Enrollment Management, Scott Verzyl, CBMI 2019

Enrollment Management
Scott Verzyl
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management
University of South Carolina
College Business Management Institute, 2019
Email: scott.verzyl@sc.edu
Text message: 803.315.4790
This presentation can be viewed online at:
https://www.slideshare.net/UofSC_SAAS
or http://www.sacubo.org/

To Class Participants:
This interactive session will present enrollment
management in light of the “new normal” and the new
pressures facing institutions of higher education. Our
conversation will focus on gaining an understanding of the
important, essential role the recruitment, financial aid,
retention, and graduation of students has in the financial
and brand stability of our institutions.
Participants will acquire an introduction and
orientation to the philosophical, operational, fiscal, and
practical aspects of enrollment management.The session is
filled with stories and practical examples that bring life to
the material. Bring your own stories and questions to
contribute to our learning.
2

Learning Outcomes for CBMI Participants
 An overview of the philosophical and operational
approaches to enrollment management
 Exposure to trends and issues impacting enrollment
management on college campuses
 An understanding and appreciation for the complexity of
the “assumption of risk and consequence of error” that
enrollment management plays in institutional reputation
and financial stability
3

A little bit about you…
 Who are you?
 At what type of institution are you employed?
 What do you want/need to learn from this presentation
to advance your own work?
*** Disclaimer
5

What is Enrollment Management?

Defining Enrollment Management
Enrollment Management is a process that brings together the
often disparate functions having to do with recruiting,
funding, tracking, retaining, and replacing students as they
move toward, within, and away from the university.
8
Maguire (1976)

EM is an organizational concept and systematic set of
activities designed to enable educational institutions to exert
more influence over their student enrollments. Organized by
strategic planning and supported by institutional research,
enrollment management activities concern student college
choice, transition to colleges, student attrition and retention,
and student outcomes.
9
Hossler and Bean (1990)

SEM is the systematic evolution of an institution’s
competitive market position, the development of research-
based definition of the desired or preferred strategic market
position relative to key competitors, and then marshalling
and managing institutional plans, priorities, processes, and
resources to either strengthen or shift that market position in
pursuit of the institution’s optimal enrollment, academic, and
financial profile.
10
Kalsbeek (2003)

Why is EM Important for Institutions?
“Enrollment management was a logical response for
higher education when suddenly the marketplace
changed from seller to buyer and admissions directors
transitioned from gatekeepers to salesmen. Simply
stated, it was all in the numbers.”
Initially…
Kurz & Scannell (2006)
11

Drivers for Change
 State and federal funding challenges
 Pressure for prioritization of resources
 Public’s demand for access, affordability and accountability

….the challenges
 Fiscal support is decreasing
 Costs are rising
 Family incomes are flat or falling
 Demographics are changing
 The admissions arms race is escalating
 Expectations for demonstrating our value are growing
 Student Loan debt calls into question the value of college
13
Whiteside andVerzyl (2012)

Higher Education “New Normal”
Traditional higher education model unsustainable
 Increased competition for enrollment
 Essential net tuition revenue
 Performance funding metrics
 Resource allocation priorities and efficiencies
 Program necessity
Limits on tuition price increase
 Political and market forces
Demand remains strong but with limits
 Quality and price
Comprehensive universities in small markets with limited drawing
power are under the greatest stress
14

Evolution of Enrollment Management
Age of
Recruitment
Age of Structure Age of Academic
Context
1970s – Mid 1980s Mid 1980s – Early 2000s Early 2000s - Present
Focus on increasing
enrollment,
enhanced recruiting,
and financial aid
leveraging
Organizational
structure became
important and
enrollment
management
divisions began to be
defined
The need to include
academic divisions
became evident as
institutions realized
EM is an institution-
wide responsibility
Black (2001); Henderson (2005)
15

Enrollment Management is:
 A comprehensive institutional process that extends beyond
the recruitment and admissions functions
 A complex and holistic approach to analyzing and influencing
enrollment from inquiry generation through graduation
 A campus-wide process that integrates often disparate
functions and personnel, including recruitment, financial aid,
institutional research and planning, teaching/learning, and
student services
16
Noel-Levitz

Enrollment Management Fundamental
Questions
 What are the main challenges facing institutions
of higher education in recruiting and retaining
students?
 What factors influence college choice?
 What techniques are most effective in
recruiting and retaining students?

What are the main challenges in
recruiting and retaining students?
 Cost rising as state support and endowments wane
in a tight economy
 Operating in an increasingly competitive
environment
 More sophisticated marketing…plans, systems, and
advanced tools being developed
 Changing demographics – fewer “traditional”
college students

Main Challenges, Continued
 Must manage in a fluctuating economy where the
value of a college degree is being questioned
 Fewer students with the ability to pay for the
increasing costs of higher education
 Strong scholarship, grant, and need-based aid
programs to attract students are becoming more
prevalent
 Perception of declining value of higher education
From: Noel-Levitz. “Enrollment Strategies That Work in Attracting and Retaining Students”

Keys to Enrollment Success
 Establish long-range strategic enrollment plan with clear and
realistic enrollment goals that are aligned with fiscal,
demographic, and competition realities
 Obtain long-term commitment to the enrollment plan, its
goals, and its fiscal support plan
 Utilize enrollment management best practice strategies
 High quality execution of the activities that support these
best practice strategies
 Assess progress regularly and adjust plan as necessary
From: Noel-Levitz. “Enrollment Opportunities, Challenges, and Scenarios for the University of South Carolina”

 Use scholarships and financial aid strategically to
meet enrollment objectives
 Evaluate outcomes:
 Yield Rates
 Retention Rates
 Graduation rates
 NetTuition Revenue
 Discount Rates
From: Noel-Levitz. “Doing More With Less: Building Efficiencies and Effectiveness into Your Enrollment
Management Program”

Key Strategies for
 Increase image and awareness of the college in targeted markets.
 Generate a sufficient number of inquiries of the right type and mix to
achieve enrollment goals.
 Expand the number of and quality of the college’s promotional
publications.
 Administer a financial aid program that supports the achievement of
new student enrollment goals.
From: Noel-Levitz. “Building and Developing an Effective Enrollment Management Plan for
Colleges and Universities”

Strategic Enrollment Planning and Research
23
https://www.ruffalonl.com/complete-enrollment-management?from=MegaNav&from=MegaNav

What’s Next?
Anticipatory Enrollment Management
“AEM is a mindset and work schedule that asks enrollment
managers to add to their basic enrollment and retention
management programs another layer of activity: anticipating
new and future enrollment that can introduce additional
revenue streams by creating new academic programs or by a
new and creative use of technology.”
Dennis (2012)
24

Anticipatory Enrollment Management
 Research trends inside and outside of education
 Connect trends to future enrollment opportunities
 Grounded in Customer Relationship Management
 Diversify and increase revenue stream by anticipating new
markets
25
Dennis (2012)

Enrollment Management Functions
26
 Academic support services
 Admissions
 Advertising
 Advising
 Alumni relations
 Career services
 Financial aid
 Freshman year seminar
 Institutional research
 International student
services
 Marketing
 Market research
 Orientation
 Parent programs
 Pre-enrollment programs
 Recruitment
 Registration
 Residence life
 Retention programs
 Student life
 Student success center
 Social media
 Special population recruitment
 Testing services
 University relations

