Enrollment Management Optimization

Enrollment Management Optimization

Admission Director Institute Sponsored by the

Enrollment Management Association September 13, 2017

Presenter Claude Anderson

canderson@marketingtofullpay.com Marketingtofullpay.com

Define Enrollment Management

Enrollment Management is the optimization of the student and parent body that enables a school to achieve its mission.

Assignment 1 - Reasons parents/students may not be in the “Extremely Satisfied” group?

• Many systems working together to make the enrollment management system function properly.

• Can sustain itself even when the systems are not all functioning perfectly.

• Can generally sustain itself for a long period of time before it breaks down completely.

• Needs to work harder when there are changes in the environment or within enrollment management systems.

Enrollment Management Systems

Enrollment Optimization

Selection of New Enrolled

Student and Parent

Composition

Consumer Experience

Feedback from Offering

Experience

Image Pool/disciples

Competition Marketing Warfare

Cost of New

Enrolled Motivation

Leadership

Marketing Program

Research

External Environment

Mission

• Learn and understand the Enrollment Management System

• Begin diagnosing your enrollment condition

• Begin prescribing solutions to your current state

Enrollment Management System

What are your enrollment management challenges?

• Mostly Controllable

• Influenceable

• Mostly Uncontrollable

Three Systems Categories

1. Marketing Program & Operations

2. Consumer Experience (from their perspective)

3. Student and Parent Composition

4. Research

5. Leadership

Most Controllable

This is typically the total experience offered by the admission office. It includes all parts of the process used to acquire students/parents (from time of inquiry through admission decision) and the process for selecting students to be enrolled. For example: • Inquiry Packet (viewbook and promotional materials) • Application information • Campus Visit (Open House and Class Visit Days) • Advertising (School Fairs/Special Events) • Interview • Tour • Faculty, current parent, and current student volunteers • Educational program

Marketing Program & Operations

This is what the consumer feels and experiences when he/she engages with the Marketing Program and Admission Operations. What is the consumers’ rating of that experience in relationship to their needs? For example, how do they rate: • the interview process • the open house event • the requirements of the application process • the quality of the teachers they meet • the play day or testing requirements • the feeling they get while on campus

Consumer Experience Newly Enrolled

Newly Enrolled

This refers to the type and diversity of students and parents you need to achieve your mission. For example: • Athletes Full-pay families • Leaders Philanthropic Parents • Republicans Parent with political influence • Girls Parents of Color • Boys Muslim Parents • Students of Color Parents requiring financial aid • Jewish

Student and Parent Composition Newly Enrolled

Newly Enrolled

Research

This information is collected from various sources to determine strength of enrollment management and potential actions needed. • Satisfaction Survey • College Counseling Survey • Focus group for parent of kindergarteners • Quality of sports program • Support of leadership’s new strategic plan • Concerns around new math program • Priorities of faculty versus parents versus students

Newly enrolling

Leadership

This system is about the process of support and engagement in the other systems that support enrollment management optimization. This includes all leadership positions in the school; however, the key leaders are the trustees, the head of school, and other senior administrators. Leaders adequately or inadequately support the Marketing Program and Operations. For example: • Open House Events • Family visits to campus • Demonstration of Academic program • Application expectations • Access to facilities during tour for visiting families • Net Tuition Revenue requirements • Allocation of resources • Enrollment management goals and objectives

Newly enrolling

Examples of the Mostly Controllable Systems Newly Enrolled

System Positive or Negative Examples

Marketing and Program Operations

Consumer Experience

Student and Parent Composition

Research

Leadership

Influenceable • Image Pool and Discipleship • Competition • Cost • Motivation

Influenceable

Newly Enrolled Newly Enrolled

Newly Enrolled

Image Pool and Disciple Creation This pool describes the information that is shared from one person or one group, to another person or another group. The information is shared after evaluating the marketing program/experience, or simply restating information that was received and was convincing enough to share with someone else. • Hard to get into the school • The admission people are easy to work with • The process is too difficult • The open houses are worthless • The shadow day is the best • They take anyone who can pay • You don’t get to see the classes in action • The process is valuable, even if you don’t get accepted • Perception of the math program • Perception of the faculty • Observation of the facilities Any information received from the accepted/enrolled parents, students, teachers or other stake holders

