What We Know about Enrollment Management in American Higher Education

1. What We Know about Enrollment Management in American Higher Education By J. Fredericks Volkwein Center for the Study of Higher Education Penn State University

2. The Importance of Enrollment Management • E. M. has become a key strategic planning ingredient. • The financial health of public and private institutions alike are substantially enrollment-driven. • Student recruitment, admissions, enculturation, and education are expensive activities that become even more costly under conditions of high turnover. • E. M. serves as an important mechanism for promoting student-institution fit. • E. M. has become a means of accomplishing institutional effectiveness. Volkwein, Penn State: CSHE

3. THREE-STAGE ENROLLMENT Attracting, Admitting, and Enrolling Students MANAGEMENT MODEL Introduction and Integration Persistence, Graduation, Success Volkwein- Penn State, CSHE

4. Attracting, Admitting, and Enrolling Students Stage 1 • THE TRADITIONAL CORE • Student College Choice and Fit • Admissions Marketing • Applications Management • Tuition Pricing • Financial Aid Packaging • Strategic Niche Building Volkwein- Penn State, CSHE

5. Introduction and Integration Stage 2 • THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE • Orientation • Advisement • Curricular Access • Remediation • Support Services Volkwein- Penn State, CSHE

6. INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS • Student Learning and Academic Performance • Satisfaction and Institutional Commitment • Student Tracking and Retention • Campus Climate • Alumni Studies • Improvement Persistence, Graduation, Success Stage 3 Volkwein- Penn State, CSHE

7. System Dynamics Model of University Enrollment, Financial and Faculty Resources • An “Influence Diagram” Developed by Bruce P. Szelest, University at Albany • with Assistance from J. Fredericks Volkwein, Penn State University • and George P. Richardson, University at Albany. Relative Attractiveness Financial Resources Applicants Admits Enrollments Proportion of Academic Reputation apps admitted New Student Quality • The backbone of the Enrollment Management process can be depicted by a flow from Applications to Admits, to Enrollees, to Financial Resources. Financial Resources are increasingly enrollment dependent at public and private universities alike. • Student selectivity (the admissions rate or proportion of applicants admitted) drives the fundamental self-reinforcing process of university attractiveness via academic reputation and New Student Quality indicators like SAT/ACT scores and high school rank. • Dynamic Hypothesis: The admit fraction is a leverage point – adjusting the admit fraction is a short-term control on the number of admits and also has longer-term implications for the university’s overall Relative Attractiveness via its inverse relationship with Freshman Quality Indicators—the lower the proportion of admitted applicants, the higher the Indicators, and the stronger the Academic Reputation.

8. Perceived Quality & Success Instruction & Breadth & Depth of Related Activity Academic Programs Student Retention FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Academic Reputation apps admitted New Student Quality • Financial resources enable the institution to purchase a mix of Full-time and Part-time Faculty that perform Instructional & other activities (e.g., advisement, mentoring) which influence Student Retention and Student Success. These faculty instructional activities thus exert influences, not only on the number of current Enrollees, but also on future enrollments by influencing Institutional Attractiveness. Increasing the number of faculty enables the institution to increase the breadth and depth of its academic programs, as well as to increase instructional quality. • More resources enable the institution both to buy more faculty (thus lowering the student/faculty ratio) and to pay them higher salaries (thus raising faculty quality by hiring the best full-time and adjunct faculty that are available in the marketplace). Full-time Faculty provide more instructionally related activities than do Adjuncts, so the mix of Adjuncts & Full-time Faculty will therefore have implications for student retention. • Dynamic Hypothesis: Instruction and Instruction-Related Activities are a leverage point - increasing these activities can increase student retention and success, the enrollment level, curricular diversity, perceived quality, and relative attractiveness.

9. Academic Governance & Service Perceived Quality & Success Instruction & Breadth & Depth of Related Activity Academic Programs Student Retention FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Academic Reputation apps admitted New Student Quality • Faculty may also invest their time in Academic Governance,Program Review, and other University Service Activities (e.g., honors programs, teaching and learning centers, faculty senates, curriculum committees). By improving the quality of instruction and strengthening educational policy, these activities eventually influence student retention and the perceived success of graduates, which affect university Relative Attractiveness. • Thus, Faculty Academic Governance and Service activities can influence both current students (via retention) and prospective students (via attractiveness), thus increasing enrollment and financial resources.

