Strategic Enrollment Management and the Academic Enterprise:

Indiana State University

September 18, 2012

Tom Green, Ph.D.

Senior Consultant

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Overview

1. Ground rules

2. SEM reminders

3. Academics as a choice factor among prospective students

4. Remediation

5. The changing nature of academic advising

6. Articulation and community college partnerships

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Ground rules for the session

1. This is an open discussion – not a lecture

2. Make sure to ask questions as we go– There are several topics and waiting until the end may miss an

important point

3. The information today is taken from:– Higher education research– Current practice among SEM professionals– My own observations from working with colleges and universities

across all sectors of higher education in the U.S., Canada and the UK

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Strategic enrollment management is a concept and

process that enables the fulfillment of institutional

mission and students’ educational goals.

What is Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM)?

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The Purposes of SEM are Achieved by…

1. Establishing clear goals for the number and types of students needed to fulfill the institutional mission

2. Promoting students’ academic success by improving access, transition, persistence, and graduation

3. Promoting institutional success by enabling effective strategic and financial planning

4. Creating a data-rich environment to inform decisions and evaluate strategies

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5. Improving process, organizational and financial efficiency and outcomes

6. Strengthening communications and marketing with internal and external stakeholders

7. Increasing collaboration among departments across campus to support the enrollment program

The Purposes of SEM are Achieved by…

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SEM Planning Framework

Tactics

Strategies

Campus Infrastructure

Strategic Enrollment Goals

Data Collection and Analysis

Key Enrollment Indicators

Institutional Strategic Plan

SustainableEnrollmentOutcomes

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SEM Process FrameworkN

ew o

r rev

ised

goa

ls

Data and information gathering and assessment:Internal culture/ environment, student enrollment

behaviors and scan of external environment

Process steps Performed by

Data Team

Use data and information results to establish focused goals each for recruitment, retention,service, etc., and enrollment projection models

Goals recommended by RecruitmentCouncil and Student Success Council;

models developed by Data Team

Approve strategic goals and enrollment projection models

President Bradley’s Cabinet,SEM Steering Committee

Develop action steps, accountability, and metrics SEM councils and sub-committees

Implement action steps Appropriate staff andfaculty departments

Monitor progress,Report results to campus and executive leadership SEM Steering Committee

Additional requests,

clarifying questionsChangesto goals

Mid-course adjustm

ents

Align institutional strategic plan withbroad enrollment targets and desired mix of students

President Bradley’s Cabinet,SEM Steering Committee

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Why do students go to college?

1. Students have long been attracted to higher education as a means to pursue ideas and interests that matter to them.

2. The role of academic program quality and availability is vital in student choice.

3. The issues that the list as driving them to attend college almost all revolve around the pursuit of an academic major.

4. The pursuit of culture and ideas, however, are not lost in this mix of factors.

5. Quiz time:– What percent of college freshmen say that gaining a general education

and an appreciation of ideas is an important reason to attend college?

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Changing values for going to college

Source: Pryor, J. H., DeAngelo, L., Palucki Blake, L., Hurtado, S., & Tran, S. (2011). The American freshman: National norms fall 2011. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

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Reasons students choose a particular college or university

Source: Pryor, J. H., DeAngelo, L., Palucki Blake, L., Hurtado, S., & Tran, S. (2011). The American freshman: National norms fall 2011. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

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What motivates high-achieving students to come?

1. Quality of individual programs beyond overall institutional reputation:– They are interested in specific program strengths.

2. Opportunities for student research at the undergraduate level.

3. Opportunities to have a close and meaningful relationship with a faculty member (mentoring experiences).

4. While they likely expect to receive them or may not need them as much, high-achieving students rate finances and scholarships much lower on the list than these other factors.

Source: Lipman-Hearne and Associates (2006). High-Achieving Seniors and the College Decision. Chicago,

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What does this mean for academic programs?

1. Web sites must be relevant and contain information that helps students understand their key issues:– Program quality– Success of graduates– Opportunities for undergraduate research

2. Hearing from faculty during the search process is pivotal in influencing enrollment decisions:– Today’s students are savvy and want to hear from faculty, not just

counselors– Prospective student events should be taken seriously.

3. Work closely through admissions to provide information and resources for prospective students.

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Remediation

1. Starting in the 1960’s, the United States changed long-held views on who should attend college:– “Massification”– Students who previously had been denied access.– Affordability programs funded by the federal and state governments.

2. As growing numbers of students anticipated that they would need to attend college and more of them entered, it also meant that many were unprepared for the rigors of this level.

3. Admissible ≠ Prepared

4. Estimates of spending on remediation today in the United States are somewhere between $10 – 12 billion.

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Student academic aspirations are out of sync with behaviors that would prepare them for college-level work

1 in 4 anticipates needing math help

More time spent in online networks than leisure reading

Minority of students exhibited behaviors we expect in college

Source: Pryor, J. H., DeAngelo, L., Palucki Blake, L., Hurtado, S., & Tran, S. (2011). The American freshman: National norms fall 2011. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.

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So how do we help students learn what we expect from them?

