DRAFT Enrollment Management Plan -Executive Summary

Status: Submitted to Academic Affairs Committee for Review and Endorsement

Enrollment and Retention Goals for the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

Over the next five years the goals of the UW – Stevens Point Enrollment Management plan will seek to:

  • Attain a stable enrollment mixof undergraduate and graduate students with a goal of 10,000 students.
  • Increase the number of out of state enrollments for all student types from 11% of total enrollment to 16%of total enrollment.
  • Increase the undergraduate student retention rate from 81% to 86%.
  • Increase the transfer student retention rate from 80% - 84%.
  • Increase the diversity student retention rate from 78% - 82%.
  • Increase the percentage of new, domestic diversity admits from 11% to 20% of total new students.
  • Increase diversity student graduation rates from 48% to 55%.
  • Increase the four year graduation rate from 24- 30%.
  • Increase the number of students receiving degrees from by 7%.
  • Raise the average ACT score from 23 to 24.
  • Improve the quality of data and analysis toolsets to provide campus departments and decision makers with the tools to effectively manage enrollment and retention.
  • Develop a student-centered Enrollment Management Unit that is focused on delivering high quality and efficient enrollment services to the community of UW – Stevens Point.
  • Implement the International Admissions Enrollment plan.

Context for the Enrollment Management Plan

The External Environment

  • Decreasing number of high school graduates which isplateauing. The number of high school graduates is half of what it was 10 years ago. The plateau lasts for a decade till 2025, when the number of 18 year olds nationwide will decline by 6% across all major ethnic categories. This conclusion is based on population calculations from the U.S. Census.
  • Increasing competition from for-profits, privates and other UW institutions within Wisconsin.
  • High school graduates are increasingly becoming more diverse.
  • The students that will attend college are increasingly less prepared for college-level work.
  • Online options, including Massive Open Online Courses will continue to increase and provide competition to traditional instructional modes and put downward pressure on tuition.
  • Students and parents are increasingly becoming more sensitive to increasing costs and student loan obligations and want to see value for these increased costs.
  • The U.S. Department of Education is developing a quality ranking and rating system for higher education that will determine institutional financial aid awards.
  • Growing demand from employers for workforce readiness skills.

The Internal Environment

  • University Strengths
  • Unique programs which are popular with students.
  • High rate of success for graduates in further higher education and employment. (link to employment data)
  • High visibility and strong brand recognition within Wisconsin, especially within the North Central Wisconsin region.
  • New Strategic Plan
  • Inclusive shared governance
  • Strong sense of institutional mission within faculty and staff
  • Caring and supportive environment for students.
  • Implementation of new General Education Program requirements.
  • Implementation of MAP-Works software.
  • Low default rate for student loans.
  • Average student debt is $23,000 and is similar to comparable institutions.
  • University Challenges
  • Enrollment imbalances in major programs
  • Class scheduling conflicts for students and facilities
  • Under-utilization of facilitiesresulting in decreasing state funding for improvements to instructional space and an inefficient use of resources.
  • Scholarships are largely given to upper classmen rather than being used to attract new freshman.
  • There is no campus-wide coordination of college/department scholarships.
  • Retention and graduation of diversity students is lower than overall student retention.
  • University retention activities while demonstrating effectiveness, lack a coordinated approach.
  • Online services are not comparable to our competitors.
  • Inability to automate registration functions hampers faculty and staff productivity.
  • Lack of an ability to be able to perform analytic and predictive capabilities with student data creates a competitive disadvantage.
  • Current student information system requires significant enhancements to provide for requisite checking,historical dated rows to measure student enrollment changes, enrollment apportioning within sections, and automation of enrollment restrictions.
  • Manual processes throughout the university that increases the error rate and lowers staff productivity thereby negatively impacting data quality.
  • Lack of eform/business process management system slows the timeliness of forms processing.
  • Lack of a Constituent Relationship Management system to develop prospective students in order to increase the applicant pool. (Implemented CRM last year)
  • Lack of a student advisement and comments system to ensure effective academicplanning and advisor/student interaction.