Common EM Units
Enrollment Manager
oversees:
Public
4-Year
Private
4-Year 2-Year Overall
Undergraduate
Admissions
91.8 % 98.7% 86.2% 93.8%
Recruiting Publications 73.8% 84.3% 55.2% 76.0%
Enrollment-Related Marketing 67.2% 85.6% 51.7% 74.5%
Financial Aid 68.9% 78.4% 46.6% 69.1%
Enrollment-Related Info Tech 65.6% 72.5% 44.8% 65.1%
Retention Programs 36.1% 46.4% 37.9% 42.2%
Registration 55.7% 21.6% 65.5% 38.9%
Orientation 42.6% 28.8% 50.0% 36.0%
27

Enrollment Manager
oversees:
Public
4-Year
Private
4-Year 2-Year Overall
Graduate Admissions 23.0% 35.3% 5.2% 26.5%
Other 29.5% 22.9% 31.0% 26.2%
Student Affairs 14.8% 12.4% 37.9% 18.2%
Academic Advising 23.0% 8.5% 34.5% 17.1%
Career Planning/Placement 16.4% 11.8% 29.3% 16.7%
Counseling 13.1% 9.8% 34.5% 15.6%
Institutional Research 21.3% 12.4% 12.1% 14.2%
Academic Support 13.1% 5.9% 12.1% 8.7%
Source: Noel Levitz, 2004 National Enrollment Management Study
28

Basic Expanded Comprehensive
 Admissions &
Recruitment
 FinancialAid
 Orientation
 Registration and
Records
 Enrollment Research
 Retention
Pre-College Programs
FirstYear Programs
Academic Support
Programs
AcademicAdvising
Career Services
Institutional
Research
Institutional
Marketing
Community
Relations
Alumni Relations
Parent Programs
Composition of EM Organizations
Adapted from Bontrager (2004)
29

Enrollment Management Structural Continuum
Bontrager (2004)
30

Enrollment Management Influencers
 EM Staff
 Support Staff
 Faculty
 Current Students
 Parents
 Alumni
 High School Counselors
 High School Students
 Deans
 News Media
 VP for Business & Finance
 Provost
 President
 Board ofTrustees
 State Boards and
Commissions
 Elected Officials
 Federal Government
 National Associations
31

Helps us manage a complex and changing environment:
 Declining federal and state resources
 Changing student demographics
 Fewer number of high school graduates
 Rising price competition and discount rates squeeze NTR
 Impact of enrollment statistics on university rankings,
accountability, and perception
 Increased competition from traditional & new competitors
 Influence of enrollment profile on BOND RATINGS
 Retention, graduation, and employment!
32
Why is EM Important for Institutions?

Importance to Institutions
 Fulfilling the University’s Mission
 Access,Affordability,Accountability
 Delivering on the Promise
 Enrollment Stability
 Recruiting the next class of graduates
 Program of study demand, market research, sustainability
 Building the desired class
 Diversity, quality, size
 Financial stability
 Steady revenue stream for budget planning
 Net tuition Revenue
 Discount Rates
 BOND RATINGS
 Managing Institutional Brand
 College rankings: US News, Kiplinger’s, etc.

In the September 1989 issue of Change, Richard
Chaite, Executive Director of the National Center
for Postsecondary Governance and Finance at the
University of Maryland, describes the following
memorandum:
To: The Dean of Enrollment Management
From: President (or Faculty Senate)
Welcome aboard. Please recruit more and better students
from a smaller and weaker pool of prospects without
increased costs, more financial aid, or drastic program
changes. Would like to see the results reflected in next
year’s class. Best wishes.
34

Given the new reality, have the
expectations of presidents and boards
changed?

Fast forward to today. A similar memo could read:
To: Dean of Enrollment Management
From: President (or Faculty Senate)
Welcome aboard. You may attend one conference this
year and it will be the annual meeting of the World Future
Society. You may only read one report and it will be data
from the recent U.S. Census, and before you send any
recruiter abroad, I would like to review a copy of the
Stratford report. I would like you to identify three new
national and international markets and recommend two
new academic programs based on recent market analysis.
Would like to see the results reflected in the next
academic year. Best wishes.
Dennis (2012)
36

The bottom line …
there is no room for error

The business model for higher education is crumbling – is the
academic/teaching/learning model crumbling as well?
39

“A‘crumbling paradigm’ is a condition in
which an institution or industry has outlasted its operating
assumptions.The condition is detected when the business or
the mission results of an industry or a company within an
industry are flat or declining while more and more resources
are consumed.When this happens, the institution or industry
goes into an irreversible decline until a new operating model
takes its place.”
Lopez (2013)
41

“Every few hundred years throughoutWestern history, a sharp
transformation has occurred. In a matter of decades, society
altogether rearranges itself – its worldview, its basic values, its
social and political structures, its art, its key institutions. Fifty
years later a new world exists.And the people born into that
world cannot even imagine the world in which their
grandparents lived and into which their own parents were
born. Our age is such a period of transformation.”
– Peter Drucker
42

New Performance Metrics
Input to Output
43

New Performance Criteria
 Freshman to sophomore
retention rates
 Sophomore to senior
persistence rates
 Graduation rates
 URM’s, Low SES, 1st Gen students
served
 # of Pell Grant recipients
 Length of time to degree
 Degrees Produced
 Workplace readiness
 Life Management skills
 Cultural Competencies
 Civic Service Competencies
 Gainful employment
 Earnings
 Manageable debt/ debt at
graduation
 Institutional loan default rates
 Value added/ROI
 Life-long learner

Gateway
Program &
Transfers
Overall
Enrollment
Net Tuition
Revenue
First
Generation & Low
SES
Student
Debt and
Default Rates
Departmental
Enrollment
Capacity
In-State/OOS
Residency
Balance
Scholarship
Budget
Tuition
Pricing &
Affordability
Class Quality/
SAT Profile
Discount Rate/
Abatements
Retention and
Graduation
Rates
Yield and Melt
Projections
Class Size
Underrepresented
Minorities and
Diversity
Competing Enrollment Objectives
Scholarship
Budget
Tuition
Pricing &
Affordability
Yield and Melt
Projections

46
Enrollment Profile
Environment
• Program capacity
• Student retention
• Market/recruitment
effectiveness
• Auxiliary income
• Pricing
• Financial aid
• Cost of student
populations
Net Operating
Revenue
Operational
Expenses
Noel-Levitz.“Data and FiscalAnalyses to Support Strategic Planning”

Are you ready for the next generation
of students?
Sasha Obama
Billie Eilish
Lil’ Pump Willow Smith
Jazz Jennings
Thylane Blondeau
Frankie Jonas
Caleb McLaughlin
Jaden Agassi
Gaten Matarazzo
Millie Bobby Brown
Finn Wolfhard

The Mindset of Our Students
48
FromThis…. To this!

