The relationship between central and academic units can cause tension within an institution as there is a desire to define ownership over activities, policies, and processes associated with enrollment management (e.g., recruitment, admissions, academic scheduling). This article proposes a new enrollment planning model that can be used to navigate…

Building a foundational approach for strategic enrollment management (SEM) is necessary to succeed in today's volatile higher education environment. It all begins with a mutual understanding of SEM and aligning the campus with the enrollment management organization. This article shares how to bring campus stakeholders together to optimize…

Demographic challenges, increased competition, and many other issues have resulted in trying times for all campus leaders, but especially for those who hold leadership roles in enrollment management. While there are numerous leadership texts that can be helpful in navigating these challenges, the author details two texts that have been incredibly…

Enrollment management (EM) has been a focus of higher education since the 1970s. There is a large base of empirical research on EM, a coordinated effort to support undergraduate students from admission to graduation that has been widely researched. However, there is limited academic research on graduate enrollment management (GEM). What is missing…

Strategy and research are essential parts of strategic enrollment management (SEM), yet little information exists regarding how to use research and predictive analytics for effective strategy. It is often easier to react to what is happening in the moment, rather than be proactive in predicting the future or developing long-term plans. This…

Graduate strategic enrollment management (SEM) professionals must become fluent in the mechanics of their institution's budget model in order to better understand how graduate enrollment headcount and tuition revenue translate into the resources that power the institution and fortify it to withstand a potentially uncertain future. This article…

Meeting today's prospective college students where they are is key to staying ahead of current enrollment challenges. Understanding which messages resonate with which students and at certain parts of the enrollment funnel helps to ensure institutions are getting the right message, to the right student, at the right time in their journey. By…

The pandemic's impact on enrollment is best documented by timely reports issued by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Their reporting as of December 2020 showed that overall enrollment in fall 2020 declined by about 2.5%, although it was down more among undergraduates, about 3.6%. While students from all racial/ethnic groups had…

Wichita State University (WSU) began the SEM process in 2015 with a steering committee co-chaired by the university registrar and the chief data officer (CDO). Work leading up to and undertaken throughout that process and the implementation of the SEM plan it produced helped to form an extraordinary partnership between these two professionals.…

In 2013, the convergence of a new Elon University registrar, a fairly new provost, and a need for structure related to summer marketing and registration presented an opportunity to innovate. The university provost conveyed an expectation that summer enrollment should grow under the new registrar, with a promise to free up the resources necessary…

The chief enrollment management officer (CEMO) is often responsible for optimizing institutional enrollment in ways that exceed the direct authority and responsibility of that office. To be successful, the CEMO needs to develop a high level of influence across the campus. Three particularly effective ways that the CEMO can exert influence to…

Using a case study approach, this paper recommends a SEM project management system for organizing and maintaining SEM implementations and maintenance. Through the practical application of SEM concepts to an active SEM implementation plan, the author applies a model of a project management methodology. First, an institutional profile along with an…

The ever-changing landscape of higher education presents enrollment management (EM) professionals with challenges related to workload, staff morale, conflicting values, staff turnover, and student satisfaction. As higher education confronts the reality of today's enrollment climate, it is time to consider how organizational cultures impact staff…

Strategy is planning about survival in a tough and competitive environment, and strategic enrollment management (SEM) is about higher education institutions exerting influence on student enrollment to generate tuition revenue. Although the global environment of the 21st century provides opportunities for improving enrollment from various parts of…

Facing significant enrollment challenges as a result of the pandemic, community colleges nationwide have had to be highly strategic in how they market themselves to prospective students. Recapturing students while reaching new prospects requires creative solutions for meeting students' most urgent needs, such as shorter-term, more flexible options…