Author: Dwyer Education Strategies

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group   Six years ago, Enrollment Manager featured the awe-inspiring transformation of Virginia Wesleyan from an aspiring local college to an inspiring international university, highlighting it as one of the most remarkable shifts of the decade.  The article encouraged readers to keep an eye on Virginia Wesleyan’s trajectory in the years to come. Today, in 2023, the university’s journey has indeed been nothing short of amazing.  Led by President Scott Miller, a staunch advocate of The Dysart Group model, and Vice President for Enrollment Heather Campbell, the institution has just concluded a record-breaking year following the […]

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Dr. Katelyn Sanders Director of Admission & Alumni Affairs Bernard J Dunn School of Pharmacy Shenandoah University Dr. Scott D. Miller President Virginia Wesleyan University   An accompanying feature underscores the remarkable success of implementing a comprehensive enrollment model despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.  This feature not only highlights the immediate benefits of the model’s implementation, which has led to a significant surge in student enrollment, but also emphasizes its enduring advantages.  Much credit is attributed to the strategic application of John Dysart, president of The Dysart Group of Chicago, and his proven seven-part enrollment model of success. […]

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John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group   Clinton College has overcome demographic declines to grow enrollment, while most other colleges and universities have stagnated or right sized under the current challenging market conditions. The institution has effectively invested in programming and the physical plant under the leadership of Dr. Lester A. McCorn.  Recent innovation and investment have made the institution more attractive to prospective students and supported the institutional focus on Scholarship, Social Change, Spirituality and Service. The College expanded academic offerings with its new Clinton College Global initiative designed to provide 100% online offerings in accelerated and flexible […]

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John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group   Emory & Henry College increased its student population more than 2% by enrolling the largest number of undergraduate students in nearly 20 years.  The total enrollment continues the remarkable growth at the institution over the last three years.  The growth has occurred while increasing diversity. The College continues it emphasis on an enrollment management plan that emphasizes communication with prospective students and a financial aid operation the provides access and affordability. Under the leadership of Dr. John Wells, the institution has made significant enhancements to the physical plant, co-curricular activities and academic […]

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John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group   As we approach the end of another recruitment cycle, most small, private colleges and universities are continuing to struggle with enrollments. The demographic cliff is real and a reduction in the size of the customer base is having serious implications for higher education. On top of demographic challenges, more high school students are electing not to pursue college degrees. In particular, the number of minority students and males opting out of the college selection process is alarming. Inflation and economic downturns make access to college a real problem for middle class families […]

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Dr. Katelyn Sanders Director of Admission & Alumni Affairs Bernard J Dunn School of Pharmacy Shenandoah University   Dr. Scott D. Miller President Virginia Wesleyan University   As we end the 2022-2023 academic year, it’s worth noting that we are saying goodbye to not just a special class of students, but also to a way of thinking about college itself. The students who are graduating with four-year degrees this year originally began their college experience in 2019-2020.  This means they are the last class of students who chose their school and their major before the COVID–19 pandemic changed the world. […]

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Dr. Katelyn Sanders Director of Admission & Alumni Affairs Bernard J Dunn School of Pharmacy Shenandoah University Dr. Scott D. Miller President Virginia Wesleyan University The rate of college dropouts is on the rise, which is creating serious problems for students, learning institutions, and the economy. How Bad Is the Issue? According to a recent ThinkImpact report, the overall dropout rate for undergraduate college students is 40 percent, and the rates for non-white students are even higher. Who drops out?  It’s not just freshmen who end up changing their minds.  An analysis of more than 50 higher education institutions by […]

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John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group Virtually every college and university is concerned with retention and graduation rates. Many meetings have been held, and programs initiated, and retention officers hired to improve retention rates. One of the easiest steps you can take to increase your retention and graduation rates is to include the cost of books in your tuition. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a study finding that 65% of college students skipped buying some or all textbooks. This should not be surprising, as the cost of textbooks has soared over the last 50 years at three […]

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Dr. Katelyn Sanders Director of Admission & Alumni Affairs Bernard J Dunn School of Pharmacy Shenandoah University Dr. Scott D. Miller President Virginia Wesleyan University For many years, this space has been occupied by strategies and best practices in the marketing and enrollment fields, written in the context of The Dysart Group Model — a model that we have advocated for 25 years. For the first time in many years, this communication about strategies in higher education is being released without our esteemed partner and friend, Marylouise “Weezie” Fennell.  Weezie had an incredible impact on the higher education industry, the […]

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John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group I worked with the administrative team at Southeastern Free Will Baptist College last year to review admission and financial aid operations. Like many small colleges and universities, enrollment declined in recent years. New student enrollments had dropped by 22% over the previous five years. Total enrollment was down 31% since 2017. We collaborated to review recent practices and outcomes and agreed upon an action plan of new initiatives to grow enrollment. Nate Ange, President, Southeastern Free Will Baptist College The institution has already realized promising results after beginning the implementation of a new […]

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