Who are the next generation of students?
 The high school class of 2020 is projected to have
approximately 3.5 million graduates.This number is
expected to increase slightly over the next 3-5 years, then
drop “the cliff”.
 There is wide variation in the projected
increase/decrease in high school graduates by state.
 There is also variability among racial/ethnic groups.
49
U.S. Department of Education NCES (2019)

Characteristics of this Generation
of College Going Students
50

Disclaimer
Generational research is often first developed by
MARKETERS as a way to understand how best to reach a
population and is often presented in broad sweeping
GENERALITIES.
It is important to know that students will exist along a
SPECTRUM of experiences within these characteristics.The
term “in general” is omitted but implied with this disclaimer in
mind.
Ellis (2017)
52

53
 1996 – 2011
 60 million strong
 Digital Natives
 SmallWindows of Interest (8
seconds)
 Aware of their Social Media
Presence
 Pragmatic
 Accepting of Identity
 Most Diverse
 DebtAverse
 Want to Make an Impact
 Ambitious/Career Focus
 Wary of “Establishment”
 ExpectAuthority Figures to be
Coaches and Collaborators
 ValueApplied Education
Characteristics
Ellis (2017)

 1 in 10 incoming freshmen plan to participate in student
protest (HERI)
 15%+ of minority students report feeling “unsafe” on
campuses (NSSE)
 Increased usage of Counseling and Psychology
 Increased reporting of suicidal ideation
 Increased reports of disruptive behavior in the classroom
Additional Characteristics
Ellis (2017)
54

 Increased exposure to medication (both prescribed and illicit)
 Increased abuse of alcohol (Columbia campus transports are
significantly up)
 Increased use of marijuana as drug of choice
 Increased number ofTitle IX related claims
 Parents continue to play a big role in students’ lives beyond
high school
Additional Characteristics
Ellis (2017)
55

Implications
 Social Media and Internet are viewed as reliable sources of fact
 Expect to receive information rapidly…if delayed students are
less likely to trust the reliability of information and/or are
more likely to accept rumors as truth
 Trend toward use of snapchat/Instagram/twitter, and
sometimes information is partially protected and/or deleted
rapidly…hard to know what information is being released
Ellis (2017)
56

Implications
 Students are less interested in working within a system or
process to create solutions and often blame the system
(establishment) for problems that exist
 Expect demands to be met immediately and lack patience to
work through change
 Often do not bring solutions to problems to the table
and/or the demands they bring are unreasonable
Ellis (2017)
57

Implications
 Due to limited attention span, it is hard to engage students
in a meaningful dialogue/conversation or get them to
commit to a long-term plan
 Approach the world with an expectation that they will make
a difference (and they will get credit for it)
 Parents often “come to the rescue” if a student is met with a
challenge or obstacle
Ellis (2017)
58

 Approach college as a consumer with consumer like demands
and may be less likely to pursue a college if perceived as a “bad
value,” not affordable, or not meeting their expectations
 Highly competitive and the individual good is seen as more
important than the societal good
Implications
Ellis (2017)
59

 Expect to see, speak to and interact directly with University
Presidents
 Quick to dismiss authority figures if that person is perceived
as part of the system or part of the problem
 Quick to use stigmas to label others who are perceived to
not agree with their viewpoint (i.e. sexist, racist, agist, etc)
Implications
Ellis (2017)
60

How do we help front line staff address the following issues…
 Support for the emotional and physical drain
 Support when they may side more with students
 Address the expenditure of time and energy
 Develop patience during difficult incidents
 Develop trust in process and administration
 Draw the line between activist and state employee
 Overcome their own use of stigmas and labels
Impact on Campus Staff
Ellis (2017)
61

http://www.wiche.edu/info/publications/knocking-8th/ch2.pdf62

Next year, more than 55% of all high school
graduates will reside in just 10 states
The Big Ten All the Others
1,606,830
1,274,600
40 Other States
44.2%
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Virginia
New Jersey
Ohio
Michigan
Pennsylvania
Illinois
Florida
New York
Texas
California
78,490
100,620
108,890
114,240
115,100
126,380
146,530
148,860
270,560
397,160
55.8%
53.0%
49.5%
45.8%
41.8%
37.8%
33.4%
28.3%
23.2%
13.8%
63

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, pg. 12 (2016)
64
Figure 2.2 U.S. High School Graduating Classes,
Percent Change from 2013 (Public Total)

U.S. – H.S. Graduates 2001-2034
Overall HS Graduate Trends
Public School Graduate
Trends - Race
-5%
(2018 to
2032)
Class of
2018 Class of
2018
65

67 Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, pg. 28 (2016)

68
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (2013)

69
U.S. Census Bureau (September 2012)

70
U.S. Census Bureau (September 2012)

Projected Change in US Public High School
Graduates By Race
2015 - 2024
Academic Year
Native
American Asian Black Hispanic White
2015-2016 31,684 186,448 414,653 602,242 1,699,256
2024-2025 38,152 261,979 443,882 807,087 1,639,604
Change +6,468 +75,531 +29,229 +204,845 -59,652
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (2013)

http://postsecondary.gatesfoundation.org/student-stories/america-as-100-college-students/
72

National Demographics
 Women will continue to outpace men in enrollment,
numbers, and persistence
 Women are making gains in educational aspirations
 More women are pursuing traditionally “male” fields
CIRP DATA (2014)
73

74
U.S. Department of Education (2016)

Why Students Attend College
75
%
To gain a general education and appreciation of ideas 83.9
To be able to get a better job 76.4
To get training for a specific career 75
To make me a more cultured person 63.5
To be able to make more money 58.8
To prepare myself for graduate or professional school 56.3
To learn more about things that interest me 54.6
To please my family 24.9
% of students that considered the reason “very important” in deciding to go to college
TheAmerican Freshmen National Norms (CIRP) 2014

NCES (2015)
What are students studying?
76

77
Undergraduate Degree Fields
From 2003-04 to 2013-14, the number of associate’s degrees conferred increased by 51
percent, from 665,300 to over 1 million, and the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred
increased by 34 percent, from 1.4 million to 1.9 million.
Chapter: 4/Postsecondary Education
Section: Programs, Courses, and Completions

78
Chapter: 4/Postsecondary Education
Section: Programs, Courses, and Completions

79

80

What jobs will be available in 2030?
 Body part maker: Create living body parts for athletes and soldiers.
 Elderly wellness consultant: As an aging population increases in size, we’ll need folks to tend
to their physical and mental needs.
 Vertical farmers:The future of farming is straight up.Vertical farms in urban areas could
significantly increase food supply.
 Virtual lawyer:As international law grows to supersede national law, lawyers will be needed to
handle cases that involve people living in several nations with different laws.
 Classroom avatar manager: Intelligent avatars will replace classroom teachers, but the human
touch will be needed to properly match teacher to student.
 Narrowcasters: As in, the opposite of “broadcaster.” Media will grow increasingly personalized,
and we’ll need people to handle all those streams
 Excess capacity broker – Organizations will look for ways to monetize idle assets, such as
renting out space or machinery they own.An excess capacity broker might identify underutilized
assets that could be rented or shared, then find other organizations willing to pay for them.
 Drone manager - Over the next 10 to 20 years, drones will lose their novelty and become
ubiquitous. Experts will need to set and enforce standards for acquiring and maintaining an
organization’s fleet of drones.
 Private industry air traffic control -As part of these drone fleets, companies will need to
manage their own air traffic control systems, which may cross interstate or international
boundaries and require negotiation and cooperation with governments, municipalities and other
organizations..
82

More Jobs of the future…
 Self-driving car mechanic -The mechanic of the future will be a combination of old-
school mechanical ability plus the comfort level to work in a tech culture.
 Autonomous transportation specialist- If our future is one that includes self-
driving cars, drones, hoverboards, and scooters, cities and towns are going to need
humans to monitor all this neo-transit.
 Medical mentor - Someone who may check in after appointments to ensure that
patients follow-through on recommendations from doctors about exercise, nutrition or
medications, and help navigate barriers keeping them from improved wellness.
 Personal medical interpreter - coaches or advocates who can inform patients about
individualized medical treatments.
 Human-technology integration specialist –Will teach others how to leverage the
vast array of technologies to improve the quality of their lives.
 Wholeness mentor -With a greater emphasis on mindfulness and “time poverty” in an
increasingly chaotic world, the wholeness mentor would help others develop lifelong
strategies to match their personal purposes with a hobby that provides them with
fulfillment of physical needs, a social network and spiritual happiness.
 End-of-life coach -An end-of-life coach can help individuals and families make better
decisions on how to spend the last weeks and months of life—adding “life to their days”
rather than “days to their life.”

