How to Build a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan

Having a strategic enrollment management plan for your college, university, or community college means you’re more likely to succeed in establishing priorities, combatting uncertainty, and achieving your student enrollment goals. We know, though, it’s not always easy to create a strategic enrollment management plan from scratch. 

In this article, you'll learn how to create a strategic enrollment management plan and you can download a free SEM plan template to customize for your institution. 

Use the information in this article and the free strategic enrollment management plan example template to create and communicate guiding principles and priorities for the next two to five years.

What is Strategic Enrollment Management in Higher Education?

Definition: Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) encompasses a comprehensive strategy and process to increase student enrollment, improve student retention, and boost graduation rates.

An SEM plan helps higher ed institutions identify their strengths and weaknesses, target their admissions marketing efforts, and enroll students more effectively. With a solid SEM plan, you can improve your enrollment management strategy, better allocate resources, enhance the student experience, and secure their long-term success.

How to Create a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan 

The strategic enrollment management plan example we’re outlining for you here has seven components: 

1. 1. The Introduction
   2. Institutional Performance Assessment
   3. Market Assessment
   4. Student Recruitment and Enrollment Strategy
   5. Marketing Strategy
   6. Student Retention and Student Success Strategy
   7. The Conclusion

1. The Introduction 

The Introduction is the starting point of your Strategic Enrollment Management plan. It sets the tone for what's to come on the later slides. The introductory section of your plan should include:

• A Table of Contents
• The list of contributors who collaborated on building the plan
• The list of your SEM team's members
• The mission and purpose of your SEM plan

This overview ensures everyone involved has a clear understanding of the plan's objectives and the conversations stay focused on the purpose of the plan. With a well-crafted introduction, you pave the way for the enrollment management strategies and tactics that follow.

2. Institutional Performance Assessment

This section outlines and explains the circumstances that have led to the strategies and tactics that will be presented in future sections. It is a picture of where the enrollment management department is currently.

Similar to a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, the institutional and situational assessment focuses on institutional strengths and challenges, as well as environmental opportunities and threats.

When conducting your institutional performance assessment, be sure to discuss:

• Enrollment Trends - Record three to five years of enrollment history. Be sure to include headcount and credit hours by degree level, learning modality (online, on-campus, blended), and student type.
• Current Marketing Performance - Show the current status of critical key metrics such as lead volume by source.
• Current Admissions Performance - Show the current status of monthly key metrics in your enrollment funnel, such as Inquiry-to-Application rate and Yield rate.
• Retrospective on Prior SEM Goals - Give an overview of how you performed against prior admissions and enrollment goals, showing the measurable, goal, and actual.

With a well-executed Institutional Performance Assessment, you're better equipped to make informed decisions that align with your institution's mission and long-term objectives.

3. Market Assessment

This section focuses on trends in the market that will influence and impact how you prioritize and create strategies within your SEM Plan. It should include information on:

• Service Area Demographic Trends - Define your service area, and include demographic data on high school graduates and adult learners. Note any other demographic realities and/or anomalies.
• Occupational Trends - Identify current and future opportunities for your student populations. Note any specific influences on students in your service area.
• Competition - Identify local, regional, and national competitors for your specialized and differentiated programs.
• Market Research Summary - An overview of your recommended priorities for market segments to target, based on the data shared about demographics, occupational trends, and competition.

By thoroughly assessing these areas, you gain invaluable insights that inform your strategic enrollment management plan. It helps you identify gaps, allocate resources more efficiently, and set realistic, data-driven goals.

This section is not just a checklist but a strategic exercise that sets the stage for the actionable steps that follow in your SEM plan. 

4. Student Recruitment and Enrollment Strategy

This section identifies the goals and objectives for student recruitment by degree program and learning modality. It will also identify the  metrics and key performance indicators (KPI) that will be used to determine if the goals have been accomplished. It’s important that your plan eliminates uncertainty in the enrollment process.

Below is an example of how to develop goals, objectives, and actions within your plan:

GOAL 1: Increase the number, diversity, and level of academic preparedness of new students

OBJECTIVE 1.1: Increase the number of first-time students from out-of-state markets

KPI: A 5% increase in first-time freshmen from outside the State of Ohio

ACTION STRATEGIES:

• • • • Consider providing coaching, resources, and training to improve the quality of the conversations your team is having with prospective students
      • Determine the way you are reaching prospective students and consider the role that SMS and phone play in your outreach
      • Analyze search yield rates and focus on purchasing prospect names from out-of-state vendors that convert at higher rates
      • Increase the number of prospects we purchase that are interested in our high yield academic programs
      • Consider increasing the discount rate for out-of-state students
      • Utilize the University’s resources, faculty, coaches, and staff to contact applicants who need persuasion

5. Admissions Marketing Strategy

Since many enrollment managers are also responsible for marketing, and because the institutional reputation (its brand) is so important to recruitment and enrollment, it's crucial to include a section on the admissions marketing strategy. 

Here, the plan should include core pieces of your institution's marketing strategy, based on goals and objectives that tie back to overarching enrollment targets.

You will want to provide data-backed information (based on either the Institutional Performance Assessment or Market Assessment) to support why you are recommending certain marketing tactics.

Additionally, with the Marketing leader at your institution to identify what’s working and what isn’t within each of the marketing channels to further hone in on the most effective strategies for your institution's SEM Plan.

6. Student Retention and Student Success Strategy

Enrollment management is the sum of recruitment plus retention. In fact, a plan that neglects to include retention is missing out on the most important part of enrollment management: student success. 

This section should include goals, strategies, and narratives about important factors like faculty engagement, financial aid, engagement with peers (extracurricular activities), and academic support programs.

Just like the recruitment section, this area should also include specific metrics and KPIs for each of the retention strategies identified.

7. The Conclusion

The conclusion should summarize the key points of your SEM plan in a few paragraphs. It will also tell readers and stakeholders what the next steps are and when the plan will be revisited.

Strategic Enrollment Management Plan Best Practices

We know you’re eager to get your plan formalized and in place. But before you get started, take note of these important reminders: 

• To gain helpful insight into your admissions process, review your entire enrollment and admission process from the perspective of a student. This type of research gives you and your leadership team data that identify weak points in your admissions process. Need help doing so? Request a Free Admissions Outreach Audit here!
• Your Strategic Enrollment Management Plan should complement your institution’s Strategic Plan. What enrollment-related goals and objectives in that plan will influence yours? Craft your enrollment management plan with those in mind. 
• You should include administrators, faculty, and staff as you develop a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan.
• Expect the process to take three to six months. It will necessitate several meetings, committee assignments, and the allocation of resources in order to come up with a solid plan. 
• You should review your plan annually, and generate a new plan every three or four years.

Get Started with Your Institution's Strategic Enrollment Management Plan

Now that you know what to include in your plan and best practices for getting started, you're probably wondering - what's next? Admissions leaders like you have a lot on your plate, so to save you time and energy we created a template you can use as a starting point!

Download your free customizable SEM Plan Template so you can better allocate resources, increase enrollment, and improve student retention: