Graduate Enrollment Management

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Graduate Strategic Enrollment Management

Presented by Dr. Jim Black

President & CEO, SEM Works

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Agenda Strategic Enrollment Intelligence Integrated Enrollment Planning The Graduate Student Lifecycle Graduate Student Marketing and Recruitment Practices Graduate Student Persistence, Progression, and Completion

Practices Graduate School Capacity

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Strategic Enrollment IntelligenceGraduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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Goal Setting Construct

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ManageEnrollments

Target Opportunities

Risk/Reward Assessment

MarketResearch

Enrollment Goals

• Quantity• Quality• Diversity• Credential Mix• Retention• Completion

• Market Demand Analysis• Enrollment Opportunity Analysis• Competitor Student Funding Analysis • Environmental Scan• Admit/Decline Study

• Market Size• Market Saturation• Competitive Positioning• Risks of Market Entry

• High Demand/Available Capacity Programs• Niche Offerings• Low Cost/High ROI • Support Research Agenda

• Prospects • Inquiries• Applicants • Admits/Declined• New Enrolled Students• Returning Students

Strategic Enrollment Intelligence

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Resource Management

ROIOutcomes/Affinity

StudentExperience

Current Student Flow

• Persistence Rates• Progression Rates• Academic Performance• Success/At-Risk Profiles• Course Supply & Demand • Graduation Rates

• Expectations vs Reality• Student Satisfaction• Student Engagement• Service Impact• Attrition Causation

• Learner Objectives Met• Relevant Employment• Further Education• Institutional Loyalty

• Program Cost/Value• Marketing Metrics• Recruitment Metrics• Retention Program Evaluation

• Space Utilization• Faculty Workload• Service Capacity• Technology Optimization• Budget Allocations

Strategic Enrollment Intelligence

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Integrated Enrollment PlanningGraduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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Integrated Plan Elements

Executive

Summary

Introduction

Background

Enrollment Context

Planning Construct

and Principles

Enrollment Goals

Environmental Scan

Demographic Trends

Economic TrendsPolitical

Trends

Social Environment/Technology

Trends

Market and Competitio

n in PSE

Competitive Advantage

SWOTInternal Strengths

& Weaknesse

sExternal

Opportunities and Threats

Persona

GroupsProvisional

Admits

Master’s Students

Doctoral Students

Online Learners

Graduate Certificate Students

International Students

Strategic Opportuniti

esKey

Performance Indicators

Metrics

StrategiesInternal

Engagement &

CommunicationStrategic

Intelligence

Strategic Enrollment

Growth Programs

Integrated Recruitment & Marketing

Student Experience

and Success

Student Awards

Antecedents for

SuccessConclusion

s

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Integrated Planning Cycle

STANDARD TIMEFRAME Ongoing1-3 Years3 months3 months 3 months

Current Reality

Strategic Issues

Plan Development

Implementation Evaluation

Identify and answer key research questions

Use data as actionable intelligence

Target significant strategic issues

Audit complete and

priorities established

Strategic issues

identified on the basis of

data

PLANNING MILESTONES

PROCESS STEPS

PLANNING PROCESS ACTIVITIES

Conduct a self-assessment/external audit of existing practices and strategic issues

Report on findings and related recommendations

Decide which recommendations require action and become an institutional priority

Identify goals and objectives related to each strategic issue

Design strategies to achieve stated goals and objectives

Define the action steps required to complete each strategy

Build a business case for additional resources (if required)

Grab the “low hanging fruit” and look for quick “wins”

Ensure needed antecedents of success are in place (e.g., training, technology, space, funding, incentives)

Execute at the highest level of quality possible

Engage in “proof of concept” pilots for large-scale initiatives

Measure the effectiveness of each major initiative

Continuously improve implementation efforts based on effectiveness measure findings

Assess the degree to which goals and objectives were met

Plan written along with

action steps

Implementation following an agreed upon

timeline

Evaluation and continuous

improvement

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

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Information Sharing

Communication Collaboration Fusion

Integration

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The Graduate Student LifecycleGraduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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AlumGraduateThesis/Dissertation

2+ Years1st YearEnrolledAdmitAppInquiry

Inquiry Generation

& CultivationAdmit

Conversion

Application Completion

Student SuccessBehaviors,

Academic & SocialIntegration

Mentoring Relationships,

Career Guidance,Completion

Strategies

InitialEnrollment Transition

Student Engagement,

Student Resilience

Transition,Loyalty

Loyalty,Employment,

Advanced Education

FormerStudents

CurrentStudents

FutureStudents

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AlumGraduateThesis/Dissertation

2+ Years1st YearEnrolledAdmitAppInquiry

Outreach, Advertising,GRE Search,

Website, Events, Fulfillment

Program Marketing,

Process/$ Comm,Social Media,

Events

Application Completion

Success Comm,Early Intervention,

Supervision/Advising

Mentoring Interactions,

Completion Comm

Orientation,Registration

Success Comm,Early Intervention,

Supervision/Advising

Transition,Loyalty

Loyalty Comm,Referral

Campaign,Social Media

FormerStudents

CurrentStudents

FutureStudents

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Targeted outreach, communications,events,yield activities,and wayfinding.

