Degree completion rates have recently dominated national debates regarding the value of higher education (Gagliardi et al., 2018). Inherent in this debate is the issue of how to utilize institutional data to evaluate student performance (Hubbard et al., 2020). This process, known as data-driven decision-making (DDDM), has been studied at four-year…

Student enrollment at community colleges within the U.S. has remained flat or decreased for over a decade (AACC, 2019). Before COVID-19, community colleges had been experiencing a steady decline in enrollment for approximately ten years (Irwin et al., 2021). The purpose was to determine whether demographic, environmental, and academic variables…

While college readiness continues to dominate the educational landscape in the United States, students still leave high school not ready for college. As a consequence, admissions officers need to consider all available indicators (e.g., high school performance, admissions test scores, college preparatory courses) in order to effectively evaluate…

This dissertation analyzes the ways that college applicants and college students navigate through higher education with a focus on ways to improve their experience. In the first chapter, I examine the ways that college applicants change their application and enrollment decisions when using the Common Application. In the second chapter, I highlight…

Increasing institutional dependency on tuition revenue paired with rising political pressures toward student success outcomes has many institutions turning to enrollment management (EM) to improve their institution's enrollment outcomes. EM is a comprehensive and inclusive process focused on achieving the optimum recruitment, retention, and…

We, as educators, expect students to connect the dots and experience our institutions through a variety of lenses; we must organize ourselves in a way that places synergy, collaboration, and data-driven decisions at the center of our operations. Over the past three years, Ramapo College has worked diligently to ensure that strategy drives the…

In response to the increasing challenge for community colleges to uphold their mission of accessibility with an open door policy, while being held accountable for student success, higher education administrators and counselors need to have a better comprehension on the relationship among community college students, institutional enrollment…

In responding to internal and external pressures for accountability in higher education, especially in the areas of improved learning outcomes and student success, IT leaders may soon become critical partners with academic and student affairs. IT can help answer this call for accountability through "academic analytics," which is emerging…