THE HISTORY
AND FUTURE
OF
ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT
Presented by:
Dr. John Maguire
and
Linda Cox Maguire
THE HISTORY AND FOUNDING
PRINCIPLES OF ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT
THE THEORIES LEADING TO BEST PRACTICES
The Original Enrollment Management
Concept
The term “Enrollment
Management” was first used in a
1976 article in Boston College’s
alumni magazine.
It was created at a time of crisis at
the university.
Since then, the concept has been
adopted at most universities
throughout the United States.
What is Enrollment Management?
A process that integrates functions having to do with recruiting,
funding, tracking, retaining, and replacing students as they
move toward, within, and away from a university.
Hallmarks:
• Collaboration across functions
• Involvement of multiple professionals
• Integration of the latest information technologies
• Assertion of strong, energetic leadership
• Coordination of efforts support a coherent, grand design
Goal #1:
Marketing & Admissions
To develop marketing and admissions programs to attract
qualified students in desired numbers.
The Checklist:
• Who is responsible for admissions at your university? Is this a person or
team?
• How do you involve faculty, alumni, and students in recruitment?
• Do you have an adequate budget, staff, and new student orientation
program to ensure success?
• What impressions are given to people who visit your university and
website, or talk to current/former students and parents?
• What mechanisms (e.g., electronic communication, social media, on-
campus programs, off-campus visits/receptions) do you have for
communicating with key audiences? Who are your key audiences?
Goal #2:
Research & Information Flow
To create an integrated student database and a capacity to use
student information systems for coordinated planning,
communications, and research.
The Checklist:
• What systems are you using to manage student information?
• How satisfied are you with these systems?
• Outside of IR, which offices know how to use them?
• Can you obtain a prompt and accurate “snapshot” of student inquiries,
applications, and enrollments at all levels at all times of the year?
• In what ways do you use student data to help inform decision-making?
• Are research projects designed to help solve real challenges on campus?
• How are you using technology to develop rapid-response, personalized, and
targeted communications?
Goal #3:
Market Predictions & Institutional Response
To develop a capability to anticipate immediate and long-term
student interest and methods for improving the university’s
ability to provide for these interests.
The Checklist:
• Has your university prepared long-range (5- to 10-year) academic and fiscal
plans that connect university goals with realistic enrollment objectives?
• Are these plans adaptable to changing circumstances?
• How well known are these plans among the individuals who will be
contributing to their success? To what extent do they have a voice in
shaping the plans?
• How achievable are the plans? Do they include well-defined goals and
methods for fulfillment?
• Do they include relevant external trends and forces to inform the strategic
planning process?
Goal #4:
Financial Aid Strategy
To implement pricing and financial aid strategies that will
optimize the university’s ability to attract and retain the
desired academic and socioeconomic mix of students.
The Checklist:
• Are you satisfied that your university is priced properly? Do you sense that
you are over or underpriced relative to your competitors?
• Are you worried that cost-related increases make your university
unaffordable for target families?
• Do you have any plans for reducing tuition dependence in the operating
budget? What other sources of revenue can do more to support the
university?
• Do you have a comprehensive financial aid (scholarship) policy at your
university? How do you establish priorities for deciding who is eligible for
limited funds?
Goal #5:
Retention & Transfers
To monitor and provide intervention strategies related to
student satisfaction and retention. When attrition occurs, open
channels of entry for students who began their undergraduate
education at another institution.
The Checklist:
• Are you measuring, through research, student satisfaction as well as
retention?
• Are you collecting attitudinal feedback as well as behavioral data?
• Do you have offices/personnel to counsel students who are struggling or
considering leaving the university?
• Have you identified characteristics of students who are “at risk”?
• Are faculty and staff alerted to these characteristics and trained to notify
the appropriate staff to intervene?
• Are transfer students treated as high priority candidates?
Goal #6:
Organization for Enrollment Management
To organize departments/roles in a way that facilitates the
coordination of staff, the flow of information, and the
integration of enrollment management decisions.
The Checklist:
• Are you satisfied with the coordination among institutional research,
marketing, recruiting, pricing/financial aid, student satisfaction, and
retention at your university?
• In what ways do staff share information? What more can be done to
streamline decision-making and achieve synergies?
• To what extent does the collaborative organizational structure contribute to
overall success in cross-functional ways?
