Author: Dwyer Education Strategies

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 […]

Marcia Nance Vice President for Enrollment Holy Names University When potential new students and their families access a college/university website, they are searching for different kinds of information depending on the level of selectivity for an institution and where they are in the college choice process. Stage One: Review Information -Just beginning to look at colleges -Emotional -WEB is important resource -Beginning to settle on college choice characteristics

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. More and more chief academic officers are asking to be included on the distribution list of weekly admission and financial aid reports. Others, who may have been on the distribution list for years, are now actually looking at the reports! Academic Vice Presidents, Deans and Provosts are beginning to understand that their operations are directly affected by the outcomes for the enrollment management division. Chief academic officers are charged with many important responsibilities at small colleges and universities. Providing appropriate leadership on faculty selection and retention, curriculum development, student progression, section counts […]

John W. Dysart President The Dysart Group, Inc. Significant changes have taken place in federal financial aid programs in recent years and even more changes are currently underway. Presidents, Business Officers, Enrollment Vice Presidents and Retention Officers should make sure that they are aware of the changes and have a seat at the table in the decision making process regarding how these opportunities will be implemented at their campuses. Financial aid can be so complicated that chief administrators often leave decisions regarding financial aid solely in thehands of financial aid administrators. While their experience and knowledge is critically important, financial […]

Dr. Susan Coia Gailey Independent Consultant Is no research forthcoming from your Office of Institutional Research? Had you [and everyone else] envisioned that a central Office of Institutional Research would be the ultimate solution to all of your reporting needs? What you need is a Strategic Planning & Research Office in the President?s Office, and you need to keep it separate from your reporting operation. If you do not agree, do not understand or are intrigued or desperate, read on. If you do not have an IR Office but are thinking about getting one, read on to avoid disappointment.

Carol A. Descak President The Descak Group Successful recruitment is the result of doing the right thing, with the right prospective student at the right time. To an extent, an enrollment operational plan can accomplish this objective. Communication flow, processes and procedures, recruitment events, travel, etc. can be programmed to happen, targeting specific students at specific times. In spite of a well-oiled operational machine, small colleges? and universities that are tuition-driven and struggle for market share rely on the personal contact and effectiveness of admissions recruiters to meet and exceed enrollment goals. I have repeatedly witnessed lower enrollment yields in […]

April Clark CAS There are many successful ways to market via e-mail. I will discuss some of those methods in this article. There are also pitfalls that await your e-mail marketing campaigns. It is important for college marketing departments to be aware of these stumbling blocks ? it may save you from some headaches further down the road! The first pitfall is incorrect e-mail addresses. There are a number of competent e-mail append and e-mail prospect vendors out there, the secret is finding one that can give you what you need ? accurate, opt-in e-mail addresses. In addition, you must […]

Dr. Marylouise Fennell Senior Counsel Council of Independent Colleges Dr. Scott D. Miller President Bethany College A new president often arrives to find the line already forming outside the office – door so many demands, so many constituencies seeking his or her ear, so little time. The crucial first six months of a new presidency must lay a firm foundation for success because the honeymoon period in higher education is becoming ever shorter. All too often, we?ve seen missteps at this pivotal stage prove fatal to a fledgling presidency, even with exceptionally well-qualified candidates. How to sort out and prioritize […]

Shirley E. Arnold Director of Academic Support Services Brevard College Many parents of today?s college students are Baby Boomers. So are many of us who work in higher education as faculty members and administrators. So it seems we should have a good point of entry into understanding our contemporaries? approach to parenting. Yet, instead, our expectations of our students seem dramatically different! Students today often tell us that their best friends are their parents. While we may assume that the student with the cell phone glued to his/her ear is talking to a peer, we should probably think again. The […]