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Strategic Planning

Adele C. BrumfieldUniversity of California San Diego, CA

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Session Overview

• Help middle managers move from tactical implementation roles to big picture,

strategic thinking

• Discuss evolution of enrollment management and barriers to success

• Nearly everything is political

• Strong relationships are necessary

• Institutional goals must guide your strategic planning

• Use what you have learned at AMMI to problem solve

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Typical Middle Manager Duties

• Tactical Implementation

– Territory Management

– Application Review

– Special populations – students of color, international, rural, or non-resident

– Operations

– Communications/Marketing/Social Media

– Campus visits and tour guides

– Liaison to campus departments

– Alumni or volunteer engagement

– Manage a project and/or small team

– Minimal budget oversite

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Typical Director or Dean of Admission &VP of Enrollment duties

• Department or Division Oversite

– Create strategic plan and future vision aligned with campus goals

– Oversee all admissions/enrollment activities or functions

– Fiscal planning and budget

– Brand building through marketing and communication

– Train, nurture and motivate team members

– Manage key internal and external relationships

– Collaborate with Enrollment Management and campus partners such as financial aid,

academic deans, faculty, alumni and athletics

– Meet campus enrollment targets, aka Bring in the Class

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Moving Up

Adele’s Story

(the abridged version)

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Evolution of Enrollment Management and Barriers to Success

• Quickly evolving as model and adoption at various types of institutions

• What is the function of Chief Admission or Enrollment Officer? Who really makes

decisions and what data informs the work?

• Boards, regents, state houses, senior campus leadership, faculty, students,

administrators, alumni, athletic directors, and state voters, care deeply about your

work and have varying levels of influence

• Campuses are more dependent on revenue generated by the work of Enrollment

Management especially admissions, but success comes from campus-wide

engagement

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Institutional Goals Must Guide Strategic Planning

• Possess clear understanding of campus mission, vision, and short- and long-

term goals

• Follow campus strategic plan until it changes (and it will)

• Goals may change rapidly as leaders come and go or pressing issues arise

• Understand what matters most to senior campus leadership

• Prepare to teach colleagues about industry best practices to ensure better

alignment

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Nearly Everything is Political

• Campus• Chancellor/President/Board of Trustees

• Senate/campus governance

• Faculty

• Students

• Athletics

• Alumni

• External• Governor

• Elected Officials

• State Educational System – how well do secondary schools prepare students for college?

• Educational Policy Changes in state or region

• National/International landscape

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Develop Relationships and Build Credibility

• Assume good intentions

• Be authentic

• Clearly articulate your mission/vision

• Find common ground

• Strive for transparency when possible

• Demonstrate flexibility

• Invest time in relationships when nothing is on the line

• Learn to say yes we can, but this is what it will take

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You Are The # TWOWhat Would You Do?

• An exhaustive search for a new President has just concluded and an ambitious, visionary leader has been appointed. The President believes the university is a hidden gem. She wants to grow the applicant pool, increase enrollment especially in engineering, improve the enrolling student profile, increase diversity, build the brand nationally and globally, and field a winning football team. Oh, and don’t forget to find students that can pay!

• Here are a few things to keep in mind: budget cuts have led to deferred maintenance especially in science labs; low engineering faculty morale; declining rates of high school graduates in your state/region; limited alumni engagement; school counselors have dated view of our school; concerns that academic areas such as arts, humanities and social sciences are being overlooked; and football hasn’t had a winning season in 10 years!

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You Are The # TWOWhat Would You Do?

• Working collaboratively, create a framework for how you

would tackle this challenge and advise your boss.

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Discussion and Reflection

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Strategic Planning

Adele C. BrumfieldUniversity of California San Diego, CA