Institutional Enrollment Strategies

  • Develop a reporting system to forecast course demand and utilize that to maximize enrollments and capacity planning.
  • Increase funding for freshman, diversity and out of state scholarships.
  • Systematize the Project Win-Win concept of awarding associate degrees for students who withdraw or leave prior to completing bachelor degree.
  • Implement the International Student Recruitment Plan.
  • Review options for 2+2 enrollment agreements with international institutions.
  • Develop and implement an annual recruitment plan for the Admissions Office.
  • Develop consistent and comprehensive branded recruiting materials.
  • Develop programs that can be completed online or in the evening/weekend timeframe for adult learners.
  • Review program capacities and if majors are designated to grow, review their departmental staffing and fiscal capabilities to do so.
  • Review registration and academic policies to ensure that they enhance student retention and comply with appropriate state and federal regulations.

Retention Strategies

  • Develop a campus-wide retention plan.
  • Implement MAP-Worksor its equivalent for all student types.
  • Implement a pre/co-requisite checking system to ensure adequate course preparation prior to enrollment in a class.
  • Implement an enrollment system that allows for the automated apportioning of high demand classes to minimize course bottlenecks.
  • Implement the use of provisional admissions for majors with a retention problem.
  • Implement a conditional admission process for students who are admissible, but who may need to remediate specific academic challenges.
  • Review current campus retention strategies to determine effectiveness and how to maximize benefits from these efforts
  • Develop on-campus support services for out of state students, international students and adult learners.

Enrollment Management Unit Strategies

  • Review Registration and Records staffing todevelop a staffing model based on future office needs.
  • Evaluate, plan and implementa “one-stop” enrollment services model.
  • Integrate departmental functions wherever possible to improve efficiencies and services.
  • Review and revise the new and transfer student orientation processes.
  • Develop an online registration process for new students and transfer students.
  • Review current operations to ensure compliance with the Department of Education regulations.
  • Develop an organizational structure that emphasizes cross-training and cross support functions within Enrollment Management departments.
  • Coordinate and enhance unit communications to ensure effective student recruitment and excellent service to students, faculty and staff.
  • Align recruiter responsibilities with dedicated territories in order to focus efforts on the most productive regions and to provide prospective students with the best possible service.

Enrollment Management Technology Strategies

  • Review the Student Information System to determine the best option for the upgrade of the existing system either through additional build out or SIS replacement with an ERP.
  • Implement digital imaging across all Enrollment Management offices to reduce operational costs and improve the quality and speed of services. Convert all existing student records to a digital storage format.
  • Implement digital forms/business process management software across all departments within Enrollment Management.
  • Implement a service desk tool to provide 24/7 student access to FAQ’s and troubleshooting routing.
  • Purchase and implement software that will provide departments and colleges with an efficient method to process scholarship applications and a tool that will provide students with an easy way to find and apply for scholarships on campus.
  • Implement constituent relationship management software to increase the applicant pool, to develop enrollment targets by major and track recruitment activities to determine effectiveness.
  • Upgrade existing degree audit system to incorporate interactive degree audit, what if and student planner capabilities.
  • Purchase and implement a business analytics solution.

Data and Analytics Plan – Measuring Effectiveness

  • Develop data definitions and metrics to ensure consistent measure of enrollment and retention goals.
  • Develop enrollment targets by program within CRM system to measure recruitment productivity.
  • Develop effectiveness measures for each unit within Enrollment Management and provide feedback reporting to ensure that enrollment goals are met.
  • Develop effectiveness measures for retention programs across the campus to ensure that enrollment goals are met.
  • Develop predictive and analytical business intelligence capabilities to project enrollment and retention for the University.
  • Develop institutional enrollment and retention production reporting that is utilized effectively by academic departments for planning, advising and evaluation.

1 | Page