The desire to expand and improve existing resources is not a new phenomenon within higher education, (Hossler, 2004) but is one that has begun to gain attention as institutions increasingly adopt enrollment management (EM) practices. EM is both an organizational concept merged with associated practices that help institutions exercise control over the characteristics of their student bodies (Hossler & Bean, 1990; Hossler, 2004; Kraatz, Ventresca, & Deng, 2010). EM is a controversial trend with varying definitions, values, and drawbacks.
Hossler and Bean (1990) view EM through a far more holistic lens than do Kraatz, Ventresca, & Deng (2010). Kraatz et al. (2010) focus on the organizational structuring of EM and the “consolidation of various administrative functions that have the potential to affect enrollments and tuition revenues” (p. 1524). Hossler and Bean (1990) too see EM as a strategic planning initiative, but know that its practices extend far beyond just admissions and financial aid. Included within their definition of organizational practices are “student college choice, transition to college, student attrition and retention, and student outcomes” (p. 5).
The largest variance in viewpoints between Hossler and Bean (1990) and Kraatz et al. (2010) lies within their perceptions of the goals of EM. It is evident throughout Precarious Values and Mundane Innovations that Kraatz et al. (2010) see EM as an inherently negative practice with questionable values. Kraatz et al. (2010) believe that institutions value the prestige accompanied by enrolling high-achieving wealthy students and tuition revenue most, and use enrollment management to further these agendas. Hossler and Bean (1990) on the other hand, view ...
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...is not solely about getting students in the doors but also retention, The University of Arizona must ensure a commitment to co-curricular and supplemental instruction programs to support students in their persistence to graduation.
Kraatz et al. (2010) caution universities implementing EM systems that centralizing this process will lessen the autonomy of each department and cause them to lose the ability to perform their specialized functions. The more centralized an EM unit is, the more power is held by a single individual who may be using enrollment management as a tool to leverage questionable values. The EM Matrix (Hossler & Bean, 1990) is most appropriate for the U of A as it is a way of uniting EM practices through a shared vision but also allows departments to utilize their specialized knowledge and remain within their existing reporting structures.
Since the 1980’s the cost of attending colleges have increased rapidly. Rising costs of for Medicare, highways and prisons have caused many states to reduce a percentage of their budget for higher education. Colleges and Universities currently face a very serious challenge:
A Race to the Bottom is a highly informative article detailing a study conducted by Arthur Levine. It relates to the quality of educational administration programs across various college and university campuses. This analysis will discuss the core concepts, logic, contexts, arguments and justifications, major points, and state my personal evaluation of the article.
Education has always been a current issue due to the fact that it is seen as an economic cure-all. However, the perception of college is ill-conceived and there are multiple debates on how to improve it. College universities believe that having open admissions will increase the amount of matriculations, but the fact is the amount of students being enrolled into a four-year university has no relationship to the amount of students with academic aspirations. W.J. Reeves, an English professor at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York, gives a few examples of how open admissions has changed education methods and student abilities. Reeves wrote this opinion piece to convince everyone, especially parents, that schools are in need of reform
No matter whether it is a facility being upgraded or a volunteering opportunity being organized, a university primarily strives to stimulate students’ enthusiasm, find their real interests, and establish a careful view of the world. Edmundson claims that universities undergo such changes because “Schools want kids whose parents can pay the full freight” (43). Despite the construction projects and campus upgrades, the quality of educational diversity relies on the students, a group of talents that is carefully selected by the admission office. The admission rate for elite universities has remained low for years. With more competition in the educational market, universities are still strict on their principle of recruiting talents. The better resources provided the more quality that schools expect to see from their students. The quality of teaching and the standard of education do not decline as a result of funding
Johnstone, Bruce. "Investing more equitably and efficiently in higher education, creating value for America." National Dialogue on Student Financial Aid (2003): 6-10. Print.
Roy, Joydeep. "Impact of School Finance Reform on Resource Equalization and Academic Performace: Evidence from Michigan." Mitpress Journels, 2003: 1-31.