Mistrust and the social contract on
college campuses
from don’t trust anyone over 30
to don’t trust anyone
- and –
from “figuring out the system” to
“creating a system that works for me”
A Culture of Mistrust
84

A Collaborative Agenda for
Student Affairs and Academic Affairs
Is your institution focusing on:
 Personalized learning systems? (Big Data?)
 Integrated ITC-BTC Learning?
 Managing Bad Behavior?
 Complying with state and federal laws?
 Using educational and business “best practices?”
 Employability and workplace readiness?
 Assessing ITC-BTC learning to drive relentless focus on
student success?
86

Beyond The Classroom Matters*
*Records of educationally purposeful activities and individual
student involvement
Purpose:
 Improvement
 Accountability
 Consumer information
www.novamind.com/planning/strategic-planning.php
87

What’s Ahead?
 Tuition discounting
 Differential pricing
 Merit vs. need-based aid
 Federal and institutional aid for low
SES
 Federal and institutional aid for
under-represented majors
 Pricing studies
 Tuition resets
 Special fees
 Student debt
 Federal and state legislation to
control college costs
 State lottery scholarship programs
 Income Shares
 Loan forgiveness
 Outcomes measures
 Pathway Programs/joint ventures
– special pricing
89

Challenges and Issues Facing Institutions of
Higher Education
Admissions and Recruiting
 College choice
 Changing demographics
 Stealth applicants
 Admissions Arms race
 Quality/Diversity/Headcount tensions
 Brand management
 Personalization and customization
 Consumer behavior
 “Shopping” for best investment
 Multi-Channel Enrollment Strategies
90

Higher Education
 StandardizedTesting (SAT/ACT) falling out of favor
 Changing to high school grading scales/grade inflation
 High school dual enrollment
 Early College High School programs
 Freshmen emotionally unprepared to enroll/college
readiness
 Increased reliance onTechnology
CRM, application providers, data management
 SCOTUS Guidance on AffirmativeAction
91

Higher Education
Financial
 Decreased Federal and state funding
 Increasing cost of attendance
 Increased reliance on tuition revenue – and FEES!
 Fewer students with the ability to pay
 Merit vs. Need based institutional aid
 Student debt / Return on investment
 Ability of institution to provide accurate cost of attendance
 Institution stake in student borrowing
 Student loan income based repayment plans
 Income Share Agreements92

Higher Education
 Discounting
 Aid Leveraging and Optimization
 Retention – Persistence – Graduation Rates
 Financial literacy and debt
 Free college
 Free community college / Free higher education
 Loan collection, loan forgiveness
 Institutional Fiscal Health and CreditWorthiness
 Default rates
 Dependent/independent schools93

The Downward Spiral of Pricing Integrity
Wide-spread use and publicity for 2 or 3 category tuition discounting offers has
made scholarship shopping possible and easy, necessitating ever-increasing offers
to compete for freshmen.
99
Kennedy (2016)

Science
Craft
100

Evolution of Enrollment Management
 Admissions stage (“order taking”)
 Recruiting stage (proactively seeking students)
 Marketing stage (increase promotion)
 Enrollment management (an integrated and comprehensive
process)
 Strategic enrollment planning
“A student body by design rather than chance”
101
Noel-Levitz.“Keys to Enrollment Success”

Phases Of Enrollment Management
 Develop a positive institutional image among key publics.
 Create institutional awareness and interest among prospective
students.
 Influence the decision to apply and enroll through communication
and relationship management.
 Sustain the commitment to enroll.
 Retain enrolled students by providing high quality educational
programs and services.
102

What factors influence college choice?
 Availability of major
 Academic reputation
 Cost of attendance
 Financial assistance (merit vs need-based aid)
 Rankings and selectivity
 Job placement of graduates
 Admission to top graduate and professional schools
 Campus visit and sense of “fit”
 Good reputation for social activities
 Academic Amenities (study abroad, service learning, living-
learning communities)
103
CIRP (2011)

Types of Aid
 Abatements/special tuition rates
 Academic Common Market/reciprocity
 Discounts/Waivers
 Scholarships (merit aid/gift aid with conditions)
 Grants (gift aid)
 Need-Based Aid (gift and self-help)
 Loans
 Work/Study
 Departmental Scholarships
 OutsideAid
104

What Factors Influence College Choice?
105
 Cost of available programs of
study
 School size, faculty-student ratio
 Distance from home/Location
 State and institutional financial
assistance
 Campus safety
 Campus visit and sense of “fit”
 Number, quality, and timeliness
of cultivation contacts
(relationship management)
 Quality of InstitutionalWebsite
 Perceived faculty-student
relations
 IntercollegiateAthletics
programs
 Ease ofApplication
 Endorsement of high school
counselors,AP teachers, parents,
peers
 Early Decision/EarlyAction
 School traditions/school spirit
 Small class size
 Type of institution
 Quality of student life (residence
hall, recreation center, student
union, student health center,
student legal services/
ombudsperson)
 Parental/Family Influence
 Actions of other institutions
 Unexpected Environmental
Factors

The NewYorker, May 23, 2005
107

Yield Prediction and The
“Cone of Uncertainty”

Enrollment Funnel
Prospects
Inquiries
Applicants
Completed Applicants
Admits
Deposits
Enrolled
Continuing
Students
Graduates109
Adapted from Noel-Levitz (2009)

Top Tips for Enrollment Managers
 Focus on fully canvassing the enrolled student population- but
remember the real target is non-enrolling students who resemble
current enrollees.
 Remember that prospective students will enter the funnel at a
time and manner of their choosing, and design communication
strategies accordingly.
 Deliver aWeb site experience that encourages students to begin a
conversation with your campus, personalizing that experience as
much as possible.
 Be prepared to replace general messaging with increasingly
targeted communications based on students’ expressed interests
using a combination of direct mail and electronic contacts.
110
Noel-Levitz (2009)

Example 4-Year Enrollment Funnel
111

 Build a comprehensive database and an inquiry
pool that is developed by design rather than by
choice
 Track the results of each marketing and
recruitment strategy and activity
 Develop a well-conceived and executed
communications flow
From: Noel-Levitz. “Doing More With Less: Building Efficiencies and Effectiveness into Your Enrollment
Management Program”

Admissions “Arms Race”
Students applying to more colleges than ever
 75% apply to 3 or more
 25 % apply to 7 or more
 65.5% average acceptance rate
 41% average yield rate
Average cost to recruit continues to rise
 $585 per applicant
 $806 per admit
 $2,408 per enrolled student
113
NACAC (2011)

Students are submitting more applications than ever
11 11 12 13 14 14
16 16 17 18 19
22 23
25
29
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Percentage of students submitting 7 or more
applications for admission