Competition Newly enrolling

This system involves modifications, additions, and deletions to the marketing program in order to be competitive in some manner. This involves both reactive and proactive adjustments. For example: • Increase the length of the student’s shadowing day • Offer a spring open house • Open up an opportunity for applicants to visit multiple times • Accept the public school standardized test • Make interviewing optional • Ask Head of School to call all newly accepted students • Advertise in Private School Magazines in the fall • Offer merit money Cost

Newly Enrolled

Newly Enrolled

Cost refers to all expenses or trade-offs that a family incurs. For example: • Tuition • Activity fees • Transportation • Change in schedule for an interview • Stress on student taking the test • Stress on the parent observing the play date • Logistics around having children in different schools • Not attending the same school as neighborhood friends • Convincing other parents that your aren’t trying to get rid of you child by sending them to boarding

school • Local taxes for education

Motivation Newly enrolling

This system is about why families will give up their free public school option and then choose your school over the others. What is the problem to solve, desire to fulfill, or need to satisfy? • Intellect isn’t being challenged • Seeking a safe environment • Exposure to a diverse range of activities will better prepare student for college • Follow the family tradition of attending boarding school • If the faculty knows my child, my child will respond better • Desire to enable my child to function in a global world • My first grade child reads at a grade four level and needs an appropriate curriculum • I want my child to be able to play his sport in college • My child can thrive better in a balanced curriculum

System Positive or Negative Examples

Image Pool and Discipleship

Competition

Cost

Motivation

Examples of the Mostly Influenceable Systems Newly Enrolled

Mostly Uncontrollable Newly Enrolled

• Environmental

Environmental Newly Enrolled

This system is the outside world making rules, taking actions, and manipulating the environment that affects the enrollment process. For example: • Government laws and policies • State of the economy • Safety in your community • Quantity of full-pay families • Incidents such a SARS, teacher strikes, decrease in crime

Examples of the Mostly Uncontrollable Systems Newly Enrolled

System Positive or Negative Example

Environmental

Enrollment

Optimization

Selection:

Student and

Parent

Composition

New Enroll Consumer

Experience

Feedback

from Offering

Experience

Image

Pool/disciples

Competition

Marketing Warfare

Cost New Enroll

Motivation

Leadership

Educational

Program

Research

Enrollment

Optimization

Selection:

Student and

Parent

Composition

New Enroll Consumer

Experience

Feedback

from Offering

Experience

Image

Pool/disciples

Competition

Marketing Warfare

Cost New Enroll

Motivation

Leadership

Marketing

Program

Research

Newly Enrolling

Re-enrolling

2 Enrollment Management Models Newly Enrolled

External Environment

Mission

Comparison between Enrolling and Re-enrolling (Controllable)

Comparison between Enrolling and Re-enrolling (Influenceable)

Enrolling Re-enrolling Overlap

Environmental Environmental Strong overlap

Comparison between Enrolling and Re-enrolling (Mostly Uncontrollable)

Enrolling Re-enrolling Overlap

Marketing Program & Operations

Educational Program & Operations

Very different experience with overlapping uses, e.g. class visit – and distinctive experiences.

Consumer Experience Consumer Experience Based on two different experiences and the type of consumption and the amount of consumption.

Selection: Student and Parent Composition

Selection: Student and Parent Composition

Process for making adjustments to the composition is different and knowledge about the consumer is different.

Research Research Based on different levels of experience and time with the school.

Leadership Leadership Many different leaders, possibly different visions, possibly similar visions, possibly no vision.

Enrolling Re-enrolling Overlap

Image Pool and Disciple Creation

Image Pool and Disciple Creation

Strong overlap

Competition

Competition Strong overlap

Cost, not just tuition

Cost, not just tuition Strong overlap, experience with the program with new cost not previously expected.

Motivation

Motivation

Experience with the program can change motivation and understanding of advantages. Can not assume primary motivations stay the same.

