Managing Student Enrollments in the context of cost sharing, privatization, and rankings Don Hossler Executive Associate Dean & Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Indiana University Bloomington & Rositsa Bateson Vice-President for Student Services Central European University Presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for Institutional Research Copenhagen, Denmark August 24-27, 2008

Introduction The concept of ‘managing’ student enrollments Institutional enrollment practices that reflect ‘higher order values’, ‘open access’, vs. An attempt to exert influence on the numbers, types and mix of student enrollments in order to achieve institutional mission and goals (within national and international pressures)

Changing public policy debate Funding as the sole responsibility of the state Move to mixed funding models: Tuition and fee schemes Cost sharing, revenues from ‘third’ sources Privatization of HE Increased focus on perceived quality via national and international rankings Focus on student retention (from ‘getting in’ to ‘getting through’)

Focus on the students Social objectives: More attention to the number and type of students: growth and diversification Financial objectives: Students as a source of revenue Academic objectives: Emphasis on the quality of students (in the context of mass HE) Competing priorities: Complex management demands Emphasis on recruitment and retention: enrollment management strategies

Defining Enrollment Management Incentives: The move from total public support toward cost sharing (privatization, increasing tuition costs) Reliance on tuition revenue: more students Market position: better students/desired student profile leading to desired outcomes (retention and graduation) Balancing government support and tuition revenue – influenced by the number of students The role of (fee-paying) international students The role of financial aid/EC grants as a leveraging tool

Defining Enrollment Management A process of bringing discipline, integration, and intentionality to student enrollment Using strategic planning, research and analysis A set of tools, techniques and tactics A calculated and empirical perspective on, and market orientation toward, the real costs and consequences of espoused values such as increasing diversity and access.

…an organizational concept and a systematic set of activities designed to enable educational institutions to exert more influence over their student enrollments. Organized by strategic planning and supported by institutional research, enrollment management activities concern student college choice, transition to college, student attrition and retention, and student outcomes. These processes are studied to guide institutional practices in the areas of new student recruitment and financial aid, student support services, curriculum development, and other academic areas that affect enrollments, student persistence, and student outcomes from college. (Hossler and Bean, 1990, p. 5) … ‘the student experience’ … ‘the social dimension of HE’

Enrollment management for big and small… Two cases examined in the paper: Indiana University Bloomington (US): large pubic research university, member of the Big Ten Conference; 36,000 students; high retention and graduation rates; lower state appropriation (funding) per student: seeks additional revenue The Central European University (Hungary): small international post-graduate institution; privately funded; 1,000 students, high retention and graduation rates; mission-driven: expanding outreach to ‘emerging democracies’

Utilizing Enrollment Management to: Increase student enrollment Increase tuition revenue/optimize institutional financial aid distribution Maintain/enhance institutional image related to quality of the student body Diversify student profile Study factors related to retention and graduation (in both institutions this is not a current problem) Maintain a competitive market position

Strategy I An integrative approach to enrollment planning via recruitment, admissions and financial aid: Admissions and enrollment data analysis: recruitment-admissions-enrollment yield Geo-demographic market analysis: focus on student characteristics Econometric modeling techniques (use of financial aid vs. net tuition revenue)

Strategy II Use of institutional financial aid as an incentive (based on the study of the impact of various amounts of scholarship on the enrollment decisions of students of different ability groups): to achieve student quality objectives to achieve net revenue goals

Strategy III Understand, highlight, and balance emerging conflicting priorities: how to simultaneously maximize (or optimize) return on the enrollment goals of: Maintaining high academic standards Attract a diverse student body Increase the number of students Increase the net tuition revenue

Conclusion Enrollment Management: A carefully planned strategy to manage student enrollments with a view to institutional image and financial planning A comprehensive process designed to achieve and maintain the optimum recruitment, retention and graduation rates Optimize all institutional resources to achieve overarching goals Support institutional effectiveness through study of own performance data Viable in diverse national settings Criticism of enrollment management