Making the Right Choice When Hiring Your Enrollment Management Leader

John W. Dysart
President
The Dysart Group

Selecting the right individual to lead enrollment management at your institution is a critical decision.  It helps to understand the important considerations when making a hiring decision for this vital position

Experience Matters

Obviously, it is always preferable to select a candidate with experience.  Experience, by itself, is preferable.  The type of experience matters as well.

An individual who previously held the same or similar title is good.

An individual who seeks to move up from a lesser position, such as a Director of Admission, can be just as valuable.

Many leaders focus on generic experience and title.  Equally, if not more important, is the type of institution where the candidate worked.  Someone from a highly selective college or university may not be the best fit for a struggling, small, private institution.  An individual with experience at a community college may not be the best fit for a large, four-year public institution.  Market conditions, available resources, financial strength and admission standards vary significantly by institution type.  Be cautious when considering a candidate from a dissimilar college or university.

Do Your Research

Experience is terrific, but outcomes are an even better measure.  Candidates may have significant experience in enrollment management, but outcomes trump generic experience.  Take the time and do some research on outcomes at the previous institutions for your candidates.

Admission results are public information for most colleges and university.  You can identify application counts, acceptance rates and yield rates for most institutions over the last 20 years or so.

Consider which candidates have been able to grow their application pools.

Consider which candidates have acceptance rates greater than 70% (unless your institution is highly selective).

Evaluate yield rates and final new student enrollment numbers during the time your candidates were in charge.

Be wary of candidates with declining application pools, low acceptance rates and declining new student enrollment numbers.

Evaluate the financial need of newly enrolled students by reviewing Federal Pell Grant eligibility percentages and consider the average amount spent in institutional aid to see if these numbers are in line with your own.

Compare the diversity of the student body at previous institutions to your own.

Mission Fit

Ensure that successful candidates have worked at institutions with similar missions or demonstrate a passion for your mission.

Research Assistance

The selection of your chief enrollment officer is such an important decision for any college or university. It can be a difficult process as many institutional leaders are not familiar with the basics of enrollment management and are even more are baffled by financial aid regulations and strategies.

• Utilize a professional in the Admissions Office to help your leadership team evaluate past performance at previous institutions.
• Rely on one of your financial aid professionals to help evaluate financial aid strategies and tactics and discount rates.

Identifying candidates with pertinent experience, mission fit and successful outcomes at previous institutions will result in hires that will serve you well.