Controllable Re-enrolling

• Educational Program & Operations

• Consumer Experience (from their perspective)

• Student and Parent Composition

• Research

• Leadership

Educational Program & Operations Re-enrolling

This refers to the programs and experiences that the families have when engaging with the services of the school – it includes both program and logistical experiences. For example: • Classes • Activities – sports, arts, clubs • Physical environment • Customer service • Engagement with the business office • Experience with faculty • Experience with students • School calendar • Advisor program • Math program used Consumer Experience Re-enrolling

This is what the consumer feels and experiences once he/she engages with the Educational Program and Operations. What is the consumers’ rating of that experience in relationship to their needs. For example, how do they rate the following: • Classes: B+ • Activities – sports, arts, clubs: A • Physical environment: B • Customer service: B • Engagement with the business office: B- • Experience with faculty: A- • Experience with students: A • School calendar: B- • Advisor program: B+ • Math program used: A

Student and Parent Composition Re-enrolling

Research Re-enrolling

Leadership Re-enrolling

This refers to the type and diversity of students and parents you need to achieve your mission. For example: • Athletes Full-pay families • Leaders Philanthropic Parents • Republicans Parents with political influence • Girls Parents of Color • Boys Muslim Parents • Students of Color Parents requiring financial aid • Jewish Parents

By individual class, there may be ideal or problematic compositions that are not easily remedied – parents who don’t approve of a part of the educational experience, marginally disruptive group of students, imbalance in gender, very philanthropic parents, strong volunteers.

This information is collected from various sources to determine strength of enrollment management and potential actions needed. This is collected from families who have experienced the school; this information can be valuable to the families in the admission funnel. • Satisfaction Survey • College Counseling Survey • Focus group for parents of kindergarteners • Quality of sports program • Support of leadership’s new strategic plan • Concerns around new STEM program • Priorities of faculty versus parents versus students

This system is about the process of support and engagement in the other systems that support enrollment management optimization. It includes all leadership positions in the school; however, the key leaders are the trustees, the head of school, and other senior administrators. Leaders adequately or inadequately support the Educational Program and Operations. For example: • Activities program offerings • Academic program offerings • Residential program offerings • Research • Tuition expectations • Allocation of resources • Other enrollment management goals and objectives

Influenceable Re-enrolling

• Competition

• Image Pool and Disciple Creation

• Cost

• Motivation

Competition Re-enrolling

This system involves modifications, additions, and deletions to the educational program in order to be competitive in some manner. This involves both reactive and proactive adjustments. For example: • Add additional athletic facilities • Start a robotics program • Change curriculum to the International Baccalaureate curriculum • Hire teachers with more teaching experience

Image Pool and Disciple Creation Re-enrolling

This pool describes the information that is shared from one person or one group, to another person or another group. The information is shared after evaluating the educational program/experience or simply restating information that was received and was convincing enough to share with someone else. • The faculty are great • The faculty spend too much time on the weaker students • The athletic facilities aren’t as good as other schools • The head of school can’t be trusted • There aren’t any, or too few, Advanced Placement courses • The theatre program is great • The advisor program is very helpful • College counseling doesn’t know what they are doing • The reading program that they just started is inadequate for smart students • They have a lot of students with major learning disabilities • You will want to be at that school • They believe in diversity • The students are all rich snobs

Cost Re-enrolling

Cost refers to all expenses or trade-offs that a family incurs. For example: • Tuition • Second year tuition costs • Changing division - now they have required after school activities • Activity fee • Transportation • Logistics around having children in different schools • Also paying local taxes for education

Motivation Re-enrolling

This system is about why families will give up their free public school option and choose your school over the others. What is the problem to solve, desire to fulfill, or need to satisfy? • I see my child’s growth • It is a safe environment • The diverse range of activities is keeping my child loving school; she didn’t before • Following the tradition of attending boarding school • Faculty know my child and he responds well to that type of attention • My child is growing his perspective of the world around him • I want my child to be able to play her sport in college • My child is thriving with a balanced curriculum

Uncontrollable Re-enrolling

Environmental Re-enrolling

This system is the outside world making rules, taking actions, and manipulating the environment that affects the enrollment process. (This is the same for the newly enrolled, although the impact may be less because of the consumer’s experience.) For example: • Government laws and policies • State of the economy • Safety in your community • Quantity of full-pay families • Enrollment limitation based on ordinances • Physical space limitations based on ordinances • Incidents such a SARS, teacher strikes, decrease in crime

• Environmental

Which System?

Write-up problem or challenge

What research is needed?

Possible solutions, hypothetical

Which leaders are needed?

Measurement to determine success

Identify Problems – Consider Solutions Identify Problems – Consider Solutions