Author: Dwyer Education Strategies

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. More good news continues to come out of Virginia. Ferrum College has been on a historic, record-setting enrollment growth trend since Dr. Jennifer Braaten took over the presidency. So much has been accomplished during her short tenure including: -rapid growth -academic program expansion -additions to the physical plant -new athletic offerings -additional co-curricular opportunities -green initiatives -targeted retention efforts Well a new milestone has been reached at the formerly small college located in Southwest Virgnia. The total enrollment at Ferrum College will exceed 1,500 students for the first time in decades. Despite […]

Dr. Marylouise Fennell Partner Hyatt Fennell, Higher Education Services Dr. Scott Miller President Bethany College When it comes to student retention, it turns out that what we thought we knew ain?t necessarily so. Current research reveals that many key assumptions on which we have often based enrollment management practices need to be challenged and modified. Take, for instance, the traditional institutionally-centered focus on retention. When we as college CEOs and senior enrollment (admissions) managers turn this issue around, examining persistence from the student?s standpoint, we enhance existing perspectives about what fosters students success, says Dr. Joe Pace, a nationally-known specialist […]

John W.Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. College and university presidents are rightfully focused on fundraising, endowments, curricular growth and public relations. For small, private colleges and universities, these priorities can often come at the expense of the most important issue for presidents at tuition-driven schools?enrollment. I am always surprised at how often enrollment, recruitment and financial aid take a backseat to other priorities. Perhaps it is because presidents usually do not bring significant enrollment management experience to the table. Perhaps presidents place too much faith in their enrollment management professionals, despite disappointing outcomes. Presidents may too often be swayed […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Mary Hendry, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services at Roosevelt University in Chicago, retires this month after serving 44 years in the profession. She has held the titles of admission counselor, assistant director of admission, coordinator of continuing education admissions, director of admission, dean of admission and financial aid, vice president for enrollment management and vice president for enrollment and student services. How did you get into the business of enrollment management? I was involved as a college student at Saint Xavier in Chicago—clubs, organizations, tour guide, etc. So when […]

Christine Gormican Hierl President Gormican Heirl Consulting Author H. Stanley Judd had it right when he said “A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.? The problem is today, many view the roadmap as a dated tool, usurped by the soothing electronic voice of a GPS on the dash, telling trusting drivers where and when to turn. Just as you need to know where you?re going on the road, so goes the need to know your final destination when it comes to your succession planning efforts for […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The Dysart Group, Inc. recently hosted a forum at their headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina to discuss the emerging role of the admission counselor. The meeting was attended by enrollment management practitioners from five states. So much has changed in the recruitment process in recent years. Demographics present very real challenges. Poor economic conditions and cutbacks in federal and state support for higher education financial aid have changed the playing field. The advent of social media and increased student reliance on the web to make informed decisions regarding college attend-ance are changing […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The first woman President at Ferrum College, Dr. Jennifer Braaten, continues to literally transform the small institution located in southwest Virginia. Extraordinary enrollment growth during her presidency has enabled the College to secure her vision by investing in program offerings, co-curricular opportunities for students and the physical plant. “While other private schools are trying to maintain enrollment, Ferrum is growing,” said Bobby Thompson, the Senior Vice President for Administration. “We feel blessed that we have enjoyed several years of growth, which has resulted in growth in facilities and programs.” During Dr. Braaten?s […]

Dr. Marylouise Fennell Partner Hyatt Fennell, Higher Education Services Dr. Scott Miller President Bethany College Nearly 40 percent of students who entered baccalaureate degree programs this academic year will fail to complete their degrees within six years, if recent patterns continue. The implications of this trend are grave, both for our nation, which badly needs qualified workers ready to fill key jobs in emerging sectors, and for the non-retained students themselves. Current research underscores and enhances what we have long known: greater attention to student-centered issues equals greater retention. ?What we almost always find when we are retained by institutions […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. College and university presidents are right-fully focused on finding new revenue sources during these challenging economic times. Many are pursuing traditional paths such as tuition increases, attempts to reduce discount rates, capital campaigns and other fundraising initiatives. While enrollment increases seem a somewhat obvious option to increase revenue, presidents often hesitate to invest in this option. This topic occurred to me as I recently held discussions with enrollment management leaders at a couple of client institutions. We were discussing each institution’s success in significantly increasing enrollment and actually took a few minutes […]

Dr. Marylouise Fennell Partner Hyatt Fennell, Higher Education Services Dr. Scott Miller President Bethany College News on the enrollment front is mixed, adding to the challenge facing college Presidents already beleaguered by financial sustainability issues. The “Millennials,” the mini-boom generation now in and just out of college, is being replaced with a much smaller demographic. The good news is that there is still time to plan, because the percentage of high school graduates entering college is projected to increase through 2014. However, it’s estimated that in the next decades the number of students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities will […]