strategic enrollment management
DESCRIPTION
A guide to navigating the strategic enrollment planning process to create the conditions for institution wide shared responsibility of enrollment outcomes.TRANSCRIPT
Strategic Enrollment Management
Creating the Conditions for Institution WideShared Responsibility of Enrollment Outcomes
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)
What is SEM?
SEI SEP SEM
STEP 1SEI - Strategic Enrollment Intelligence
STEP 2SEP - Strategic Enrollment Planning
The ResultSEM - Strategic Enrollment Management
The Process of SEM
STEP 1Strategic Enrollment Intelligence (SEI)
SEI SEP SEM
“The use of actionable intelligence to inform enrolment strategies and practices and thus, position an institution strategically to achieve optimal enrolment results”
Jim Black, Strategic Enrolment Intelligence, Academia Group
STEP 1Strategic Enrollment Intelligence (SEI)
SEI – THE PROCESS
SEI
CULTURE
DATAANALYSIS
Create a data-informed campus culture Understand where you are and where you
need to be Collect and “USE” data to drive
institutional behaviour, strategy and decision making
Strive to always have the right people, saying the right things, to the right people, at the right time
SEI - CULTURE
Data ‘informed’ Institutions ask themselves:
1. Does our data allow us to understand our context and draw implications about how we need to change in order to fulfill our mission and vision for the future?
2. Does our current state align with the future needs, demands, and trends of the market?
3. Does our future vision align with our capacity?4. Can our institutional needs sustain itself and our
future visions?
SEI - CULTURE
SEI – DATA COLLECTION
THE BIG THREE
EXTERNAL
Students Competition
INTERNAL
Institution
Data ‘informed’ institutions ask themselves:
1. What do students demand?2. What does the competition offer?3. What does the institution do well? 4. Where do we fail?
SEI must conclude with a SWOT that incorporates all the external and internal information collected about students, competition and the institution.
SEI- DATA COLLECTION
SEI – STUDENT DATAUnderstanding students demands the most wide-ranging research
STUDENT
Basic Information – demographics & academics
Ethnographic – understanding student culture
Psychographic – values, beliefs and behaviours
SEI – STUDENT DATA
SEI- STUDENT DATA
Demographic Trends Projected demand for programs Price Sensitivity Number of inquires by program of
interest Lost inquires and applicants Search behaviour preferences Delivery format preferences Enrollments – current and
historical trends Completion Rates Institutional Awareness Institutional Perception Decision Factors Motivators and Barriers to enrolling Underlying causation of Attrition Etc..
Strategic Insights – Critical Data
Institutions will have varying degrees of access to this information. Items in bold are critical and must be mined from within the institution’s information systems.
TIP: Don’t get caught up in Analysis Paralysis. Collect and report the data you have access to and then move the process along.
Comprehensive Competitor Analysis should include:
Enrollment trends Marketing messages Communication strategies Academic program offerings Institutional Image
SEI – COMPETITIVE DATA
TIP: Sometimes institutions post their annual strategic plans online. Browse their websites and take note of their mission, vision and values.
An institution can best affect change when informed by data that addresses:
Student Satisfaction and Engagement Institutional Capacity – current and ability to
scale Faculty/Staff alignment with student expectations Alumni Satisfaction/outcomes Student attrition
Collect this data through surveys and evaluations.
SEI – INSTITUTIONAL DATA
Identify challenges, strengths, risk and opportunities.
SEI – Summary of Data
CHALLENGES
(WEAKNESSES)
INSTITUTIONAL
(STRENGTHS)
INSTITUTIONAL RISKS
(THREAT)
IMPROVEMENTS
(OPPORTUNITIES)
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
Align the culture, data and KPIs with the institutional mission, vision, values and goals.What is the desired outcome?
Manage – stay the same Grow or Build – increase capacity Shrink – reduce or eliminate Start – create new things
Now you are ready for the planning step of SEM.
SEI - ANALYSIS
STEP 2Strategic Enrollment Planning (SEP)
SEI
SEP
SEM
SEI Reports Create Strategy Set Goals Execute Tactics Monitor KPIs
SEP – Putting it all together
SEI Reports
Create Strategic Alignment
Set Goals
Execute Tactics
Monitor KPIs
Create Strategic Alignment
Institutional Mission, Vision,
Values, Strategy, Goals
Enrollment Planning
• Marketing• Admissions• Recruitment
Academic Planning• Academic Quality• Program Offerings
Student Success• Retention
• Engagement• Alumni Relations
Capacity Planning• Facilities & IT• Operations
• Administration
Every department has a role in SEP
Every department creates a strategic plan that aligns with the institutional plan
Every departmental strategic plan includes goals with defined tactics that contribute to achieving the desired enrollment outcomes
Create Plans, Set Goals & Execute
Start with the institutional vision, determine the priorities for accomplishing it and identify the appropriate KPIs and PIs to build a working strategic plan.
Enrollment – measuring the admissions funnel Retention – withdrawal rates and reasons Engagement – show rates and satisfaction Completion – graduation and outcomes Fiscal Health – revenue, direct costs, EBITDA
Key Performance Indicators
The gathering and collecting of data combined with thoughtful analysis sets the stage for enrollment planning that is strategic in nature and aligns with the desired outcomes of the institution.
The result = Strategic Enrollment Management
The Result
SEI
SEP
SEM
When the institution has achieved a state of alignment enrollment outcomes can be managed.
Determine the KPIs that will best measure the desired outcomes
Create reports to measure the KPIs Assign Accountability Monitor the results and make swift changes
when needed
Manage the outcomes
Gather Intelligence – DATA Determine Desired Outcomes Create Strategic Alignment Monitor Results Manage the Desired Outcomes
Summary
Read two books1. Strategic Enrollment Planning: A Dynamic
Collaboration, Edited by Jim Hundrieser, PhD2. Strategic Enrolment Intelligence, Canada’s First
Book on Strategic Enrollment Management, Edited by Jim Black
Noel-Levitz https://www.noellevitz.com ◦ Annual Reports, Blogs, White papers
SEM Works http://www.semworks.net ◦ Books and White papers
Additional Resources