10. Perceived Quality & Success Academic Governance &Service Instruction & Related Activity Breadth & Depth of Academic Programs Student Retention FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Research Infrastructure Academic Reputation apps admitted Indirect Cost Recovery New Student Quality Research & Scholarly Activity Perceived Faculty Quality • Spending on Research Infrastructure, which positively influences Research Activity, competes with spending for Adjuncts and Full-time Faculty. Research and Scholarly Activity also competes for the time of Full-time Faculty, and influences overall Relative Attractiveness by increasing Perceived Faculty Quality and Academic Reputation. Research Activity also promotes Indirect Cost Recovery which contributes positively to Financial Resources. • Dynamic Hypothesis: Expenditures on Research Infrastructure are a leverage point. Expenditures on Research Infrastructure positively influence Research and scholarly activity as well as indirect cost recovery. Faculty instruction and academic governance service exerts the greatest influence on current students; and faculty research and scholarship exerts the greatest influence on perceived faculty quality and academic reputation. Both sets of faculty activity increase the attractiveness of the institution to prospective students, thus strengthening enrollment and financial resources.

11. Perceived Quality & Success Academic Governance &Service Instruction & Related Activity Breadth & Depth of Academic Programs Student Retention FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Other Financial Expenditures Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Research Infrastructure Academic Reputation apps admitted Indirect Cost Recovery New Student Quality Research & Scholarly Activity Perceived Faculty Quality Outreach & Public Service Exp. Other Financial Expenditures include investments in External Outreach and Public Service (especially common in fields like agriculture, business, education, engineering, public administration, and distance education). Spending for Outreach and Public Service competes with spending for Faculty and Research Infrastructure. Public Service and Outreach Activity also competes for the time of Full-time Faculty, and also influences Academic Reputation via Perceived Faculty Quality that is associated with successful societal problem solving.

12. Perceived Quality & Success Academic Governance & Student Support Services Instruction & Breadth & Depth of Related Activity Academic Programs Student Retention Student Centered Service Capacity FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Other Financial Expenditures Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Research Infrastructure Academic Reputation apps admitted Indirect Cost Recovery New Student Quality Research & Scholarly Activity Perceived Faculty Quality Outreach & Public Service Exp. • Other Financial Expenditures for Student Centered Servicesand Programs increase Student Integration and Retention and positively influence the current Enrollments, Perceived Quality of the student experience, and Relative Attractiveness. Student Centered Service Capacity competes with other expenditure categories for Financial Resources, and indirectly influences enrollment and overall Relative Attractiveness.

13. Perceived Quality & Success Academic Governance & Student Support Services Instruction & Breadth & Depth of Related Activity Academic Programs Student Retention Student Centered Service Capacity FT Faculty & Adjuncts Relative Attractiveness Financial Other Financial Expenditures Applicants Admits Enrollments Resources Proportion of Research Infrastructure Academic Reputation apps admitted Indirect Cost Recovery New Student Quality Research & Scholarly Activity Perceived Faculty Quality Outreach & Public Service Exp. Competition-Oriented Financial Aid & Fund Raising Exp. • Other Financial Expenditures channeled toward Competition Oriented activities positively affect the university’s overall Relative Attractiveness to prospective students (e.g., financial aid, intercollegiate athletics, attractive recreational and other facilities, marketing and recruitment, and private fund raising infrastructure). Some of these activities also generate operating revenue, private gifts, and endowments for the institution. • Dynamic Hypothesis: Expenditures on Competition Oriented Activities are a leverage point. Spending on these activities positively influences the Financial Resources and Relative Attractiveness of the institution to prospective students. These expenditures compete for Financial Resources with investments in Faculty, Research Infrastructure, Student Services, and Public Service/Outreach activities.

14. Enrollment Projections Revenue Projections Orientation & Integration Research on Student Choice Assessing the student experience Enrollment Management Financial Aid Packaging Student Tracking Tuition Pricing Analysis- Studies of Campus Climate Evaluating Support Services Admissions Yield Research Research on Attrition/Persistence/Graduation Admissions MarketingStudies Feedback from alumni and employers Volkwein- Penn State, CSHE

15. Mission / Age / Size Wealth / Resource Deployment Faculty Salaries & Recruitment Admissions Selectivity & Financial Aid Faculty Research & Scholarly Productivity Student Outcomes Alumni Attainment & Guidebook Ratings Reputation & Prestige