|
 SEM America |
| Strategic Enrollment Management WORKS |
 |
| SEM WORKS AMERICA E-NEWSLETTER, Volume 7, 2009 |
INTRODUCTION
The presidential race, Obama's inauguration, stock market fluctuations, and a flailing economy have all come together to create the perfect storm of events where higher education is concerned. Institutions across the USA are witnessing record changes in budgets and enrollment. And while enrollment may be decreasing for some and increasing for others, all institutions are sharing the stress associated with declining financial resources.
It's no wonder that the word "stimulus" keeps popping up on television, on the radio, in newspapers, and all over the internet. It's no surprise that everyone — from the National Public Radio to the Center on American Progress to E-Campus News all want to weigh in on the subject of the stimulus package and how it might impact higher education. To listen/read these views, go to "special topics" below.
But even the most generous stimulus package cannot address every enrollment problem faced by institutions of higher learning. And while fiscal cutbacks must be managed there are also many enrollment gains to be made by implementing effective and sometimes low-cost recruitment, admission, and retention strategies across the campus. To read more, see below.
|
 |
|
These relevant and revealing reports are chock-full of information and proven strategies YOU can use to effectively engage in strategic enrollment management.
Want to keep up-to-date with
SEM WORKS?
 Subscribe to RSS
|
|
|
RECRUITMENT / MARKETING
|
- Word-of-Mouth Run Amok: According to Dr. Patrick Dixon, as technology becomes more accessible to the masses, an organization's brand may end up being shaped more by public opinion than by their own internal efforts. Dixon makes the case that in today's world, online communities have a greater ability to influence the marketplace and potential customers versus the corporate influence. And this influence may just be word-of-mouth, but it is fueled by the exponential broadcast power of the internet. Read and hear more
- Watching Every Recruitment Dollar: In the current state of the economy, every department on a college campus is urged to count pennies and spend wisely. And this was the argument posed by lawmakers in a debate about budget allocations for recruitment with the University of Georgia. In this article, Tim Copeland discusses the notion that those in charge of recruitment budgets need to spend more responsibly by reducing unnecessary printing and mailing of glossy brochures and increasing the use of technology in communications throughout all stages of the admissions process. Read more
- Interactive Marketing: Marketing via technology is becoming a more widely accepted practice for undergraduate recruitment at institutions of higher learning around North America...and for good reason. Given the growing number of prospects who lurk anonymously on college websites before making contact, it just makes sense for institutions to develop savvy techniques to encourage these "ghost" students to self-identify. And email seems to be the channel of choice with enrollment managers. This study looks at the preferences and practices of enrollment professionals as they relate to interactive marketing strategies. Read more (PDF)
|
|
ADMISSIONS / ENROLLMENT
|
- College-Qualified (According to High School GPA) but Not Enrolling — Why?: According to a study conducted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), of 1,800 college-qualified high school respondents, only 800 actually enrolled in higher education. What happened to the other 1,000? If these students were academically eligible to enroll, then what stopped them? In November 2008, IHEP published a report based on a study and the results of two national surveys — one given to high school students and one to high school counselors. While the results of the surveys may not shock seasoned enrollment managers, the insights offered by the report definitely bear repeating. Review now (PDF)
- Diversity in Enrollment — Important and Complicated: Many might argue that academic ability is the most important predictor of success when considering a student for admission. But is it? Beyond a student's academic ability, is the admissions playing field really level for all applicants from all walks of life? And if it is not, then what is the societal impact of a homogeneous student body on those who are left behind and left out of college? In addition, what about those who are accepted by a college, and find themselves sitting in a classroom that does not ethnically mirror community norms? While these questions are of grave importance, they are overshadowed by yet another more pressing question — "How can we change racial diversity in higher education without using racial qualifiers to achieve these goals?" This article speaks to how complicated it can be to unravel this problem and its solutions. However, in a paper sponsored by the Institute for Effective Governance, George Noue, a professor at the University of Maryland, offers some political perspectives and advice for college boards to consider in this important debate. Read more (PDF)
- Jobs Down, Enrollment Up, Budget Down: Many community colleges across the country are experiencing record enrollments. While for most this probably comes partly as a result of the flailing economy - for some, those economic aftershocks are hitting closer to home in the form of local mill layoffs. No one wants enrollment to go up because of mass job layoffs, but the truth is that serving this unemployed population is one of the roles for which community colleges were initially created. But of course, a flailing economy also negatively impacts a college's budget and their ability to provide enough classes for all of these needy students. This is the plight of many community colleges right now. Read more
|
|
RETENTION
|
- All Retention Efforts Are Valuable - But Not Equal: In the context of higher education, "retention" may have only one definition, but it has many applications — retention of adults, of online students, of part-time vs. full-time students, or of graduate students. Depending on which particular characteristic you are focusing on in a group of students, the retention strategies employed should be different. This video provides expert advice from those in the field on how to understand the different retention needs of different student groups, as well as some strategies for colleges to consider using in their own institutions. Watch and listen
- Two-Year College Retention: It seems to be a well established fact that two-year college students fare much worse at persisting through to graduation than their counterparts at four-year institutions. However, to be fair, there is also a marked difference between the socio-economic and demographic profile of students at two-year versus four-year schools. In this paper released in February 2009, the Center for American Progress discusses retention issues faced by many two-year colleges, the students' unique service needs, and the effectiveness of current funding models for such students. Read more (PDF)
|
|
SPECIAL TOPICS
|
- What's Really in the Stimulus Package for Higher Education?: The final stimulus package has finally be signed and overall, the results are good for education. However, some groups will fare better than others. For example, funds have been dedicated to increasing Pell Grant amounts and tax credits to some lower income families who don't pay taxes; however, a plea to increase unsubsidized loan amounts for non-Pell Grant students was rejected at the last minute. Public universities will see an influx of funds for research grants and facilities over the next few years; however, private, non-profit institutions will not fare so well where facility funding is concerned. Read more
- The Public Weighs in on the Stimulus Package: Right now there are no shortage of internet links of various stakeholders commenting on the new stimulus package and its impact on higher education. The views of the Center for American Progress can be found here in this video clip. If you'd like to get the perspective e-Campus News, an online magazine dedicated to issues of higher education, click here. For an audio clip by NPR on the back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans on this hot button issue, click here.
- Has the Internet Made Writing Papers Easier or More Difficult?: The availability of technology to the masses has changed the game of education. The concept of "researching from scratch" is quickly becoming an antiquated concept as volumes of current data and feedback can be accessed quickly through the internet with little more than the click of a button. Interestingly however, the thousands of hits that can result from one Google search makes a student's job of writing a paper any easier, or does it? The amount of data and material available only serves to underscore how important it will be for students to research the internet effectively; to learn how to evaluate the authority of the sources they are looking at; to discriminate between credible and non-credible sites; to contextualize the information; and to analyze and synthesize reams of data into an intelligent report or paper of their own making. While the internet may make it possible for students to do all this more quickly, it does not necessarily make the process any easier. Listen now
|
Return to Top
|
This e-newsletter was edited by Maggie Killoran for SEM WORKS, based on publicly-available information. Neither the editor nor SEM WORKS assume liability for comments or information posted by others. Please send your comments to Kara Mohre, Director of Marketing at [email protected]
407 Pebble Ridge Court - Greensboro, North Carolina 27455 - USA
|
|
