Strategic Enrollment Management WCC Board of Trustees Retreat Thursday, May 21, 2015

SEM is a strategic component of institutional planning focused on… Developing an optimal mix of programs/services for students Facilitating conversations/collaborations between administration, staff, faculty, and students Developing leadership at multiple levels of the institution for managing enrollment growth/decline Using data to determine strengths, gaps and trends

WCC annual enrollment 2007-08 to 2014-15

Whatcom county age trends WCC enrollment by age group Whatcom county age trends Gains from 2015 to… Age 2020 2025 15-19 1% 8% 20-24 -4% 25-29 2% -1% 30-34 10% 35-39 16% 28% 40-44 25% Age group College-level courses headcount Overall headcount 19 and under 35% 26% 20-29 46% 34% 30-39 11% 12% 40+ 9% 29% Ed

Campus involvement in SEM Planning sessions (summer/fall 2014) State SEM training (October 2014) SEM kick-off meeting (November 2014) Student leadership workshop (December 2014) Professional development day (February 2014) SEM team decides on four themes (March 2014)

Areas of focus for SEM plan Student demographics and regional industry needs Outreach and marketing Retention and completion Program and services development Course and program scheduling

Support materials Table of contents Work group charters

Table of contents Background Institutional context, committee membership/charge, goals, cycle Research Regional and state demographic history/projections, internal/external factors, enrollment trends, WCC demographic trends Goals/measurements Enrollment, retention, completion targets, student needs, priority area focus, program improvement process description, budget implications/ROI

Priority area: Outreach and marketing Goal: Evaluate WCC’s marketing and recruitment tactics that serve as the gateway to the College and student enrollment and recommend new approaches to achieve enrollment goals Examples of current actions Target audience Placement testing in high school outreach visits High school students Addition of two outreach coordinators High school students, Latino students, adult students, elementary and middle school students and families Evolution of communication vehicles (e.g., website, quarterly publication) All students

Priority area: Outreach and marketing High impact practice: placement testing in local high schools Description: Provide placement testing and targeted entry support to Whatcom County high school students 2013-2014 Cohort (Testing only) 2014-2015 Cohort (With Entry Supports) Growth in Headcount Applications 122 students 136 students 11% Enrolled in Classes (Annual) 76 students 62% yield 90 students 66% yield 18% overall increase Sum: 100% Fall: 18% Wtr: 22% Spr: 44% EDPL 100 (Student Success) 27 students 33 students 22% Attended Wave Orientation 58 students 65 students 12% Fall-Winter Retention 82% 87% 26% (5% overall rate) Fall-Spring Retention 71% 86% 43% (15% overall rate)

Priority area: Retention and completion Goal: Offer a consistent and deliberate set of retention and completion approaches, both in and out of the classroom, to encourage student persistence and completion of degrees. Examples of current actions Target audience First year experience (FYE) New, first-time in college students and underprepared students Early alert Struggling students Math literacy pathway Pre-college level math students English 101+ and English curriculum and placement changes All students, but particularly students placing at pre-college level English Faculty professional development All faculty Grad retrieval Students who have left WCC, but are close to completion Student completion coach Students nearing completion, struggling students

Priority area: retention and completion High impact practice: English 101+ Description: Students who place into English 95 enroll in both English 95 and English 101 in a team-taught, linked section. Successful students earn English 101 credit in only one quarter, instead of one year or longer. Traditional 2-year progression rate from English 95 placement to successful completion of English 101 (42%) English 101+ successful completion rate in fall 2014 and winter 2015 (76%)

Priority area: program and services development Goal: Use regional, community, college, and student data to identify needed programs and services to encourage enrollment and support student success Examples of current actions Target audience Environmental Scan Programs Cybersecurity AAS-T degree CIS students BAS proposal IT-Networking CIS and IT students, both at WCC and elsewhere Craft brewing courses Community members High School 21+ Adult learners Services Intercultural center Students of color, LGBTQ students Undocumented students team Undocumented students Completion coach Students nearing completion, struggling students

Priority area: program and services development High impact practice: Development of Cybersecurity degree 34% increase in CIS FTE in 2013-14 from 2012-13 Additional increases in 2014-15 At least six students admitted to WWU program for fall 2015 BAS in IT-Networking degree approved by SBCTC in May 2015

Priority area: course and program scheduling Goal: Identify effective scheduling processes, delivery modalities, and measures of effectiveness to support a diversity community in realizing access to education Examples of current actions Target audience Summer schedule developed earlier All students, students returning home for summer 5:30 start for evening courses Working adults Fully online transfer degree Working students, non-Whatcom County students Pending: Evening hybrid transfer degree Instruction/student services collaboration in schedule development All students Hobsons Online resources/quarterly publication All students, Whatcom County residents

Priority area: course and program scheduling High impact practice #1: Hobsons Agile Grad degree planning 2,400 degree plans built Mandatory for all first-year students enrolled in EDPL 100 (student success course) 51% of all full-time First Time in College (FTIC) students

Priority area: course and program scheduling High impact practice #2: Online courses and degrees 36% of students take at least one online course 683 students in 2014-15 have taken only online courses Students have enrolled from 13 states Online FTE is 14% of total FTE 79% online course completion rate

Gaps and concerns Staffing capacity Research (Environmental Scan) Customer relationship management (CRM) Hobsons (underutilized for advising and schedule development) First to second year retention strategies

Overall goals for SEM plan Inventory of current practices Highlight gaps and duplication of efforts Baseline data and establishment of goals Planning document, particularly for reallocation of resources

Next steps May – June: Alignment on SEM plan contents and approach July – September: SEM plan development September – October: Campus review of SEM plan October or November: Present SEM plan to Board of Trustees November – December: Full scale implementation of SEM plan