We often discuss the state of the numerous small colleges located in rural and northern places. There is good fodder for looking deeper in a job ad (https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000506765-01?cid=chw_topjob) for one of the tough jobs: VP for enrollment management.
Luther Colleges is among the strongest in a tough demographic, so it has all the challenges but also a good shot at success. The agency helpfully provides a dossier describing the school and the assignment (https://assets.storbeckpimentel.com/files/resources/luther-enrollment-pd.pdf?5d8b74c057b2b).
Advantages:
Among the highest rated small colleges
High graduation rates
Good employment outcomes
Engaged alumni
Meeting enrollment targets
Challenges:
Founded for a dwindling demographic: Lutherans of Norwegian descent and culture.
Drawing from a depopulating region: SE Minnesota, NE Iowa, SW Wisconsin.
Located in a small town far from a big city: Decorah, IA population 8,000.
Small student body: 1,950
Low yield: 20% of admits matriculate
The VP for enrollment management leads a staff of 22. That is a huge office for the size of the student body. An 85:1 ratio shows how much emphasis they are putting on recruitment and retention.
What will it take for this person to be successful in positioning Luther for the future?
Interesting question.
That yield rate of 20% might actually be pretty good compared to similar colleges in the region. But I doubt "increase applications" can be a successful strategy, because additional applicants at the margin will be less likely to enroll and less academically capable (and thus more costly, with higher tuition discounts and in need of more support services) if they do enroll.
It seems small places like this are mainly counting on rural students not wanting to go too far from home and/or to a big city. Given that the size means that they can't have a lot of unique program offerings, they won't attract anyone from further afield either.
This sounds like a job interview question.
First, anyone that considers any job at a school like Luther should look at its endowment, which is pretty easy to find. Luther clocks in around the 150 million range, which means it's doing better than most small rural colleges in the area whose endowments are way under 100 million (with exception of Grinnell, which clocks in at almost 2 billion!). Ya gotta find a situation where you know you can succeed. If you feel the place is a lost cause, it doesn't mean you don't consider the job. It just means you don't buy a house and you plan for the short term (2-3 years) and go for the metrics that make you look good for your next employer, at the expense of the long-term. This means admit under-performing customers with money to spend. Errr on the side of passing marginal students who are currently enrolled (if there is any kind of way to influence that). Make articulation agreements, with community colleges, really easy (if there is any kind of way to influence that). Start looking for other colleges in the area who have small endowments, like Briarcliff University. They only have an endowment of about 12 million. They are toast. Start making a plan to siphon off their students and their recruiting pipelines, when the inevitable happens. Luther will never catch up or ever be regarded in the same way as Grinnell or St. Olaf, so the idea that Luther can bolster its reputation through admission standards, is probably not the best strategy.
Of course, if this is a job interview question, don't reveal these intentions, although this is how a lot of admins think.
Does that staff of 22 include Admissions and Records staff? Counselors? Marketing? Outreach?
As "Enrollment Management" has become a hot new buzzword, one wonders if it is turning into a tarted-up title for basic student/academic affairs roles.
From the standpoint of this being a job interview question, and enrollment management becoming the hot admin field, I would say "closer integration with Academic Affairs." It sounds good, is hard to measure, and can easily be referenced on a c.v. for one's next job application.
More seriously, I wish we had this. Our admissions office seems to see itself primarily as a vacuum to suck in bodies for the fall semester. Other than not veering too far from an overall discount rate (presumably imposed by the business office), there is no attention paid to cost vs. revenue by academic program. For example, if admits stating that they intend to major in criminal justice actually enroll, what is the net revenue compared to those who enroll in the art major? The existing curriculum allows for classrooms of up to 30 students each in criminal justice courses, while the art majors are taught in studio courses of a dozen students each. But maybe art majors are wealthier, pay more in tuition, and have 98 percent retention, so it might make sense to recruit more of them than to only advertise the criminal justice major.
I think of this as a good case study because it is far from a lost cause, and is still apparently in good shape. But it also can't continue doing the same thing as before in recruiting and retaining students. The good actions here can probably have analogues at other places that have a chance to survive and even thrive. The extra information provided with the ad is the kind of data that helps one take a different look.
Targeting residents of Norwegian, or even Scandinavian/North German ancestry does not seem that promising. This many generations in, do the great grandchildren of immigrants have enough of a cultural connection to make it the main motivation in applying to a school? How many young adults with different ancestry are enamored enough with Norwegian culture to be attracted? Probably fewer than 2000.
The religious angle seems like a tough selling point too. While the Lutheran Church is nominally evangelical, students interested in the evangelical Christianity probably put the staid Lutheran version pretty far down the list. Students looking for a secular school have many other choices. Youth participation in the Lutheran church is stronger here than back in Norway,but it is a fairly small group to draw from. Luther College can't exactly abandon Luther, so how do they turn the connection into a strength with the Class of 2030? The materials they provide use the example of Luther as a principled challenger of an unethical establishment. That angle has potential.
