Candidate: Kinfu Adisu

Degree of: Doctor of Education

Department: Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

Title: Impact of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Strategic Planning on Adult Higher Education Enrollment Patterns

Committee: Dr. Louann Bierlien Palmer, Chair
Dr. James Schultz
Dr. Van Cooley

Date: Thursday, May 25, 2006 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Room 2009 Grand Rapids Beltline Campus

Abstract: This qualitative study examined the impact of enrollment management, marketing and strategic planning practices (or lack thereof) on enrollment trends in two graduate programs across five Grand Rapids-based institutions of higher education. Deans, department heads or program directors associated with the Masters of Business and Masters of Education degrees in each institution were interviewed, as were regional administrators and marketing personnel for a total of 15 participants. In addition, the challenges faced by these graduate programs and how such challenges impacted enrollment patterns were analyzed.

Findings indicate that to a large degree the concepts of enrollment management, marketing and strategic planning are not well understood. There also appears to be a connection between such practices and enrollment growth in that some common strategic attributes were found within the four of ten programs that had enrollment increases, while such attributes were often absent in non-growing programs. These attributes include having individuals very knowledgeable of the enrollment management concept, offering modified classes and formats, an average use of various marketing methods above those used by non-growing programs, and performing marketing research to support their planning efforts. In addition three of the four growing programs indicated the existence of an adequate marketing budget, while none of the six programs with declining or flat enrollment indicated such budget support. Key challenges included limited funding, a limited talent pool for adjunct faculty, significant competition among institutions, and regional unemployment.

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