Historically, community college enrollment is impacted by the economy--the better the economy, the less students seek a community college education. The enrollment at Marion Technical College (MTC) in Florida generally has followed this trend. Prior to COVID-19, the economy in the United States was seeing unprecedented growth and, thus, MTC's…

In this monumental time of social change, community college news and reports need to be at the forefront of all professionals working in higher education- not just those who work in these unique institutions. Why? There are several reasons, each of which become more apparent while flipping through the pages of Inside Higher Ed's special report…

There has been a substantial increase in the number of graduate students enrolling at higher education institutions in the United States (McFarland et al. 2017). For practitioners and researchers serving in roles that support graduate student success, it is important to have an understanding of current enrollment data and trends as well as the…

Brian C. Rosenberg, President-in-Residence at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, served as Macalester College's sixteenth president from 2003-2020. During his tenure, enrollment of U.S. students of color at the college increased significantly. Moreover, under his leadership, the college prospered during a challenging economic…

Lotus D. Coffman became the fifth president of the University of Minnesota in 1920 and served in that role until 1938. Two new colleges were established under his tenure: General College offering two-year degrees and University College, intended for students whose academic needs were not being met by other existing colleges. This article provides…

The authors examined factors that affected the size of the freshman class at small liberal arts colleges after a decline of ten percent or more. Although top ranked national schools needed to do little, lesser ranked ones enjoyed a greater degree of recovery by offering larger amounts of financial aid and regional schools by awarding aid to more…

The chief academic officer to whom the author once reported gave him the freedom to be creative in implementing their institution's then-new, three-year strategic enrollment management (SEM) plan. For the fall 2010 semester, they had already exceeded projected net-tuition dollar amounts for the entire academic year. Just five months prior to…

Non-selective Division III institutions often face challenges in meeting their enrollment goals. To ensure their continued viability, these schools recruit large numbers of student athletes. As a result, when compared to FBS (Football Bowl Division) institutions these schools have a much higher percentage of student athletes on campus and a…

"While community college enrollment has generally declined by about 2 or 3 percent annually in recent years--due to some extent to the improving economy--some colleges have bucked the trend" (Ashford 2015). What made the difference? Like many community colleges, College of DuPage has been concerned with access and affordability. The…

Building on the principles of Enrollment Management (EM) and Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), Anticipatory Enrollment Management (AEM) offers another level of managing enrollment: anticipating future enrollment. AEM is grounded in the basic principles of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and includes strategic out-reach to parents and…

For those at the high school and college levels who have been tracking the demographic changes occurring throughout the United States during the past few decades, it came as no surprise when recent U.S. Census statistics revealed that the 2010 kindergarten class is 25% Hispanic, up from 19% in 2000, and 5% Asian, up from 4% in 2000. The class is…

In a relatively short time, technology applications have become an essential feature of the admissions business. They make the jobs of international admissions professionals easier in many ways, allowing for more robust communication with applicants and counselors, a streamlined application process, and quicker access to information about…

Among the earliest principles and premises of enrollment management as it evolved in concept and practice was that student retention is as critical as new student recruitment in achieving an institution's preferred enrollment profile. Over recent decades, student retention has been one of the most studied aspects of college enrollment dynamics,…

In this article, the author begins to examine the connections between institutional enrollment management efforts and the various external for-profit, and not-for-profit, businesses that have become part of the enrollment management industry. This essay is an effort to map the relationships between institutions, the enrollment industry, and more…

Enrollment management is an institutional function that has enjoyed burgeoning attention since the 1970s. The primary function of enrollment management is to control the size and composition of students within an institution. As the number of higher education institutions increased and as the number of high school graduates stagnated--particularly…