The Seven Pillars: Taking Stock of the Enrollment Cycle
Dr. Scott Miller
President
Batten University
Katelyn M. Sanders
Director of Admissions and Alumni Affairs
Shenandoah University
With fall session enrollment largely settled and work on institutional reporting to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) nearing completion, college and university leaders have an important opportunity to evaluate the success—or shortcomings—of their enrollment strategies.
October marks the conclusion of the first quarter of the business cycle for most colleges and universities. The results provide some of the most reliable indicators of institutional financial performance for the academic year. For presidents, chief financial officers, and chief enrollment officers, this is the time to celebrate successes, identify weaknesses, and make necessary adjustments before enrollment shortfalls become budget problems.
For years, we have discussed the seven pillars of a successful enrollment program at a private college or university. Although institutional missions and markets differ, these pillars provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating enrollment productivity and identifying opportunities for growth.
The seven pillars are:
- Traditional Undergraduate Enrollment
- Traditional Transfer Enrollment
- Early Enrollment
- Nontraditional Undergraduate Enrollment
- Traditional Graduate Enrollment
- Online Enrollment
- Continuing Education
Each represents a distinct enrollment opportunity and revenue stream. Together, they provide a more complete picture of institutional performance than the traditional emphasis on first-time, full-time undergraduate enrollment alone.
Working closely with institutional research, senior leadership should assess productivity across all seven pillars, comparing actual results with enrollment goals, historical trends, and budget assumptions. Equally important is identifying underperforming areas early enough to adjust expenditures and revise projections for the remaining three quarters.
While diversification is essential, traditional undergraduate enrollment remains the primary budget driver at many private institutions and deserves particularly close examination.
Consider the relationship between full-time and part-time enrollment. It can take four students enrolled in a single course to generate approximately the same tuition credit-hour volume as one full-time undergraduate taking 12 to 16 credit hours. Headcount alone, therefore, can create a misleading impression of enrollment strength.
Critical subcategories also matter. Residential enrollment is an especially important example. At many private colleges, a residential student represents approximately $14,000 annually in room and board revenue, in addition to tuition and fees. When students make last-minute decisions to change from residential to commuter status, the institution may retain the tuition revenue but lose the anticipated housing and dining revenue. An unoccupied bed cannot easily be replaced after the session begins.
A college might meet its overall enrollment goal while still experiencing a substantial revenue shortfall because its residential population fell below projections. Similarly, unexpected changes in student credit-hour loads, financial aid discounting, retention, or enrollment mix can affect the bottom line. These are the holes that presidents and financial officers must identify before they become larger problems.
One Source of Institutional Truth
We strongly recommend that the Office of Institutional Research serve as the authoritative source for all official enrollment data. Because this office coordinates state, federal, and accreditation reporting, its leadership is positioned to establish consistent definitions and reporting standards.
Well-intentioned staff members sometimes customize enrollment reports for their individual departments, inadvertently producing conflicting numbers. A common institutional standard eliminates confusion and ensures that everyone is working from the same information.
Over the years, many institutional research offices have moved beyond the traditional fall census approach toward a comprehensive, 12-month annual enrollment model. This broader perspective captures the full enrollment cycle, including spring and summer activity, graduate and online programs, continuing education, and other enrollment opportunities.
Such a model provides a more meaningful assessment of overall institutional productivity and a stronger foundation for forecasting performance throughout the remaining business year.
We also encourage institutional research directors to maintain key performance indicator dashboards for senior leadership. These should track enrollment against goals, net tuition revenue, residential occupancy, retention, credit-hour production, and other measures directly connected to institutional financial performance.
The Value of an Outside Perspective
Even institutions with experienced enrollment leadership benefit from periodic external assessment. An independent consultant can evaluate staffing, organizational structure, recruitment practices, admissions productivity, financial aid strategies, and predictive enrollment models.
For more than 30 years, Scott has utilized The Dysart Group for this purpose. John Dysart brings exceptional expertise in enrollment data analytics and predictive modeling, providing institutional leaders with valuable insight into both current performance and future opportunities.
Fall session is an ideal time for such an assessment. There is still sufficient time to implement recommendations, strengthen recruitment and retention efforts, and adjust operating budgets before the academic year progresses too far.
Enrollment management is not simply about recruiting the next incoming class. It is about understanding the productivity of every enrollment stream, connecting those results to institutional finances, and making informed decisions throughout the year.
The first quarter provides the evidence. Effective leadership requires acting on it.
When in doubt, ask an expert. The cost of an informed assessment is modest compared with the financial consequences of discovering an enrollment problem too late.
Dr. Scott D. Miller is President of Batten University (formerly Virginia Wesleyan University) in Virginia Beach.
Dr. Katelyn M. Sanders is Director of Admissions and Alumni Affairs for the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University.