Board Fundamentals for Enrollment Success

According to a recent article in Higher Ed Dive, as of June about 250,000 fewer high school seniors had completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) than did so last year. Many factors may have contributed to the decline, including confusion about the recent changes to the FAFSA process. Regardless, this statistic suggests that the new class of students at many institutions this fall may be smaller than normal.

Furthermore, demographic shifts, public policies, and social trends are also likely to complicate the enrollment landscape over the next few years. The number of high school graduates is projected to decline sharply between 2025 and 2031—a demographic phenomenon commonly known as the “enrollment cliff.” Simultaneously, fewer students from overseas are enrolling at US institutions, and concerns are growing at home about the cost of attendance, student indebtedness, and the return on investment of a college education.

As the fall semester approaches, boards, presidents, administrators, faculty, and other stakeholders will learn if enrollment at their institution this year will meet, exceed, or miss their budgeted projections. Tuition is the largest and most predictable source of revenue for many colleges and universities, so missing enrollment targets could have serious implications for some institutions’ viability.

Against this backdrop, how can higher education leaders proactively manage their enrollments and promote institutional sustainability?

AGB recently hosted a podcast that addresses this question, featuring Stuart Jones, Southern Utah University’s vice president for advancement and enrollment management; Lewis Sanborne, senior vice president and leader in strategic enrollment planning at RNL; and Cristin Toutsi Grigos, senior vice president and chief content and programs officer at AGB. The panel’s conversation discussed leading practices and highlighted how Southern Utah University implemented a successful enrollment management strategy to attract and retain more students.

Parts of an Enrollment Management Strategy

Ensuring that admitted students have a positive experience is critical to an institution’s viability and sustainability. Retaining and graduating students at high rates is more cost-effective than recruiting new ones since it provides steady tuition revenue and enhances the institution’s reputation. Many states also have funding formulas that reward higher retention and graduation rates, while accrediting bodies also use these metrics to assess institutional quality.

A robust enrollment management strategy supports student success by considering every phase of a student’s relationship to an institution, from a prospective student’s initial interest in the institution through graduation. In other words, higher education leaders who wish to develop a fully realized strategic enrollment plan should align their academic and cocurricular programming. This involves a wide variety of activities that are fundamental to an institution’s mission, including:

• Financial aid—awarding institutional financial aid to support access and affordability;
• Student support services—providing resources to help students transition to college, persist, and succeed;
• Curriculum development—aligning academic programs with student interests and market demands; and
• Retention and graduation—developing policies and practices to retain students and support their progress to graduation.

This comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of the student experience are considered, which supports sustained enrollments and optimizes net tuition revenue. Before implementation, institutions should understand their students’ needs, including non-traditional, minority, international, and transfer students. Some ideas will take longer to implement than others, and goals should be realistic and measurable. For example, creating a new degree program or introducing a new course registration system may have different returns on investment and require different levels of effort, but both should fulfill a specific need, be feasible, and have realistic targets to sustain or grow enrollment.

Key Considerations for Boards

As stewards, board members have a fiduciary responsibility to understand their institution’s enrollment management strategy and provide effective oversight. Boards must ensure that their enterprise’s enrollment plans are realistic and align with the institution’s mission, vision, and values. Boards should understand the demographic challenges facing their institutions, ways to promote equity and fairness in admissions, concerns about the rising cost of attendance and student debt, and how all areas of the institution support students (such as academic affairs, housing, and career services).

Here are some enrollment management questions to consider as part of your board’s meeting agendas:

1. Is our board prepared to lead a strategic review of enrollment management at our institution? What information does our board need to properly exercise oversight over ways to measure the value of an education that our institution provides?
2. Does our board understand the various ways a student can be admitted to the institution?
3. Is our board receiving annual reports that provide a historical overview of the demographics of all new students enrolled and the enrollment trends? What improvements can be made to ensure this report shares all the necessary information effectively?
4. What role, if any, should the board of trustees play in admissions decisions? What role do they currently play at our institution?
5. What enrollment-related metrics does our board need to see, and how often should these metrics be reviewed to ensure alignment with the institution’s mission and long-term vitality?
6. How effectively are our enrollment management strategies addressing the unique needs and challenges of our minority student populations, and what data do we have to support this?
7. How are our enrollment management strategies addressing the needs of non-traditional students, such as adult learners, part-time students, and those seeking workforce training programs?
8. What partnerships with local businesses, industries, and high schools are in place to support enrollment growth, and how are we leveraging these partnerships to enhance student recruitment and retention?
9. How are our fundraising and scholarship initiatives aligned with the institution’s enrollment management goals, and what impact are they having on attracting and retaining students?

Remember that a comprehensive, successful enrollment management plan considers all elements of student success. For more insights on an enrollment management strategy for your institution, see AGB’s publications Understanding Enrollment Management: A Guide for College and University Board Members and What Board Members Need to Know About Enrollment Management.

AGB used AI in the development of this blog post to help summarize recommendations from our extensive library of content.