Progress in Enrollment Management
Goals of Enrollment Management
1976 2006 2026
I.
Marketing Admissions C- B+/F ?
II.
Research / Information Flow D B ?
III.
Market Prediction / Institutional Response F C ?
IV.
Financial Aid Strategy D- B+/F ?
V.
Retention / Transfer D B- ?
VI.
Organization for Enrollment Management D C ?
What would you grade the current state of
Marketing & Admissions?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
What would you grade the current state of
Research & Information Flow?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
What would you grade the current state of Market
Prediction & Institutional Response?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
What would you grade the current state of
Financial Aid Strategy?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
What would you grade the current state of
Retention & Transfers?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
What would you grade the current state of
Organization for Enrollment Management?
A.A
B.B
C.C
D.D
E.F
CASE STUDY: BOSTON COLLEGE
FROM A VICIOUS CYCLE TO A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
Weakened Product/Programs
(Actual and Perceived)
Excess Capacity
Reduced Quality
Reduced Diversity
Revenue Loss,
Budgets Deficits
Vicious Cycle
Reduced Demand, Increased
Excess Capacity
Further Weakened Product
(Deferred Maintenance,
Faculty/Staff Cuts)
• Persistent, annual, multi-million dollar
revenue loss.
• Siloed operations relevant to
enrollment success.
• Too few candidates for admission to
meet needed enrollment goals.
• Tensions between financial aid and
admissions operations.
• Slipping reputation in the marketplace.
• Projections of shrinking student geo-
markets.
• No systems in place to monitor and
improve student satisfaction and
retention.
• Deferred maintenance due to budget
shortfalls.
Boston College’s Crisis Point
• Integrate offices most important to
enrollments with a chief enrollment
officer to lead the teams.
• Conduct market research to assess
image, family priorities, and
messaging strategies.
• Identify through research the most
promising new markets.
• Build student and alumni recruitment
volunteer programs.
• Incentivize students to transfer to
Boston College from other
universities.
• Orient financial aid to willingness to
pay as well as affordability.
• Organize systems for measuring
student satisfaction and retention as
well as imbedding intervention
strategies in offices throughout the
campus.
Boston College’s Action Plan
Strengthened Programs,
New Programs, Service
Development
Improved Enrollment
and Student Satisfaction
Increased Quality,
Increased Diversity
Revenue Gains, Balanced
Budgets, “Surplus”
Virtuous Circle
Increased Demand, Full
Capacity, “Ideal” Enrollment
Increased Selectivity,
Strengthened Product,
Enhanced Morale
• Applications for admission tripled,
increasing selectivity and creating
excess demand.
• New student enrollments
increased by 30%.
• With more revenue, BC was able
to build residence halls to increase
enrollment capacity.
• National rankings rose, further
increasing student demand and
geographic reach.
• New recreational facilities were
built.
• The level of student engagement
grew, leading to higher morale on
campus.
• The student graduation rate
increased from 70% to 90%.
Boston College’s 10-Year Turnaround
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT FOR
EMERGING ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
CHALLENGES FACING THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES
How much richer are the richest 20% than the poorest 20%?
Source: United Nations Development Program, quoted by Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Inequality has increased with each
expansion in the postwar era.
• Percent share of
income growth
received by the top 10
percent and bottom 90
percent of earners
during expansions.
• The bottom 90 percent
has continued to
experience a decline in
income, meaning their
share of income gains
has been negative.
80
72
68
67
57
55
20
27
20
28
32
33
43
56
80
73
98
116
1949-53 1954-57 1959-60 1961-69 1970-73 1975-79 1982-90 1991-2000 2001-07 2009-12
Bottom 90%
Top 10%
Source: Pavlina R. Tcherneva calculations based on data from Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez and
N.B.E.R.
Unemployment Rates in the U.S. for Workers in
Selected Deciles of Household Incomes
30.8%
19.1%
12.2%
7.8%
5.0%
4.0%
3.2%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Lowest ($12,499 or less) Second ($12,500 to
$20,000)
Fourth ($30,000 to $39,999) Sixth ($50,000 to $59,999) Eighth ($75,000 to $99,999) Ninth ($100,000 to
$149,999)
Top ($150,000 or more)
Laborer (min. wage)
Social worker ($20-$50k)
Nurses &Teachers
Financiers,
CEO (highest paid = 112.5M+)
Athletes, Movie Stars
Health and social problems are not related to
average income in rich countries.
