Enrollment and retention in higher education can be challenging under normal circumstances, but combined with a global pandemic, institutions will need to look at strategies to help navigate these uncertain times. This dissertation provided the needed research on the processes of decision-making related to enrollment, retention, institutional…

Institutional debt, also referred to as direct-to-school debt, is debt owed by students to their college or university for unpaid tuition, fees, room and board, education benefit overpayments, or fines. Unpaid tuition is the most common debt and can arise if a student enrolled with the expectation of aid that did not come through, or if a student…

Colleges and universities are increasingly seeking innovations to enhance their strategic enrollment management (SEM) outcomes and processes (Bontrager 2008, Bontrager, Ingersoll and Ingersoll 2012). Linking SEM with systemic institutional strategic planning and assessment processes can enhance those outcomes and processes through integrated…

Tuition discounting has been a long-standing practice among colleges and universities. Its roots can be traced to the beginnings of the 1970s, and its use has continued to increase and expand in the decades following. However, despite its widespread use, the research is inconclusive whether tuition discounting has been an effective strategy to…

The looming demographic crisis has been talked about for nearly a decade, has had higher education enrollment managers to strategically think ahead and urge their institutions' stakeholders that the model must change, that they must adapt, and that not all colleges and universities could be winners in the hypercompetitive environment they were…

Generation Z will be the traditional-aged college student for the next 12 years (Chatzoglou et al., 2020). It is imperative that colleges and universities understand who these students are, what they are expecting from college, and what influences their expectations of the collegiate experience. Understanding Generation Z and their wants and needs…

This article is the third of a three-part series based on the book, "Basic Guide to Financial Aid," which recently won NASFAA's Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award. The contents within are adapted from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher…

In an era in which public postsecondary institutions increasingly face budget constraints, the state residency of students has become an important factor in complex decisions on tuition-setting policies and enrollment management. This report examines the current trends and impact of out-of-state tuition premiums -- defined as the additional amount…

Nursing programs across North America are typically significantly oversubscribed, resulting in inflated admitting averages thus making it an unattainable profession for many qualified students. This article proposes a lottery-based admissions process, whereby students who meet established selected criteria for entry would be selected at random…

Kimberley Buster-Williams, Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, reflects upon her career progression and the early years, how she has approached leadership using her grandmother's quips, and what she's experienced, adjusted to, and learned along the way. Additionally, she shares how she would…

Under President Biden in fiscal year 2023, the United States absorbed more than 3 million illegal aliens--the highest number in its history. Since public schools must enroll minors regardless of immigration status, unchecked illegal migration over the past three years has possibly cost the public education system billions of dollars. Large…

Responsibility Center Management (RCM) budget models are designed to create financial incentives that encourage expense reduction and revenue generation. This article--a primer on RCM--equips enrollment management leaders and other higher education professionals with the knowledge required to support the attainment of enrollment headcount and net…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers' (AACRAO's) Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program, or SEM-EP, is a well-defined, self-paced professional development program and career advancement track for in-service enrollment service professionals. Designed to promote industry competency and readiness, the…

This article considers the value of honors education beyond its marked contributions to enrollment management goals. Suggesting that quantitative assessments toward understanding the value of honors fail to capture its breadth, interdisciplinary focus, and engagement, authors posit a new way of measuring impacts from "contagion model"…

This study investigates how universities can increase enrollment by advertising anxiety resources to prospective students during the college search process. Anxiety is classified as a mental health crisis on today's college campuses and is the leading concern for college students. There are eight major factors associated with anxiety among college…