Enrollment Assessment Services

Any engagement with Williams Consulting begins with either an Enrollment Program Assessment or a more extensive Strategic Operational Analysis.  These services enable us to understand your enrollment goals and the current strategies, systems, and organizational structure being used to achieve them.  Each service includes a written report with recommendations.  Any proposal for ongoing support would be based on this assessment.

Overview

No organization operates in a vacuum – or in a world that is in perfect harmony with its goals.  Colleges and universities enroll students in an increasingly competitive and challenging external environment.  This environment is constantly changing and poses threats and opportunities that inhibit or support the achievement of institutional goals.  

Enrollment goals should be realistic, sustainable, and supported fully by the institution after a frank and honest evaluation of internal strengths and weaknesses and a careful assessment of the relevant opportunities and threats in the external environment.  

The strategies represent the approach or the methodology that will be used to achieve the goals.  Relatively few strategies drive any effective enrollment plan, but they must be the right ones.  These are the strategies that if implemented fully and effectively will account for most of the desired outcome or result.  The strategies serve as a blueprint for resource allocation and decision-making. Virtually everything that goes on in an enrollment program can be viewed and evaluated as a series of separate systems: 

  •  Marketing and promotion
  •  Recruitment and outreach
  •  Admission and selection
  •  Financial aid
  •  Registration
  •  Advising
  •  Career counseling and placement, etc.  

All the strategies are implemented through one or more of these systems. Much of our time during the campus visit is devoted to fully understanding how these systems currently work in order to identify opportunities for improvement. The structure of an organization or a division can be depicted by an organization chart.  The org chart shows how the various systems are delivered and how offices, departments, and people relate to each other in the implementation of the plan.  Ultimately, the organizational structure either supports or inhibits plan implementation. 

The diagram below illustrates the assessment process:

Enrollment Program Assessment Process

We typically complete the assessment and deliver the final report within four to six weeks, following this three-step approach:

1. Data Collection and Analysis – The institution provides us with as much relevant data and information as is readily available for our review prior to the campus visit.  We supply a checklist of standard materials used in the assessment.

2. Campus Meetings and Interviews – The consultant visits the campus for two days of meetings and interviews with selected members of the leadership team and enrollment staff.  The purpose of the meetings are to help us gain a full understanding of the institution’s strategic and annual enrollment goals, the driving and restraining forces that support or inhibit their achievement, and the current strategies, systems, and organizational structure used to achieve them.  Our goal during this visit is to develop an accurate and complete description of the current state of the enrollment program.  Prior to the visit, we spend time on the telephone with the assigned project manager planning the agenda and meeting schedule for the visit.  

3. Report with Recommendations – Within two or three weeks of the campus visit, we provide a written report of our findings and recommendations and schedule a conference call to discuss the report. 

Strategic Operational Analysis

The Strategic Operational Analysis is an important step in developing a successful enrollment program.  It serves as a diagnostic tool that defines the current state of your enrollment program and identifies opportunities for improvement in eight critical areas:

  •     Purpose
  •     Data management
  •     Communication channels
  •     Competitive influences
  •     Affecting agents
  •     Primary markets
  •     Key performance indicators
  •     Student success

Typically, we conduct the analysis over a four month period and provide reports with recommendations following each visit to campus.

The Strategic Operational Analysis is also a building block for our extensive strategic and annual enrollment planning services.  Our enrollment planning services are designed to ensure the full and effective development and implementation of best practices that will achieve enrollment goals and position the institution for success now and in the future.

For more information about our services or to schedule a time to talk, please use our contact form or call us at (303) 902-7250. You can also email us at tom@williamscompany.net