduation rates of students, where optimum is defined in the academic context of the institution ” (Dolence, 1993, 1997).
Goals of SEM • Establish clear enrollment goals • Promote student success • Determine, achieve and maintain optimum enrollment • Enable the delivery of effective academic programs • Generate tuition • Enable financial planning • Increase organizational efficiency • Improve service levels
Challenges to SEM (as described) • Where is the connection to the institution’s mission? • Who defines student success? Does graduation = success? • How do you define the characteristics of successful applicants (academic and non- academic)? • If the best way to guarantee graduation is to selectively admit, what do Community / State Colleges do? • Does parallel play = successful collaboration?
A New Definition of SEM • “ Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) has become integral to enhancing student success at institutions of higher learning. By promoting clarity of institutional mission from the perspective of student access and success , SEM provides a paradigm for cutting through the clutter of competing priorities to focus on what will best serve student needs and support their educational attainment . The resulting alignment of institutional mission, enrollment goals, targeted investments, and budget outcomes enables planning that is more strategic , in turn leading to improved outcomes for the institution as a whole, as well as individual departments” (AACRAO, 2013)
Core concepts for true SEM practice • SEM is guided by Strategic Plan • Enrollment goals are based on capacity and the strategic plan, • All SEM activities are mission not simply on student profile or driven revenue needs • SEM develops an institutional • Academic offerings tie in to culture of student success institutional mission and to the • SEM involves all internal and career needs of the future external constituents • Creative thinking and a view • External partnerships are critical outside of higher education • Data-driven decisions • Technology is used to enhance service to students
My (selected) personal EM history • Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs, Valencia College, 2017-present • Dean of Enrollment Management, St. Johns River State College, 2015-2017 • Executive Director, Temple Beth Shalom, 2011-15 • Dean of Financial Aid / Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Columbia College and Engineering, Columbia University, 2009-11 • Director of Student Financial Aid & Student Employment, MIT, 2002-09 • Consultant, CedarCrestone, 2000-02 • Director of Financial Aid, Lasell College, 1996-2000 • Director of Operations and Training, Mass. Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), 1992-96
Lessons Learned – Preferential Packaging • Analysis of Discount Rate • Institutional Grant Awarded ÷ Tuition Revenue Collected • Analysis of Yield • % Need Covered by Grant • Higher % Need Led to Greater Yield • Desired Yield by Target Group (by major, by geography, by athlete, etc.) • Packaging a small “no need” grant • What is the per student cost of aid? What if we bring in a no need student at less than that cost? • Understanding the impact of merit awards on financial aid application and yield
Lessons Learned – Student Affairs / Student Financial Services / Enrollment Management? • Structure leads to focus • Finance Bottom Line Analysis • Student Affairs Student Development • Enrollment Management Retention, Yield, Graduation • Collegial Relationships • Committee work (Financial Aid Committee, Student Performance, Student Discipline) • Holistic student review (Teacup / Early Warning, Student Performance Flags, Student Academic Review) • Partnership with Multicultural Affairs / Student Activities / Residence Life
Lessons Learned – Be A Recognized Voice on Campus • Becoming a voice on campus? • Becoming data driven • Speaking with authority • Partnering with senior leadership • Speaking truth to power • Being true to our professional ethics • AND learning from Confucius — “The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm.”
Lessons Learned – Draw from your Experience • Some major lessons will be learned from outside your regular job • Continuing to learn from industry reports / peers / professional organizations • Outside activities may teach us a lot about our higher ed world • Taking advantage of opportunities to work outside of our comfort zone!
Lessons Learned – When the Money is Tight / Open Access Institutions • Partnering for access and local outreach • Taking advantage of Workforce Development as a way to meet community needs • Looking carefully at limited access programs • Work on items within our control / our division • Better scheduling • Better customer service • Communication with students about enrollment choices • Other thoughts?
Resources • http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/SEM%20Guide.pdf – A Practical Guide to Strategic Enrollment Management Planning • http://docplayer.net/3064683-A-collection-of-best-practices-from-north-carolina-community- colleges.html - Enrollment Management and Student Retention Best Practices • http://consulting.aacrao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AACRAO_Roadmap_FINAL.pdf - A Community College Roadmap for the SEM Journey • https://valenciacollege.edu/academic-affairs/institutional-effectiveness-planning/strategic- plan/enrollmentplan/ - Valencia College’s Enrollment Plan • http://www.nasfaa.org/strategic_enrollment_mgmt_sessions - NASFAA Leadership & Legislative Conference • AACRAO - http://www.aacrao.org/ • SEM Quarterly • SEM Endorsement Program • SEM Conference
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