491
485
472
466
453
448
452
438
429
409
380
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Since 2001, deposits per 1,000 admits have
declined significantly
Source: State of College Admission, NACAC
Yield is declining nationally
23%
Decline

Source: IPEDS
37.1%
25.7%
44.6%
34.5%
23.0%
28.0%
33.0%
38.0%
43.0%
48.0%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Private College Yield Public College Yield
Yield is declining nationally
116

1,000
1,012
1,040
1,054
1,084
1,096 1,086
1,121
1,145
1,200
1,292
950
1,050
1,150
1,250
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: State of College Admission, NACAC
Normalized Admits per Enrollment
You need to admit 30% more
students today to enroll as many
students as in 2001
30%
Increase
That forces up the size of the admit pool

 Colleges and universities are more image and public
relations conscious as well as more “customer oriented.”
 Extensive marketing plans and budgets are in place.
 Steady increases in promotion budgets to attract students.
 Direct mail more sophisticated—buy names from various
sources.
 Well-conceived and developed web sites more
commonplace.
 High priced/well polished videos/social media being used
to “woo” students.
119
Noel-Levitz

Colleges are finding strategies to ensure they meet target
enrollment goals in terms of size, profile, and diversity
 Use of waitlist – 48% of colleges
 Early decision and early answer
 Competitive scholarship offers to “woo” students
 Marketing and recruiting segmentation
 Predictive modeling
120
NACAC (2011)

Effective Enrollment Strategy
 KnowYourself
• Institution’s mission, vision, strategic directions and clientele
 Know your Enemy
• Top competitors and aspirants
 Know the Ground
• Campus culture, limitations, barriers and opportunities, priorities,
traditions, structures and politics
 Know theWeather
• External environmental factors that may impact your institution’s
enrollment outcomes
121
Black (2008)

Effective Recruitment Techniques
122
 Integrated marketing plan
 Purchase prospective student
lists
 Direct mail
 Internet /Web presence
 Telecounseling
 Publications
 Predictive modeling
 Regional recruiters
 Involve alumni and students
 Leveraging/Optimization
 Institutional scholarships,
grants, work, discounts
 CPRS (cost per recruited
student)
 Campus visits
 College fairs (college night
programs)
 Campus events
 Social networks/media
 CRM

Eight Truths of Effective Recruitment
1) There is no substitute for a good image or reputation.
2) An institution will succeed or fail in its primary market.
3) The campus visit is now of the best conversion and yield
strategies.
4) Recruitment is a campus-wide responsibility.
5) Communication is the key to successful conversion and yield
rates.
6) All inquiries are not equally important, so grade and qualify
early and often.
7) Effective financial aid packaging leads to optimum yield.
8) Personalize, personalize, personalize.
123 Noel-Levitz

Market Segmentation through
Predictive Modeling
124
The students who fall
within this area are the
ones you need to focus
marketing and
recruiting efforts.
These students
will not
enroll
regardless of
what you do
These students
will enroll
regardless of
what you do
Adapted from Noel-Levitz (2012)

Contemporary Approach to Marketing
125
•
•
Topor & Associates

Branding Equity Generates Values
126
BRAND
EQUITY
Reduced Marketing Costs
Trade Leverage
Attracting New Customers
• Create Awareness
• Reassurance
Time to Respond to Competitive Threats
Anchor to Which Other Associations Can
Be Attached
Familiarity – Liking
Signal of Substance/Commitment
Brand to Be Considered
Reason-to-Buy
Differentiate/Position
Price
Channel Member Interest
Extensions
Help Process/Retrieve Information
Reason-to-Buy
Create Positive Attitude/Feelings
Extensions
Competitive
Advantage
Brand
Awareness
Perceived
Quality
Brand
Associations
Other
Proprietary
Brand Assets
• Interpretation/
Processing of
Information
• Confidence in the
Purchase Decision
• Use Satisfaction
Provides Value to
Customer by Enhancing
Customer’s:
Provides Value to Firm
by Enhancing:
• Efficiency and
Effectiveness of
Marketing Programs
• Brand Loyalty
• Prices/Margins
• Brand Extensions
• Trade Leverage
• Competitive Advantage
Aaker (1991)
Brand
Loyalty

Controversy in Admissions
 Image of college admissions process
 Special admits
 Recruiting graduates rather than freshman
 College readiness
 College rankings obsession
 Diversity/Affirmative action
 Out-of-state enrollment
 Transferability
 International students
 Need Blind
 Dreamers and incarcerated
128

Faith in Higher
Education on Shaky
Ground after
Varsity Blues
Scandal
Mistrust of the Admissions Process
Rigged in favor of wealthy and
connected students
Test Scores can be gamed if you know
how
Everyone trying to “beat the system”
Proliferates the myth that “where you go
to college” is more important than what
you do while you are there.
129

Characteristics of Undergraduate Institutions
18 million undergraduates
132
6.38
7.34
2.58
1.7
4-year public 2-year public Private (non-profit) Private (for-profit)

133
Percentage Change in Inflation-Adjusted Mean Family Income by
Quintile, 1987 to 1997, 1997 to 2007, and 2007 to 2017
Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2018, Figure 20A.

134
Average Published Tuition and Fees in 2018 Dollars by Sector,
1988-89 to 2018-19
Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2018, Figure 3.

2011 family incomes by quintile
Income Quintile Income Range
Lowest quintile $0 - $20,259
Fourth quintile $20,260 - $38,514
Third quintile $38,515 - $62,433
Second quintile $62,434 - $101,576
Top quintile $101,577 and higher
Top 5% of all wage earners $186,000 and higher
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011, table HINC-05

College affordability
Parent contribution from income, distribution of 2011 family incomes and cost of attendance by
institutional control and level. Contribution based on a family of four with one in college.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011, table HINC-05, The College Board
$0 $0 $0 $0
$1,409
$3,001
$4,995
$7,665
$11,066
$14,372
$17,375
$20,597
$23,819
$27,041
$30,263
$33,485
$36,605
$39,686
$42,767
$45,847
$48,928
$52,009
$55,090
$58,171
$61,252
$64,333
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
Parent Income
Fifth
Quintile
$0
–
$20,259
Fourth
Quintile
$20,260
–
$38,514
Third
Quintile
$38,515
–
$62,433
Second
Quintile
$62,434
-
$101,576
Top
Quintile
$101,577
-
and higher
Top 5%
$186,0002-year, public
$15,584
4-year, public, in-state,
living on campus
$22,261
4-year, public,
nonresident, living on
campus $35,312
4-year, private, living on
campus $43,289
Parent Contribution
136

Effect of the Economy on College Choice
25%
47%
38%
24%
44%
34%
21%
53%
38%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Visit fewer college campuses
Work while attending college
Obtain a larger loan
Change from private to public
Rely more heavily on financial aid…
Attend in-state college
Live at home while attending college
Enroll in a less expensive college
Attend college closer to home
137
Longmire & Company (2009)

140
PEW CharitableTrusts (2015)

College is Still a Good Investment
 The earnings premium for a college degree relative to a
high school degree has nearly doubled in the past three
decades.
 Government statistics show that the jobless rate is 4.4% for
college grads and 7.6% for people who attended college
but didn't achieve bachelors degrees.
142
Avery &Turner (2012)

