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Explore strategies for adapting to shifting demographics, governance issues, and shifting priorities in graduate education at University of Memphis.
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Challenges to Growing & Managing Graduate Enrolments Jasbir S. Dhaliwal, PhD Papasan Professor of Information Systems Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs & Dean of Graduate School Director - Systems Testing Excellence Program University of Memphis
Observations of New Dean • We have grown graduate enrolments to be close to one-fifth of our student population but our infrastructure and budget allocations have not caught up with this new reality. • Impact of Tennessee Promise: Focus shifts to attracting strong undergraduate students – who tend to favor schools with strong graduate programs. • There is a spillover effect of marketing graduate programs to the undergraduate level. • Getting our community to appreciate and value graduate education. What if we inject 1000 PhD students into your community?
Challenges as Opportunities • Coping with the diffusion of graduate programs across campus - managing through others. Governance can stifle innovation & quality. • Formal versus informal mechanisms of governance of graduate programs. • Competencies of local “graduate program leaders” is key e.g. do they understand strategic enrolment management? Mandatory certification. • Decentralization versus centralization of graduate school functions e.g. graduate student budgets. • Changing the “Memphis State” mentality to focus on the “metropolitan research university” conceptualization.
Current Considerations • Keeping graduate enrolments stable by replacing declining education enrolments with growth in business, social work, nursing and others. • Week by week monitoring/ management of applications and readmits is critical given diversity of programs. • Personalization and accountability in our graduate admissions unit – “we are not a back-end processing unit but a proactive strategic enrolment support system”. • Strategic messaging at every level to emphasize graduate programs. • Health insurance for graduate students and professional development beyond academics for them.
The Graduate School • University of Memphis • jdhaliwl@memphis.edu • memphis.edu/gradschool/