Strategic Enrollment Management Plan

Strategic Enrollment Planning The need for strategic planning has become more critical than ever in today’s higher education enrollment landscape. Higher education institutions compete for the attention of prospective students amongst each other regionally and nationally. Strong employment opportunities o en result in individuals choosing to participate in the workforce and forgoing the pursuit of furthering their education. In addition, there will be a decline in the number of high school graduates that will exacerbate the complex enrollment picture in the next five to ten years. An additional consideration is the impacts of increased costs of higher education versus the ability to enter the workforce at a perceived higher salary due to the labor shortage. Investing in intentional planning and strategy to address these converging factors will position the University of Wisconsin-Stout to be competitive in this landscape. Strategic enrollment planning (SEP) is “a complex and organized effort to connect mission, current state, and the changing environment to long-term enrollment and fiscal health, resulting in a concrete, written plan of action. It differs from traditional enrollment planning in that it brings academic and co-curricular planning into the center of the initiative,” as defined by Ruffalo Noel Levitz. At UW-Stout, the SEP process was designed to create a comprehensive plan that is clear, proactive, and identified enrollment opportunities for different student segments and new points of entry to the University; establish specific and achievable enrollment targets; identify funding and reasonable implementation timeline to support the SEM Plan with resources needed to make UW-Stout competitive; create a structure and culture that supports and sustains strategic enrollment planning at the University both through the planning and implementation phases; and to engage the campus in a process that is collaborative, aligned with other initiatives on campus, and leverages data to inform decision-making. UW-Stout had engaged in the strategic enrollment planning process during the 2021-22 academic year that resulted in the development of its Strategic Enrollment Management Plan (SEM Plan). The planning process included over 100 staff, faculty, students, and administrators. The highly collaborative process resulted in this SEM Plan. The UW-Stout SEM Plan is a five-year strategic roadmap that will guide and align strategic enrollment efforts university wide. The SEM Plan includes details for six prioritized enrollment strategies approved by the SEP Committee and SEP Council. Timeline The SEM is based on a five-year timeline, beginning in 2022-23 and ending in 2026-27. Targets The target is to grow to 7,067 students by the end of Fall 2026. To achieve this, key performance indicators have been identified for each enrollment strategy action plan. Focus Areas It is anticipated that the plan will remain focused on these enrollment strategy action plans for the duration. Accountability There will be an annual process to review results from the key performance indicators and update the strategies and resource allocations to ensure we remain on track. Agility This SEM Plan Overview reflects a snapshot of the evolving SEP process. While the focus areas are anticipated to remain throughout the duration, the strategies and tactics may change at any time. Enrollment Strategies The enrollment strategies are designed to increase UW-Stout’s market share of new students and increase retention of current students. Each enrollment strategy has a detailed action plan that will be used throughout implementation and evaluation. UW-Stout’s SEM Plan is comprehensive and aligns strategic enrollment efforts across the University. Investment in these strategies demonstrates a university-wide commitment to agility, data-driven decision making, and an approach to strengthen and grow enrollment in a strategic way.