1. “Sink or swim” is gone:– The public expects us to help students succeed for the price they are

paying for tuition and fees.– Accountability in higher education is shifting from access to

attainment.

2. How do we know what works?

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Hossler and Kalsbeek Analysis, 2010

Over recent decades, student retention has been one of the most studied aspects of college enrollment…with abundant articles and journals, studies and dissertations, models and theories, practices and programs, consultancies and conferences all devoted to improving retention and rates of degree completion… Despite this, in terms of overall rates of degree completion… If anything, 4- and 6-year graduation rates have declined…

College & University Journal, vol. 85, no. 3

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Hossler and Kalsbeek Analysis, 2010Key factors in retention success

Adequate coordination− Time and resources devoted to retention− Level and authority of the chief retention officer and committees

Data− Often new initiatives are not assessed for effectiveness− The importance of “action research”

Broadening focus from “high-risk students” to “high-risk experiences”− Could be courses or transaction points

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Hossler Study, 2005

Analysis of retention literature between 1980 and 2002

Prevalence of the: laundry list model– Based on

• usually non-empirical analyses testing theoretical models• propositional literature, practitioner articles on what they believe should

improve student persistence

– A quick scan of campus reveals “we are doing almost everything we should be doing to enhance student persistence. We have academic advising, we have orientation, we have career planning offices, we have learning communities, we have academic support centers, we have culture centers for students of color, and our faculty have frequent interactions with our students.”

College & University Journal, vol. 81, no. 2

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Hossler Study, 2005

Found only 16 empirical studies of institutional efforts to improve persistence published in mainline higher education journals

Multiple studies reported positive effects from:– Supported instruction targeted at courses in which many students

evidenced poor levels of academic performance– Transition/orientation/university 101 programs– Programs to enhance student-faculty interaction

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Summer bridge programs

1. Currently serving as the external evaluator and consultant to a program for low-income, first-generation students:– Admissible but ill-prepared for college work.– Most need two semesters of remediation before ready for freshman

courses.– Most are students of color from urban areas.

2. Summer bridge program implemented in 2010:– Six-week skills building courses.– No tuition fees for students (grant funded).– Peer mentoring on academic success, time management and “college

knowledge”.– Close advising support through the first year of studies.

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First-year retention results

Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 20100.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

59.90%63.20%

66.80% 67.60%

77.60%Retention study and recommendations

developed

Implementation of recommendations

Results achieved

Initial known status of retention rates with

AACRAO hired to help enrollment

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Academic advising in today’s environment1. Two types of advising (NACADA):

– Prescriptive– Developmental

2. Technological impact on advising roles:– Web site– Degree pathway sites– Degree audit

3. What is the role today for an academic adviser?

4. Possible roles:– Referrals to help or services.– Mentoring/guidance on how courses and degrees prepare students

for next steps/graduate programs/careers.

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Additional impact of degree audit systems

1. Degree requirements are programmed into a system that can check completion of courses and requirements:– This eliminates the need to check degree completion manually or

“certify” degrees in academic departments.– The requirements are approved once and every time they change.

2. Students expect that all changes to published requirements are processed immediately:– Petitions (substitutions and waivers).– Transfer credit.– Credit by exam.

3. Information cannot be “held” in the department for processing at graduation.

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New patterns of starting college

Source: Hossler, et. al. (2012). Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions Bloomington, IN, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

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How many students transfer?

Source: Hossler, et. al. (2012). Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions Bloomington, IN, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

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Where do they start and where do they go?

Source: Hossler, et. al. (2012). Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions Bloomington, IN, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

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A permeable higher education environment

1. As we created a permeable system of higher education in the United States, students took advantage of it:– It purports to provide a set of equivalent courses across higher

education.

2. What we have not standardized are the expectations of quality and depth of coverage across courses that appear to have similar content and learning outcomes.

3. This creates a mismatch:– Students assume that earning credit in a course means they are

prepared.– Faculty assume that students are prepared when they enter their

courses.

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How articulation is improving the situation

1. Matching course equivalencies across institutions provides the initial raw material for students to find their way across institutions.

2. 2+2 or 60+60 programs are the next step:– They provide a pathway of courses that minimize the costs and time

required to earn a degree across two institutions.– The most difficult aspect of these programs is getting information into

students’ hands before they seek transfer.

3. These steps still do not bridge the gaps in expectations.

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Partnership programs

1. Institutions sign agreements to collaborate on a number of issues regarding transfer credits.

2. Faculty groups work together to establish common learning outcomes:– These are often very small changes to community college courses that

increase the alignment between content and expectations.– This work often results in greater collaboration between academic

departments at the partner institutions:• Guest lectures.• Attendance at special events/speakers.

3. Promotion of pathway information to community college students.

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Additional collaborative efforts

1. Housing– Allows community college partnership students to live at the four-year

institution.

2. Campus access– Library– Athletic events (or access to tickets)– Student clubs and organizations

3. Reverse transfer– Allows students to earn an associate’s degree along the way if they

transfer to the four-year partner before earning it at the community college.

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Thank you!

Tom Green, Ph.D.

Senior Consultant

Tom.Green@aacrao.org

consulting.aacrao.org