It’s that time of year again…. For enrollment-savvy managers the first of a new year means it is time to get your fall enrollment strategy completed!

“What? Already? We’re just starting winter!”

Enrollment management means you manage your enrollment…rather than enrollment managing you! To maximize your potential for a successful fall, now is the time to develop, finalize and begin implementation of a comprehensive fall term enrollment strategy. Your fall term enrollment can be determined by what you do in the next two months.

Where to start. The best place to begin is by reviewing what you’ve done previously. What worked? What didn’t? Can you ‘tweak’ strategies to make it more effective? Do you have new programs, delivery formats, locations to promote? You cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results. If you are projecting more students, you need to adopt different strategies and tactics. Of course, if you haven’t documented your previous work this is more difficult to do. Regardless, a cross-functional committee will be able to provide you with information and evaluation of past practices.

Consider all student groups. Not just new students, but your current students and those who have/will withdraw. What can you do to keep more of your current students? What can you do to get more of your former students to return?

Best Practices. Once you have those, benchmark other, comparable institutions—including your competitors! What are they doing that seems effective? What are they promoting or services to they provide that would enhance your ability to attract and retain students?

Consider Resources. It’s not difficult to generate a fairly lengthy and comprehensive list of good ideas. But trouble begins, however, when you start to review available resources. Do you have enough staff to perform the tasks? Are there enough financial resources available to accomplish what you have on your list? If not, you will need to begin to rank your ideas by ease of implementation and potential pay-off. There are some things that will be easy to implement but may not provide the best opportunity for real growth. On the other hand, there will be some excellent ideas that are too costly to implement. Narrow your options and create a ‘doable’ list of tactics. But don’t throw away your other good ideas! They, or variations of them, may be great ideas in the future.

"What you do in the next two months will determine your fall enrollment."

Look at the Big Picture and align strategies with mission and culture. Make sure your enrollment objectives and tactics support your institution’s goals and serve your student population(s). Don’t be tempted to chase down potential new markets if it doesn’t fit your school’s culture and long-term strategy. Also, adult and traditional markets require different strategies. If you’re market is primarily adults, you will need to plan for more last minute enrollments and implement a more comprehensive follow up program to address this. On the other hand, if you are working with traditional students, what will you do between now and fall to keep them connected to your institution? They may be sitting in your classroom or have applied to your college, but your competitors are considering them ‘fair game’!