Author: Dwyer Education Strategies

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. ? Ensure that faculty take attendance every day and establish a mechanism to report students who do not attend class. ? Test or quiz within the first ten days of class for all courses enrolling new students, especially freshmen. ? Package currently enrolled students as soon as they apply for financial aid. Do not wait until the end of the Spring term.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. The United States is facing one of the most significant economic downturns in recent history. It is too early to tell how much worse it is going to get, but at a minimum it is likely that most families are very concerned about the national economy and their own financial situations. Uncertainty will create immediate challenges for colleges and universities. The current economic situation may impact college and university retention rates this term. Institutional leaders would be well-served to consider addressing possible attrition issues in the next couple of months.

April Clark CAS CAS is a full service direct marketing service bureau that handles all data processing services from direct mail to telemarketing to email marketing. Direct mail services include list acquisition, list hygiene, database enhancement, letter shop services, data entry and database building. Telemarketing data processing includes adding telephone numbers to databases and lists, scrubbing lists for ?do not call? flagging, eliminating deceased people from databases and other related services. Email marketing services include providing email prospect lists and broadcasting, appending/adding email addresses to databases, ECOA to update email addresses and handling the broadcast of email messages to your […]

Marcia Nance President InterimWin, Inc. Does anyone else identify an eerie similarity between higher ed enrollment VPs and NFL head coaches? It seems like the same NFL head coaches simply rotate among teams. Not unlike head coaches in the NFL, the same group of enrollment VPs in higher ed seem to rotate among colleges and universities. It is next to impossible for an individual who has not been a head coach or VP to break into the ranks of either of these exclusive clubs. If someone is willing to take a chance on the unproven head coach as was evidenced […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Everyone says they understand the importance of financial aid in the enrollment management process. As the costs of higher education continue to climb, most pay at least lip service to the vital role of financial aid. Unfortunately, many speak of it but few have really examined their own aid policies and procedures to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of current and prospective students and their families. ? Have your current paper requirements been seriously evaluated to eliminate all necessary forms? If you require more than the FAFSA for students […]

Roosevelt University Increases Freshman Enrollments by 70% in a Single Year John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Mary Hendry has earned a fine reputation in Illinois higher education. Her long career in enrollment management has been stellar and many top administrators throughout thestate and beyond owe their careers to her training and mentoring. Active involvement in professional associations over the years has provided another outlet for her to share knowledge and encourage young people new to the profession. Mary serves currently as Vice President for Enrollment Management at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Under her leadership and with the […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Leaders in enrollment management divisions can do more to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints. ? Carefully examine admission travel, including attendance at college fairs and high school visits. With a national emphasis on reducing dependence on oil, eliminating unnecessary travel can save significant dollars and energy. Some institutions have been able to reduce recruitment travel by as much as 80% with no impact on inquiry generation or yield. ? Save the forests by eliminating all forms in the financial aid process not specifically required by regulation. Consider using technology to have […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Ferrum College in Virginia has experienced huge growth under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Braaten. She implemented a new admission and financial aid plan in 2004 and students really responded. In just the last four years: ? Admission applications have increased by 89%. ? New student enrollments have increased by 82%. ? Total undergraduate enrollment has increased by 45%. ? Ferrum College has expanded its geographic reach by attracting students from eighteen states and five countries.

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. When I met Dr. Carol Seavor in November of 2003, she had recently launched her Presidency at Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, Virginia. The College was very small, with an enrollment of fewer than 650 undergraduates. The physical plant was essentially one building which housed administrative offices, student residences, classrooms and labs. The institution catered almost exclusively to working adults. The private school was a bargain, charging students only $6,000 per academic year. ?Dr. Seavor expressed a desire to make significant changes at the little college. Her plans called for […]

Dr. Doug Spedaro President Premier Collegiate Communications David Waggoner Vice President Premier Collegiate Communications As you are painfully aware, the typical high school student hears from hundreds of colleges as the college search process unfolds. Therefore it has become harder and harder to make your institution stand out from the crowd. Search response rates ? which average between one and two percent? reflect this. We believe that there is a way to overcome this dismal response rate by combining the guaranteed delivery of direct mail with the unique aspects of the internet. Why the Internet Alone Does Not Work Faced […]