A couple other things to consider: Is the school ELCA (the more mainline Lutheran body), or Missouri Synod (which broke away in the 1970s over things like insistence on a literal interpretation of the book of Jonah)?
And: If the latter, would there be any point to doing recruitment in the Scandanavian countries themselves? Kids (and their parents) enculturated in the more conservatively Reformed group might see a stint in the US as a way to break out of their own area in some ways, while remaining within the fold religiously and culturally.
They might even see it as a missionary opportunity.
Just pondering.
M.
Quote from: mamselle on September 30, 2019, 11:01:08 AM
And: If the latter, would there be any point to doing recruitment in the Scandanavian countries themselves? Kids (and their parents) enculturated in the more conservatively Reformed group might see a stint in the US as a way to break out of their own area in some ways, while remaining within the fold religiously and culturally.
My non-US perspective on this is that it's hard to picture a lot of people willing to spend lots of money for their kids to go abroad to study
if the program of study isn't particularly valuable; atmosphere alone isn't THAT big a draw. The idea of "going to college" as a stage-of-life, regardless of what is studied, seems kind of US-specific to me.
Am I unusual in thinking this?
Quote from: marshwiggle on September 30, 2019, 11:51:23 AM
Quote from: mamselle on September 30, 2019, 11:01:08 AM
And: If the latter, would there be any point to doing recruitment in the Scandanavian countries themselves? Kids (and their parents) enculturated in the more conservatively Reformed group might see a stint in the US as a way to break out of their own area in some ways, while remaining within the fold religiously and culturally.
My non-US perspective on this is that it's hard to picture a lot of people willing to spend lots of money for their kids to go abroad to study if the program of study isn't particularly valuable; atmosphere alone isn't THAT big a draw. The idea of "going to college" as a stage-of-life, regardless of what is studied, seems kind of US-specific to me.
Am I unusual in thinking this?
No, you're not. Why would an 18-year old Norwegian or Swede relocate to Decorah, Iowa? There is nothing to attract them geographically or academically. Thirty years ago, in terms of proportion to total enrollment, the largest population of Swedish undergraduates outside of Sweden was at Hawaii-Pacific University in Honolulu. Decorah is no Honolulu. It's not even Malmö.
Luther is affiliated with the ELCA, and it sends way more students to Scandinavia than it will get from there, with the help of its Nordic studies program.
However, Decorah is an amazing small town and is home to Vesterheim, the Norwegian-American museum, a significant research institution with some stunning growth plans. These are advantages not every small, rural SLAC has.
Quote from: mamselle on September 30, 2019, 11:01:08 AM
And: If the latter, would there be any point to doing recruitment in the Scandanavian countries themselves? Kids (and their parents) enculturated in the more conservatively Reformed group might see a stint in the US as a way to break out of their own area in some ways, while remaining within the fold religiously and culturally.
They might even see it as a missionary opportunity.
Just pondering.
M.
Interesting idea.
One challenge is competing with the fact that universities in Scandinavia have no tuition, and students get grants to cover living costs. The state support is considerably higher than e.g. France. The students would have to come from particularly wealthy and devout families.
Nevertheless, schools with roots in other countries cultures may be able to draw more on that country than they have in the past. Many have expensive schools.
Awareness via reputation of Luther's athletic teams will make a far larger contribution to enrollment than any historical connections to Norway or the Lutheran church, especially for male admits. Unfortunately in this country a significant portion of males 18-22 years old are willing to go into debt to continue playing the sport that they played in high school.
The Missouri Synod is not a splitoff from the ELCA, but rather a federation of two ethnic Lutheran denoms, a German and a Finnish. Until fairly recently congregations from the German one continued to use German in services and the members still had a pretty conclusive German ethnic identity, and I think that's true of the Finnish one as well. Indeed, there are other Lutheran denominations besides the ELCA and the MO Synod, some with specific ethnic identification and all appreciably more theologically conservative than the ELCA. Medoubts any conservative Lutheran families would choose this or any other ELCA school when ones associated with one of those conservative denoms are available.
Quote from: spork on September 30, 2019, 05:41:26 PM
Awareness via reputation of Luther's athletic teams will make a far larger contribution to enrollment than any historical connections to Norway or the Lutheran church, especially for male admits. Unfortunately in this country a significant portion of males 18-22 years old are willing to go into debt to continue playing the sport that they played in high school.
The sports option could be promising. It goes against a couple of trends, ever so slightly declining participation in high-school football and more rapidly declining participation by boys in college. Nevertheless, they would only need to find twenty or so per year to fill the football roster. Iowa alone graduates about 4,000 football players per year. There would be an extra attraction if the Norseman helmets had real horns.
