Strategies for Successful Enrollment Management in Higher Education

A college education isn’t quite like it used to be a decade ago. Higher education administrators are now actively making efforts to improve gender and ethnic diversity in classrooms. They’re also using technological innovations to enhance the rate of retention and the overall college experience for students. These sweeping shifts in higher education have pushed enrollment management to a whole new level.

To keep up with the social and economic changes created by this new generation of college students, higher education enrollment managers need to upgrade their student enrollment methods. While different campuses have different needs, adopting some of the fundamental strategies mentioned below can help college administrators manage the enrollment process more efficiently.

Focus on Realistic Goal-Setting

The first step to successful enrollment management is to set realistic enrollment goals. As goal-setting is an abstract activity, enrollment managers may find it difficult to develop achievable targets while ensuring that every member of the enrollment panel (executives, faculty & administration) is on the same page.
The key to establishing an effective action plan is to understand the current trends, enrollment patterns and availability of resources, time limitations, and financial constraints and work around these factors. Categorize the goals based on ethnicity, demography, geography, by counselors, high school, and zip code to further simplify the process. Keep in-panel communications strong, to make sure every member can voice their concerns regarding the set goals and track on weekly basis.

Invest in a Personalized Recruitment Model

Assessing each college application individually based on multiple enrollment markers can be a time-consuming ordeal for enrollment managers. To minimize the amount of time required to manage the recruitment process, colleges are now investing in data analytics-based personalized recruitment models. Through these platforms, managers can take an individualized approach to enrollment which makes it easier to acquire the best talent pool. Data from these models also help in developing future enrollment strategies pertinent to the setup of your higher education institution.

Develop a Strong Communication Flow

During recruitment, student-to-college communication is often overlooked. With colleges receiving student queries regarding enrollment from multiple channels, such as email, website, social media, and print, it can be difficult to maintain a balanced and strong communication flow.However, making efforts to enhance communication between the institute and prospective students can prove to be a productive recruitment strategy, if handled correctly. Parents also play a vital role in the college research process, therefore, it’s important to reach out to them as well.
If you’re interested in leveraging the ever-expanding benefits of data analytics in the higher education enrollment system, consult Virtue Analytics.
We offer extensive analytics-based college enrollment management solutions to higher education institutions. Through our enrollment management platform, you can increase student yield and minimize the possibility of student withdrawal.
We discussed the necessity of student enrollment strategies, but not all students complete their education at the same institution, so we must devise strategies to retain them. Read about best practices to boost student retention in college.