Student Debt
 The number of students who have to go into debt to get a
bachelor’s degree has risen from 45% in 1993 to 94%
today.
 There is now more than $1 trillion in outstanding student
loan debt in the United States.
 Over the last 10 years, tuition and fees at state schools have
increased 72%.
 This year, national, state and local spending on higher
education reached a 25-year low.
143
Avery &Turner (2012)

144
PEW CharitableTrusts (2015)

146
The Institute for CollegeAccess & Success (2015)

Ten Tips for Managing Your Enrollment in a
Down Economy
1) Formulate an economic outlook to guide your planning
2) Identify potential shifts in student participation patterns
3) Quantify the financial exposure of your students and their
families
4) Devise new financing strategies to help your students
initially attend and remain enrolled at your school
5) Moderate your tuition increases
147
Noel-Levitz (2008)

Ten Tips for Managing Your Enrollment in a
Down Economy
6) Plan on more applications and lower yield rates
7) Invest in student retention and aggressively manage your
stop-outs
8) Strengthen messaging around your most valuable benefits
9) If you must cut costs, don’t cut equally
10) Don’t forget the human cost of economic troubles
148
Noel-Levitz (2008)

NBT:
150
Transfer friendly institutions
 Online degree programs
Adult education
 Micro-credentials
 Experiential credit
 Next generation transcript
New Student Markets

Student Pipelines
 Freshmen
 Transfers
 International
 Bridge Programs
 Pathways
 On-Line/Hybrid
 Re-admits/Stop Outs
 Concurrent
 Non-degree
151
 Graduate Students
 Adults/Evening
 Athletes
 SpecialTalent
 Veterans
 Post-Traditional
 Degree Completion
Programs
 Continuing Education

156
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2015)

Dependent on Tuition and Fees
157
Revenues from tuition and fees per full-time equivalent (FTE) student for degree-granting
postsecondary institutions, by institutional control: 2010-11 and 2015-16.
NOTE: Full-time-equivalent (FTE) student enrollment includes full-time students plus the full-time equivalent of part-time students.
Revenues per FTE student are reported in constant 2016–17 dollars, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjusted to a school-year
basis. Revenue data are not directly comparable across institutional control categories because Pell Grants are included in the federal grant
revenues at public institutions but tend to be included in tuition and fees and auxiliary enterprise revenues at private nonprofit and private
for-profit institutions. Revenues from tuition and fees are net of discounts and allowances. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or
higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),
Spring 2012 and Spring 2017, Finance component; and Spring 2011 and 2016, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education
Statistics 2017, tables 333.10, 333.40, and 333.55.

Average Expense per Student
158
NOTE: Full-time-equivalent (FTE) students include full-time students plus the full-time equivalent of part-time students. Expenses per FTE student are reported in
constant 2016–17 dollars, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjusted to a school-year basis. Degree-granting institutions grant associate's or higher degrees
and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2017, Finance
component; and Spring 2016, Fall Enrollment component. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, tables 334.10, 334.30, and 334.50.
Expenses per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student at 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions,
by purpose of selected expenses and control of institution: 2015–16

Challenges in Financial Aid
 Increased demand for Aid while funding wanes
 Optimizing awards and not over-awarding
 Price Elasticity of Demand
 Ability to Pay vs.Willingness to Pay
 Experiment on the Margins
 Extreme Consumerism
 Access to bad information on the web
 NegotiationTactics
 Transparency and the EntitlementTrap

Challenges in Financial Aid
 Expected Family Contribution and Need Gap
 Merit versus Need-BasedAid
 To Stack or Not to Stack
 Working with State Programs (rules vary)
 Variability of Price andAwards
 NetTuition Revenue
 Discount Rates
 Default Rates
 Retaining aid until graduation
 To Keep my scholarship I must:
 Maintain a high GPA (usually 3.0)
 Participate in programmatic requirements
 Perform a service
 Contribute to the university community

More Challenges and Issues Facing
Institutions of Higher Education
 Transparency and accountability measures
 New metrics for measuring success
 Meeting student’s demands
 An expectation of real outcomes and benefits
resulting from the education received
 Delivering on the promise!
161

Appropriate Role of Financial Aid
 Financial aid is not a reason to attend your institution; it is part
of a solution to a cost problem.
 Remember to project quality and value in all of your
institution's communications (outcomes, experiential learning,
special facilities, and other benefits of attendance).
 Make the institution affordable to targeted students who are
willing to pay.
 Know and understand the “price tag” of the institutional wish
list.
162

163

164

166
Institute for Research on Higher Education (2016)

Purposes of Investing Dollars In
Student Financial Aid
 To make it possible for students of all incomes and
backgrounds to attend.
 To overcome price disparity in your marketplace.
 To generate the necessary tuition income.
 To attract a diversified student body.
 To maintain a high academic profile.
 What do you hope to accomplish?
168 Noel-Levitz.“Keys to Enrollment Success”

169 The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2016)

Financial Aid
Determine Student Budget/Cost ofAttendance
 Tuition and Fees
 Books and Supplies
 Transportation
 Room and Board
 Miscellaneous
Categories ofAid
 GiftAssistance
 Grants/Scholarships
 Self-Help
 Loans/Employment
170

Financial Aid
171
Source of Funding
 Federal
 State
 Institutional
 Private Sector
Shifting Financial Aid
Sources
 Federal Grants
 Subsidized Loans
 Institutional Aid

Trends In Financial Aid
 Increased gap between cost of attendance and ability to pay
 Offering aid to students that does not hinge on federal funds
 Lack of coordinated awarding philosophy by federal, sate, and
institutional agencies
 Increasingly difficult to self-determine financial aid eligibility
 Self-investments in education – the loan and borrowing business
 Using aid to mold the institutional demographic profile
 Discounting and tuition waivers
 Consolidated loans
 Dependency on state lottery funded aid
 Institutional aid for students from families with the lowest SES
 National Direct Student Lending
 Year-round aid (Summer Pell Grants)
 Institutional skin in the game
 Prior-prior year
 State – federal institutional coordinated aid
 Aid for underrepresented students
172

Student-Loan Default Rate Rising
 The U.S. Department of Education, demonstrating the toll the sour
economy is taking on recent college graduates, reported a jump in
the student-loan default rate to 6.9% in 2009, from 5.2% a
year earlier.
 Raising the stakes for consumers and taxpayers, the amount that
students are borrowing for their education has been
increasing dramatically in recent years, with half a trillion
dollars in federal student loan debt now outstanding.
 Robert Shireman, a senior adviser to Secretary of EducationArne
Duncan, says he expects the default rate, which reflects the early part
of the recession, to continue to rise.
Wall Street Journal173

174 https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/sa-2016-f11b.png

175
InstitutionType FY2012 CDR FY2013 CDR FY2014 CDR
Public, 4 year 7.6% 7.3% 7.5%
Public, 2 year 19.1% 18.5% 18.3%
Private Non-Profit, 4
year
6.3% 6.5% 7.0%
Private For-Profit, 4
year
14.7% 14.0% 14.6%
Overall 11.8% 11.3% 11.5%
https://www.edvisors.com/blog/default-rates-drop-09-2014/
National Student Loan Default Rates Increase

176 https://www.edvisors.com/blog/default-rates-drop-09-2014/

Retention is paramount
“For most institutions,you’re not going to recruit your way out of
this demographic change.That means your retention policies
become so much more important.If you are losing 20 or 30 or 40
percent of your students,your best strategy might easily be to apply
what we increasingly know from the literature are best practices to
improve retention.”
--Nathan Grawe, Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins
University Press)