By program of study

By credential type

By student type

By learning modality

Target Segments

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Audience MessagingRelevant Brand

Attributes

Related Proof Points

Audience-basedMessages

Calls to Action

Process-Oriented

Marketing-Oriented

Relationship-Oriented

Success-Oriented

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Multichannel Communications

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Enough Frequency to Influence Choice

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YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS NOT IN THE CRM SYSTEM. IT IS HOW YOU

LEVERAGE IT THAT MATTERS.

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Execution is Everything!

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Prospective Student Communications Plan An automated acknowledgement of interest An invitation to visit and/or attend an information session A message from the dean Assistantship, GA, TA opportunities Call from current student/graduate assistant Missing info Notification of acceptance (Enrollment Handbook) Call from graduate program faculty Program-based selling points Graduate faculty profiles Residence (if applicable)

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Current Student Success Communications

ReactiveTransactional

Proactive

TransactionalLo

yalty

Build

ing Support Service

Engagement

RelationshipManagement

StudentCommunications

Delivering on the institution’s promise

Deadlines, support services, service tutorials, degree completion

Proactive connections with faculty, graduate supervisors, engagement opportunities

Missed deadlines, early intervention, policy implications

Awareness of services offered, service hours, service benefits

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Graduate Student Marketing and Recruitment Practices Graduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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Assistantships and Waivers

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Strategic Program Development

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Recruitment Elements

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Lead Generation Fairs

Purchase GRE and GMAT lists

Recruit your current undergraduates

International agents

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Website Best Practices Marketing-oriented external focus Visual impact Responsive design Value proposition Selling points Audience segmentation and relevance Audience engagement Calls to action

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Audience ChannelsProcess-oriented informationInfuse a marketing orientation into all channels

Audience-relevant selling points Success stories and “exceptional outcomes” Testimonials Factoids Relevant opportunities Visual images (photography and video)

Drive audience traffic to relevant pages

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Introducing the New Class

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Viral Media

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Student Blogs—An Authentic Source

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Advocates Model

Social MediaManager

Current StudentsAlumni

IndustryExperts

Staff

Faculty

GraduateSupervisors

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Recommended Practices Focus first and foremost on graduate program web

pages Program description Program requirements Program selling points Availability of funding Career options Research and scholarship/assistantship opportunities Faculty profiles Student and alumni testimonials Bring the program to life through multimedia and social

media

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Engineer the Campus Visit Experience

Consider everything a student experiences when visiting--then engineer every detail of the

student’s experience.

Welcome to Our School

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Design first impressionsCreate a “signature

moment”Personalize the visitEngender emotionHave visitors live your

institution through hands-on experiences

Surprise your visitorsGraduate student tour

guides

Delivery a WOWExperience!

The Campus Visit Experience

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Recommended Practices Invest in program-based advertising

New programs Programs with untapped demand, capacity, and the desire to

grow Undersubscribed programs where a lack of promotion is at issue

Adopt a hybrid model of graduate recruiting Centrally coordinated and supported Program content experts and relational connections Program-based recruitment plans

Engage in by-country international recruitment strategies

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Pan-Institutional By-Country Construct

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International Student Segments as Defined by WES

Source: World Education Services, 2015

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China India Middle East Latin America Sub-Saharan Africa

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

44

13

33

15 11

29

20

30

23 34

16

25

19

168

11

42

19

46 47

WES Segmentation by Country/Region

StriversStrugglersHighfliersExplorers


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University Decision Factors for Chinese Students


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University Decision Factors for Indian Students


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University Decision Factors for Middle Eastern Students


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University Decision Factors for Latin American Students


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University Decision Factors for Sub-Saharan African Students


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International Strategy

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Graduate Student Persistence, Progression, and Completion PracticesGraduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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Recommended Methodologies

Connections Graduate Faculty

Supervisors

Researchers

Peers

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Recommended Methodologies Seamless and integrated services Institutional support and engagement opportunities Early alerts and interventions Gathering places Thesis and dissertation support Create innovative learning opportunities through inquiry-based

learning, blended learning and the use of technology Extend skill sets of graduate students in their development as

professionals Provide academic language skills and cultural integration programs

for international graduate students

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Graduate School CapacityGraduate Strategic Enrollment Management

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Recommended Capacity Director of Graduate Enrollment Management Communications manager Marketing and communications support (e.g., content

developer, graphic designer, multimedia specialists, social media coordinator, advertising agent)

Dedicated web designer Domestic recruiters as school/divisional liaisons International recruitment managers, in-country

representatives, and quality agents Enrollment analyst

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Sample StructureGraduate

EnrollmentChampion

Direct Report toAssociate

Provost EM & Indirect Report to

College Deans

Provides Market Research

Initial Application Processing & Decision

NotificationContent Experts

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Q&AThank you for attending.