Could high-profile men's and women's teams in other sports become that draw? Soccer is growing fast in participation, with both girls and boys. Pro soccer is on TV and scores (of European matches) are reported with other sports now. It can be a spectator sport. At least regionally, it might have a chance if nurtured right. Lacrosse is big in the Northeast, and uses the football stadium in the spring. The lacrosse-bro image has some baggage. Sports that reinforce Norwegian cultural identity are alas a stretch: cross country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, sailing.
The only need 20 to fill the current 1st string roster, but most schools have a huge number of backups even on the travelling team, and tack on the guys who basically never play, and your are up to nearly 100. It its a school with a lot of parallel men's and women's teams, they could already be getting 33-50% from athletics.
Quote from: Ruralguy on October 01, 2019, 06:43:43 AM
The only need 20 to fill the current 1st string roster, but most schools have a huge number of backups even on the travelling team, and tack on the guys who basically never play, and your are up to nearly 100. It its a school with a lot of parallel men's and women's teams, they could already be getting 33-50% from athletics.
Which sports, in addition to men's football, have the most potential as a draw for low-aid students in this region?
What does it take for a small regional school to develop an athletics following among high-school students and their parents?
Quote from: Hibush on October 01, 2019, 07:04:04 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on October 01, 2019, 06:43:43 AM
The only need 20 to fill the current 1st string roster, but most schools have a huge number of backups even on the travelling team, and tack on the guys who basically never play, and your are up to nearly 100. It its a school with a lot of parallel men's and women's teams, they could already be getting 33-50% from athletics.
Which sports, in addition to men's football, have the most potential as a draw for low-aid students in this region?
What does it take for a small regional school to develop an athletics following among high-school students and their parents?
Basketball. Track. Just about anything if they can tell their high school friends that they're playing college sports.
When I was in high school several* years ago, small college recruiters would use sports as a major selling point. They'd explain that nobody gets cut from the teams. "If you go to [big school], all they want is your tuition, and you even have to pay to watch the games. Our philosophy is that some players aren't coached properly in high school, or just that they need more time to develop, so you'll have an opportunity to show what you can do with four years of college coaching and competition." It's compelling for a high school senior. Luckily I never fell for it. I thought the older kids looked ridiculous when they did it. As for recruiting international students, look at the rosters of some of the small college soccer teams. It seems to work.
* For some definition of several.
Yeah, my school is absolutely working on this model (add swimming to the mix, which in the last decade or two has really exploded as a popular kids sport since every little town has a Y with a pool).
As for international...its getting harder for us to get truly international students, i.e., students who are citizens of another country and living there. We do get some who are 1st gen American, or who grew up in another country, but came to US for high school, and for some, parents are also here.
Today, we have one counterexample of the football program failing to be a recruiting tool. Grinnell College announced they were giving up on football (https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/10/07/grinnell-forfeits-football-season) because they could not attract enough football players who were able to meet the admissions requirements.
They were clearly not getting anywhere close to Ruralguy's estimate of ~100 as the potential base of students involved with the football program. Grinnell started the season with only 38 players and lost 11 of them to injuries in the first three games.
To tie this back to the thread, Grinnell is in the same geographic region as Luther, is about the same size, and has a historic connection with a mainline protestant church. As lightning pointed out (https://thefora.org/index.php?topic=594.msg10508#msg10508) way upthread, Grinnell has a lot more money and a stronger academic reputation. Is Grinnell administration choosing their words carefully to reinforce that academic reputation, counting on that to be the stronger draw?
Somewhat hypothetical example: you are a soon-to-be high school graduate (or the parent of one) who gets admitted to both Grinnell and Luther. Your choice is:
- Go to Grinnell and benefit from its greater academic resources and reputation (includes institutional name recognition, network of successful alumni, social capital gained from fellow students, etc.), but don't play football.
- Go to Luther and play football.
Any student with the academic ability and financial means to get into Grinnell is going to choose Grinnell, not Luther. It's an outlier. I'm surprised it even has a football team -- far more expensive to operate than track and field, in which more than thirty-eight students would participate. Grinnell's football program is probably a pre-WWII historical tradition that no administrator has yet had the good sense to eliminate.
Quote from: spork on October 07, 2019, 04:08:00 AM
Somewhat hypothetical example: you are a soon-to-be high school graduate (or the parent of one) who gets admitted to both Grinnell and Luther. Your choice is:
- Go to Grinnell and benefit from its greater academic resources and reputation (includes institutional name recognition, network of successful alumni, social capital gained from fellow students, etc.), but don't play football.
- Go to Luther and play football.
Any student with the academic ability and financial means to get into Grinnell is going to choose Grinnell, not Luther. It's an outlier. I'm surprised it even has a football team -- far more expensive to operate than track and field, in which more than thirty-eight students would participate. Grinnell's football program is probably a pre-WWII historical tradition that no administrator has yet had the good sense to eliminate.
Ditto. Grinnell is a SLAC that I expect to survive because it has a target audience and shouldn't be scrambling to fill seats with anyone who can get a student loan.