What is Retention?
 Retention is the retaining of a student for consecutive
regular semesters.
 Retention refers to students who enroll at a college or
university and stay enrolled until they graduate.
 Retention rates are generally measured by the percentage
of first-time, full-time students who return for the
following semester.
179

Retention Performance
Indicators for Institutions
 Retention is defined as everything the institution
undertakes to improve the quality of student life and
learning for its students
 It is a measure of how much student growth and
learning occurs
 It is a measure of how valued and respected students
feel on your campus
 It is a measure of how effectively your campus
delivers what students expect, need, and want
From: Noel-Levitz. “Enrollment Strategies That Work in Attracting and Retaining Students”

Keep in mind, students are…
 The most important people on the campus.Without
students there would be no need for the institution.
 Not cold enrollment statistics but flesh and blood human
beings with feelings and emotions like our own.
 Not people to be tolerated so that we can do our thing.They
are our thing.
 Not dependent on us. Rather, we are dependent on them.
 Not an interruption of our work, but the purpose of it.We
are not doing them a favor by serving them.They are doing
us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.
181

Importance of Retention –
An Institutional Conscience
182

Importance of Retention
 Increased enrollments
 Increased tuition dollars/funding
 Increased student learning
 Higher graduation rates
 Improved image/reputation
 Improved student and faculty/staff morale
 Improved recruitment and retention of faculty and staff
 Improved focus on staff development
 Improved teamwork among various work units and divisions
 Improved accountability measures
 Improved services for students
 Improved working environment for staff
 Improved institutional efficiency and effectiveness
183

Retention Stats
 Nationally, 59% of first-time students who sought
bachelor’s degrees full-time in fall 2007 completed their
degree at their original institution within six years.
 More than one-third of students leave their institution prior
to graduation.
 Of the students who leave, more than half withdraw prior
to beginning their second year.
 Departure rates vary by admissions selectivity and
institutional control.
184
Department of Education (2015)

The College Completion - agendas vs a
value added college completion
185

Retention Funnel
Orientation
First year
Second year
Third year and
beyond
Graduation
186

187
The Chronicle of Higher Education (2015)

188
The Chronicle of Higher Education (2015)

Institutional Selectivity
Selectivity Level
ACT
Middle
50%
SAT
Middle
50%
Definition
Highly Selective 25-30 1710-2000 Majority top 10% HS class
Selective 21-26 1470-1770 Majority top 25% HS class
Traditional 18-24 1290-1650 Majority top 50% HS class
Liberal 17-22 1230-1530 Majority bottom 50% HS class
Open 16-21 1170-1480 Open to all with HS diploma
189
Noel-Levitz (ACT) (2016)

First-to-Second Year Retention
Four- Year Public Institutions
Selectivity
Offering
BA Only
Offering
BA & MA
Offering
BA, MA, PhD
Highly Selective 93 85.7 93.4
Selective 83 82.3 82.9
Traditional 71.5 70.7 74.7
Liberal 73 69.7 73.2
Open 55.5 56.7 71.7
190

First-to-Second Year Retention
Four-Year Private Institutions
Selectivity
Offering
BA Only
Offering
BA & MA
Offering
BA, MA, PhD
Liberal 73 69.7 73.2
Open 55.5 56.7 71.7
191

Persistence to Degree Rates
Four-Year Public Institutions
Selectivity
Offering
BA Only
Offering
BA & MA
Offering
BA. MA, PhD
Highly Selective 83.3 85 82.7
Selective 76.5 65.9 64.1
Traditional 42.2 43.5 49
Liberal 42 38.2 49
Open 18.6 23.9 28.5
192
** within 6 years

Persistence to Degree Rates
Four-Year Private Institutions
Selectivity
Offering
BA Only
Offering
BA & MA
Offering
BA, MA, PhD
Liberal 40.9 45.2 53.3
Open 26.4 42.1 57.1
193
** within 6 years

Retention and Graduate Rates
Two-Year Institutions
1st-2ndYear
Retention
Persistence
to Degree
Public 56.4 22.1
Private 63.3 52.6
194

So What’s 1%?
Freshman
Class Size
Fresh to Soph
Retention Rate
Number
Retained
Soph to Junior
Retention Rate
Number
Retained
Junior to Senior
Retention Rate
Number
Retained
6000
88% 5280 94% 4963 97% 4814
89% 5340 94.5% 5046 97.25% 4908
Annual Headcount Improvement 60 83 93
Net Tution Revenue/student = $10,000 $10,150 $10,302
Net Impact per year = $600,000 $843,465 $960,404
Cumulative Impact of 1% gain in retention = ($600,000 yr 2 + $843,464 yr 3 + $960,404 yr 4) = $2,403,869

Common Retention Myths
 Retention means lowering standards
 Retention efforts are primarily remedial
 A goal should be zero attrition
 Dropouts are flunkouts
 Students drop out for reasons mostly out of institutional control, such
as finances, work, or personal
 Retention is primarily the responsibility of student services
 Retention and graduation rates will improve without changing attitudes
and behaviors
 Students bring a cogent map of college success to higher education
 “Quick fix” retention strategies are effective
196

What Leads to Student Departure?
 VincentTinto has identified five major causes of student
withdrawal:
 Academic difficulty
 Adjustment difficulty (incongruence and isolation)
 Goals: Uncertain, narrow, or new
 Commitments:Weak and external
 Financial inadequacies
 The decision to leave is not so much cost, but the perceived
quality and value of what a student is receiving for the cost.
197
Tinto (1975)

What Leads to Student Departure?
 Financial reasons
 Dissatisfied with social life
 Problem with roommates
or housing
 Lack of guidance or
support
 Did not like size
 Confusion about career and
major goals
 Missed family
198
 Academic programs
 Not challenging
 Quality disappointing
 Course content not
satisfied
 Attending another college
 Desire to relocate
 Lonely

Key Retention Concepts
 Retention encompasses virtually everything an institution does to
improve the quality of student life and learning
 Retention is not the goal
 Retention is complex and multi-variant
 Some attrition is inevitable and acceptable
 Some attrition is predictable and even preventable
 The best non-cognitive predictors of student persistence are:
 Motivation
 Desire to persist
 Engagement/affiliation
 Time-on-task, energy, and effort
199
Noel-Levitz

Key Retention Concepts
 Many students have misconceptions about what it takes to persist, as
well as the actual likelihood of persisting
 Increases in retention and graduation rates are a function of the
current state of retention efforts and a more comprehensive and
systematic approach
 There are identifiable “conditions” or “critical success factors” of
successful retention programs
 Quality educational programs/services, while important, cannot
compensate for the absence of competent, caring, and concerned
faculty and staff
 Retention is a campus-wide responsibility and requires a coordinated
and collaborative approach to improving the quality of student life and
learning
 The teaching/learning process is at the core of all successful retention
programs
200
Noel-Levitz

Insights About Retention
 The freshman year is the most crucial period in student
retention.
 Degree completion requires more than four years for more
students.
 The eventual degree completion rate (at private and public
schools) for entering freshmen is estimated at 66%.
 Retention and graduation rates are consistently higher for
women.
201
Noel-Levitz

Best Practices
First Day Intervention for at Risk Students
and guess what…
EVERY STUDENT IS AT RISK
202

