Undergraduate enrollment is such a hectic time for students, parents, and staff alike. There is so much information to keep track of on both ends of the spectrum, and it can become quite difficult in the midst of things. Because of this, being a part of undergraduate enrollment management is exceptionally important.
Undergraduate admissions faculty members are experts on their institution; however, even those who are best at their job can make mistakes. With that in mind, are you making the following undergraduate enrollment management mistakes?
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Thinking “Your Reputation Will Speak For Itself”
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| Image by Flickr user James Clark |
Clearly your institution is booming with enrollment, you’re raking in students left and right. Much deserved appreciation can be paid to enrollment management, except you cannot always count on the reputation of the school’s enrollment numbers, or your own personal enrollment numbers. Sure, reputations speak, but we have no control over how and when they speak, nor to whom. You might be depending on your reputation to back you up to someone, and then are left with nothing when they have no knowledge of prior achievements. The subtheme to this issue is that we often are in the mindset that advertising and/or marketing is somehow beneath us. The world is ever changing, especially with the way information is being transferred from the institution to students. If you are relying solely on reputation, you will stumble and fall when faced with new challenges in the future.
A terrible consequence of this sort of reputation-dependent thinking is when new technologies or marketing strategies are developed, those distracted by past achievements are unable to focus on any opportunity of future ones. You cannot give up; is meeting your numbers beneath you now? Is putting more creativity in the world beneath you? You need to decide which is more important, focusing exclusively on things you’ve done, or imagining the possibility of things that are still left to do. You cannot settle for those successes. Yes, you are allowed to be proud, as they are great accomplishments, but since when does that mean we stop working for more future successes? The world does not stop spinning for one win, there are new problems waiting to be solved every day.
Not Talking About the Negative
It happens to us all, hardships at work, even the tiniest nuisance can really make a difference; it can be quite disheartening. Part of your job, however, is to ignore all these little aggravations. Yes, we all will have to deal with these as some things just cannot be avoided, but you cannot dwell on the negative. It is so easy to complain about anything and everything in our lives, especially our job, but it makes working so much harder when that tension is in the air.
In a higher education setting there are several factors that have had a stressful effect on the work environment such as program and budget cuts, layoffs, or even the unfortunate extreme of institutions closing. However, in such cases schools and faculty are still presenting themselves as though it is business as usual, as if nothing is wrong. It is important to keep any worries from the public eye, including the student body. You can and should talk about how your institution has responded to such difficult situations and how you are successfully coming through it, but only in a positive light. This is the best way to acknowledge the “elephant in the room,” so to speak, as some things simply can’t be avoided. This also shows how committed your faculty is to honesty and transparency when it comes to dealing with things that are difficult for your institution to deal with.
New Isn’t Always Best
One downside to finally admitting that admissions is indeed marketing is getting caught up in trying to keep up with the “competition,” however it may be defined. Part of your marketing plan is not only to further your success, but keeping an eye on the success of those around you and staying ahead of the game. It also seems as if admissions offices tend to be early adopters on campus. These two factors connect in synergistic ways to end up with some offices constantly chasing the newest apps and technology. It might seem easy to run out and grab the latest and greatest tools, but if you have something that is working, don’t worry. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be aware of the newest technology, but you need to find a good reason to invest in an upgrade other than just the fact that it is new. We are all for innovation, but with an intentional and well thought out plan for its use. Don’t blindly jump on board with SAAS or web based technologies just because they are new and exciting, especially if you have no real knowledge or use for them. Just stick to what you know works best for your purposes. Don’t feel obligated to update if it’s not necessary.
There are many ways to manage enrollment, and no matter what your strategy, things can get a bit frantic. Hopefully these few tips will help prevent you and your team from making little mistakes that can hinder the workflow, and help get everyone through enrollment stress free.