Phillip A. Whitner and Randall C. Myers The Journal of Higher Education , Vol. 57, No. 6
As The “Progress of Education Reform” suggests, tuition discounting is major contributor to the rising cost of college in the sense that while it provides a tuition discount to the one particular student receiving the grant or scholarship it places a heavier burden on the majority demographic that attends the university without such discounting. (The Progress of Education Reform” 1). In contrast to popular opinion, scholarships and grants which are normally regarded as blessings are ironically a contributing factor to rising tuition prices. Basically, the universities have to make up for the money they lost by awarding the scholarships so the majority of the student population who did not qualify feel it in their pocketbooks. A final cause of this ludicrous tuition spike is the shift in university budgets to cater to the administration departments of the schools. Jobs in this department are non-teaching jobs that provide student services ranging from student safety to counseling and wellness programs. These jobs are definitely
With more companies each year offering tuition reimbursement as part of their employee benefits package, they too see the value and investment pay off for helping their valued employees further their education. Some employers might cover all expenses up to a certain amount, while others pay a percentage of the total costs (Tucker). However, it is important to note that only well established companies have the necessary resources available to fund a tuition reimbursement program. In addition to having the adequate funds, employers ask that a tuition assistances program participant maintain high grades to receive the maximum amount of tuition reimbursement. Although this varies from compan...
Tracy-Mumford, F. et al. Student Retention: Creating Student Success. Washington, DC: National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, 1994. (ED 375 299)
In Barnett and Hughes’ (2010) article that focuses on the “three important milestones” that lead to college completion, the authors dissect the best practices used across the country by colleges and high schools to get their students on the track to success in college. They found that dual enrollment of classes, which occurs when high school students are allowed to take college courses at the same time, and earn college credit upon completion, addresses the three main milestones identified. Dual enrollment also adds value for students and assists in helping students become acclimated to college. Although some states have restrictions on who can take dual enrollment, (ex. Must have a 3.0 GPA) the focus seems to be shifting away from those restrictions to target the populations that may not have been interested in post-secondary education (Barnett and Hughes, 2010).
There has been an abundance of research on how to retain students at the university and/or college level. I collected five articles that examine variables shown to correlate to student retention in secondary institutions. These studies use common factors to determine the significance of whether they are related to college retention. Most colleges and universities focus on recruitment rather than retaining students which also poses its own set of challenges. According to Tinto (1993) over 40% of the first-time college students drop out before the beginning of their second year. Retention is very important for universities and colleges for financial stability. Not only that, as noted by Fike (2008), the federal Higher Education Act may use graduation rates as a measure of institutional effectiveness. Retention is also very important to the students who want to have a positive college experience and who can achieve their goals and become successful members of society.
As colleges’ funds dry up, colleges must turn to the public to further support higher education. By raising state taxes, colleges can collect funds to help improve the school’s budgets. The state provides funds from the taxes for colleges to receive a certain amount for each student currently enrolled. All community and traditional four year colleges collect these funds in order to maintain the school’s budget. As reporter, Eric Kelderman states, “less than a third of colleges’ budget is based from state taxes”. The school’s budget is how colleges are able to provide academic support programs, an affordable intuition, and hire more counselors. Colleges must now depend on state taxes more than ever for public colleges. Without collecting more funds from state taxes, as author, Scott Carlson explains how Mr. Poshard explains to senators “our public universities are moving quickly toward becoming private universities…affordable only to those who have the economic wherewithal to them” (qtd. in.) Public colleges must be affordable to anyone who wishes to attend. If colleges lack to provide this to students, it can affect dropouts, a student’s ability focus, and cause stress. The problem of lack of funding is that colleges have insufficient funds. Therefore, the best possible solution for the problem of lack of funding would be increasing and collecting more funds from state taxes.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson. Berger, J. B., & Milem, J. F. (1999). The role of student involvement and perceptions of integration in a casual model of student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 40, 641-664. Light, J. R. (2001).
Recruitment is a serious issue for an organization and one that ought to be afforded a considerable amount of planning in order to successfully achieve desired outcomes. Recruitment is a costly process for an organization and poorly executed recruitment can result in selecting candidates that are not appropriate for the organization. A poorly executed recruitment can also reflect negatively on the organization’s reputation, which can cost the organization solid future candidates. Due to the cost both in time and in resources, a recruitment process deserves a solid training program that covers a variety of issues. Thought should be given to the topics to be covered in a training program, aids or materials recruiters will need, practical skills to be covered in the training, the person most appropriate to conduct the training, and any additional needs to be considered to ensure the training is most effective in achieving the goal of developing strong recruiting skills.