Insights About Retention
 More selective institutions generally have higher retention
and graduation rates.
 Institutions with a higher percentage of part-time
undergraduate enrollment have lower retention and
graduation rates.
 Students attending private institutions graduate earlier and
at a higher rate.
203 Noel-Levitz

Best Practices
 Highest ranked practices in 2011 included widely-used practices such
as academic support and first-year student programs as well as a few
practices that were only used by about half or less of respondents.
 Honors programs and mandatory advising were among the top-ranked
practices.
 The general trend in cohort graduation rates over the past three years
showed a stable or slightly increasing rates for the majority of
institutions.
 Just over half the respondents reported that they identify effective
practices primarily based on outcomes measures, with the rest
reporting that they primarily use student feedback.
204
Noel-Levitz

Best Practices
 ROE vs ROI
 Engagement
 Advising
 Student Success Centers
 Early warning systems
 Freshman seminars
 PredictiveAnalysis
 “FIT”
205

10 Most Effective Practices at
4-Year Public Institutions
%Very
Effective
% Somewhat
Effective
% Using
Method
Honors programs for academically advanced 58 33 79
Academic support program or services 44 50 99
Programs designed specifically for first-year students 40 48 94
Programs designed specifically for conditional admits 39 25 67
Programs designed specifically for at-risk students 33 40 91
Using a CRM software application to help track students 33 25 19
Giving students practical work experiences in major 31 53 94
Mandatory advising, one-on-one and face-to-face 30 48 76
Title III orTitleV funding 29 41 54
Learning communities 29 49 85
206
Noel-Levitz

4-Year Private Institutions
%Very
Effective
% Somewhat
Effective
% Using Method
Giving students practical work experiences in major 39 43 95
Institution wide emphasis on undergraduate learning 37 48 92
Early-alert and intervention system 34 50 92
Programs designed specifically for at-risk students 30 54 88
Honors programs for academically advanced 29 49 56
Collaboration between student and academic affairs 29 45 93
Using on campus employment to engage students 27 43 83
207
Noel-Levitz

2-Year Private Institutions
%Very
Effective
% Somewhat
Effective
% Using
Method
Institution wide emphasis on undergraduate learning 35 51 77
Providing each continuing student with academic plan 24 37 67
Title III orTitle IV funding 23 48 60
Using web-based course engagement tools 22 59 95
Honors programs for academically advanced students 21 40 48
Academic advising program 20 60 97
Using student life evaluations to make changes to programs 18 38 56
208
Noel-Levitz

Other Practices
 Using web-based tools such as Blackboard to engage students
 Social networking to engage students in online communities
 Requests for permissions to remain in contact with students who are
leaving
 Programs specifically designed for veterans
 Programs specifically designed for second-year students
 Using student engagement assessments to make changes to the way
faculty and staff interact with students
 Interviews or surveys with students who are withdrawing
 Requests for intended re-entry dates from students who are leaving
 Using established communication procedures to regularly communicate
persistence, retention, and completion rate data throughout campus
209
Noel-Levitz

Traits of Top Retention Plans
 Update their retention plan annually
 Have a designated retention leader of good or excellent
quality
 Have a committee of good or excellent quality
 Have a committee that was empowered to make decisions
that affected multiple areas of campus
210
Noel-Levitz

Elements of Successful Retention Programs
 Collect, compile, and analyze pertinent retention/attrition
data and research
 Monitor and address student expectations and levels of
satisfaction
 Conduct periodic audits of key program and service areas
 Create programs and services based on meeting students’
individual needs and differences
 Exceed student service requirements and expectations
 Emphasize benefits of class attendance
211
Noel-Levitz

 Concentrate energies on the importance of the teaching and
learning and academic advising processes
 Provide faculty/staff training and development programs
 Improve academic support services
 Mandate assessment and course placement
 Provide enriched or accelerated academic experiences
 Increase frequency of out-of-class contact among faculty, staff,
and students
 Establish an organizational structure/mechanism for quality of
student life and learning issues and an institutional change
process
212
Noel-Levitz

 Implement early identification/alert and intervention
strategies
 Address students affective, as well as cognitive, needs
 Emphasize a deliberate strategy of student engagement and
involvement
 Develop a comprehensive approach to undecided/
exploratory students
 Respond more systematically to the needs of “high-risk”
student groups
 Enhance the quality of residential life
213
Noel-Levitz

 Modify the financial aid program
 Develop a student-centered institution
 Implement an extended orientation program or first-year
seminar
 Commit to both “front-loading” and “progressive
responsibility”
 Revise admissions materials and procedures to improve
student/institutional fit
 Make improvements to the physical plant
 Validate administrative support and commitment to the
student retention process model
214
Noel-Levitz

Best Practices in Retention for
Specific Subpopulations
 Orientation programs customized for each population
 Academic support programs for adult learners that are available
earlier in the morning and later in the evening
 Ensuring classes are offered in a sequence that allows students to
graduate on time and has some back-up plans
 Articulation agreements that match students’ prescribed
curriculum at the previous institution and provide an easy
transfer process
 Identifying classes with highest D, F, orW grades and
determining highly interactive and intrusive activities to ensure
students complete the course with expected learning
outcomes
215
Noel-Levitz

Delivering on the Promise
 Improving the quality of student life and learning needs to be a
continuing and important priority.
 Engaging in a quality of student life and learning (retention)
initiative should provide an approach to organizing a
systematic effort, while at the same time enhancing overall
institutional quality, effectiveness, and student success.
 Persistence depends upon the extent to which an individual
has been integrated into the academic and non-academic
components of the campus environment.
216

 Retention tools, systems, staff development activities,
computer software, and professional consultation can make a
significant contribution to an organized retention effort.
 Increases in retention rates are a function of the current state
of efforts to improve the quality of educational programs and
services. Most institutions engaging in a systematic and
comprehensive retention effort should be able to expect a
“lift” in cohort graduation rates and improvement in annual
retention rates.
217

 Retention strategies already in place can serve as an excellent
foundation for developing an ongoing, more systematic
approach to improving the quality of student life and learning
(retention).
 Retention is a key component of a comprehensive enrollment
management program.
 Dropouts are expensive, and improvements in retention rates
can add to the annual operating budget.
218

Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student
Learning (AAHE 1992)
1. The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.
2. Assessment is most effective with it reflects an understanding of learning as multi-dimensional,
integrated, and revealed in performance over time.
3. Assessment works best when the programs it seeks to improve have clear, explicitly stated
purposes.
4. Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to the experiences that lead to
those outcomes.
5. Assessment works best when it is ongoing not episodic.
6. Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from across the educational
community are involved.
7. Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that
people really care about.
8. Assessment is most likely to lead to improvement when it is part of a larger set of conditions that
promote change.
9. Through assessment, educators meet responsibilities to students and to the public.
American Association for Higher Education (1992)
219

Reference
Much of the information in this presentation was obtained from research
and presentations by Noel-Levitz, an enrollment management
consulting group.
For more information, contact
Ruffalo Noel-Levitz
(800) 876-1117
info@noellevitz.com
https://www.ruffalonl.com/
221

Acknowledgements
Elizabeth Orehovec, Ph.D.
and
Susan Hudson, M.Ed.
and
Corley Hopkins, M.Ed.
and
Melody Boland
And
Dennis Pruitt, Ed.D.
for assistance with research and design
of this presentation
222

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