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