Index of:
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness – including drugs & alcohol
addiction
• Social mobility
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Health and social problems are worse in
more unequal countries.
Index of:
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness – including drugs & alcohol
addiction
• Social mobility
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Tuition Sorcerers
U.S. Population vs. “Haves” (2008)
8
25
70
82
97
10
20
40
60
3
10
20
40
97
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
10 25 45 60 75 90 100 120 135 180
% Below Income $
Income $ (Thousands)
U.S. Population
Billion Dollar Club Students
Selective Liberal Arts Students
Community Colleges
10 Known Urban Privates
Median Income
Feedback on Megatrends
I.
Income Inequality
II.
College Selection Process:
i. Definitions of Q (Test Scores vs Income)
ii. Explosive Growth of Multiple Applications
III.
Diminution of “Grit”:
i. Less Homework
ii. Higher Anxiety Levels
iii.Helicopter Parents
IV.
Rampant Technology Marketing Abuses
V.
Education at All Levels in America is Struggling
i. Teaching Profession
ii. “Gated” Colleges
iii. Government Intervention in the Age of Trump
Megatrend 1: Income inequality will have a major
impact on American higher education.
A.Strongly Agree
B.Somewhat Agree
C.Neutral
D.Somewhat Disagree
E.Strongly Disagree
Megatrend 2: The explosive growth of multiple
applications is negatively affecting the college
selection process.
A.Strongly Agree
B.Somewhat Agree
C.Neutral
D.Somewhat Disagree
E.Strongly Disagree
Megatrend 3: There has been a large diminution of
resilience, or “grit,” among high school and college
students.
A.Strongly Agree
B.Somewhat Agree
C.Neutral
D.Somewhat Disagree
E.Strongly Disagree
Megatrend 4: Major advances in technology have
often led to marketing abuses in higher education.
A.Strongly Agree
B.Somewhat Agree
C.Neutral
D.Somewhat Disagree
E.Strongly Disagree
Megatrend 5: Education at all levels in America is
struggling.
A.Strongly Agree
B.Somewhat Agree
C.Neutral
D.Somewhat Disagree
E.Strongly Disagree
THE FUTURE OF ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT
EMBRACING COMPLEXITY
It doesn’t take an Einstein . . .
39
... to know that
Enrollment Management
needs to be reformulated
for the new world of higher
education – a world in which
virtual communities proliferate,
global boundaries are erased,
“stealth applicants” abound, and U.S.
News, MySpace and Facebook shape
the expectations of those making
college-choice decisions.
The Enrollment
Cosmos
“Dark Matter” Populations
40
TARGETED
PROSPECTS
WHO NEVER
INQUIRED
PROSPECTS
NOT TARGETED
INQUIRERS
WHO NEVER APPLIED
APPLICANTS
NOT ADMITTED
ADMITS
WHO NEVER
ENROLLED
ENROLLEES
WHO NEVER
GRADUATED
ALUMS
NOT SUPPORTING
EM=C
2
A New Formula for Enrollment Management
41
Enrollment redefined and broadened to describe,
from the community member’s perspective, a process of
joining, experiencing, contributing to and transitioning from
all kinds of virtual and physical communities.
Management redefined and broadened to describe,
from the institution’s perspective, a process of understanding,
inspiring, engaging and leveraging all kinds of virtual and
physical communities.
Community of Communities where the institutional
community is redefined as the current expression of mission
and values that inspire and hold together its various affiliated
communities over time.
E =
M =
C
2
=
The EM=C
2
Matrix
42
M-Axis
E-Axis
• Many U.S.
universities fail to
focus on student
satisfaction.
• We have seen
more emphasis on
this important
dynamic in
Japanese
institutions.
• The big step in
Japan is to move
from analysis to
implementation.
The Importance of Student Satisfaction
and Retention
A More Complex Enrollment Management
Strategy
44
Adopting a life-cycle perspective.
• Provides entry points at different phases.
• Speaks to who is making decisions at each phase.
• Tailors communications to multiple audiences.
QUESTIONS
AND
DISCUSSION
Thank You!
