David J.

Lang, PhD

October 2015

Enrollment professionals not only influence the decision-making process of students

and their families but also manage the expectations of faculty, administrators,
external stakeholders and benefactors regarding the quantity and quality of
students pursuing higher education. Student centric enrollment managers focus on
retention and the student experience as much as access and admission to maximize
student outcomes and ensure degree completion given the rising costs incurred by
students and their families. Enrollment managers also facilitate the proposal of new
degree programs with faculty sponsorship by stay abreast of emerging programs
that combine employer demands with student interest.
The trajectory of EM at my public research university (UB) differs at the
undergraduate level than the graduate/professional level given the infrastructure
that currently exists to support the strategic enrollment plan that is being
developed. At the bachelors level, the university may look to shape an incoming
class by focusing more on diversity and increasing the holistic review of applicants.
The university may also be interested in expanding the distribution of freshmen and
becoming less reliant on certain programs of study (e.g., engineering and
management) to attract incoming classes of the future. A period of growth may be
of interest in the next 5 years but the specific programs that have the capacity to
grow and to what extent have not yet been identified.
I anticipate a simultaneous movement to enhance graduate and professional
student services with a focus on professional development that could bring further
distinction to the university and improve student outcomes, especially at the
masters degree level. A central office dedicated to diversity initiatives at the
grad/professional level may also be created to support the existing efforts of the
academic units. Moreover, I suspect that many decanal units across the university
will further invest in their own graduate enrollment management (GEM) model given
the decentralized admission of grad/professional students at the university. The
investment in GEM across the units in conjunction with additional central services
will be in direct response to the increasing budgetary importance of graduate
enrollment at the university.
The university is simultaneously undergoing a rebranding initiative that is to be
implemented in the coming months while the implementation of a new general
education program in fall 2016 also has the potential to greatly impact the work of
EM professionals on campus. There is tremendous opportunity for EM professionals
at the university to have a profound impact on the university by 2020 given these
related initiatives and developments. Even though a relatively stable number of
high school graduates in NY State has been projected through 2019-20, the
university can implement strategies to further attract minority students at the
undergraduate level while growth at the masters degree level will be a priority of
several units moving forward. Consequently, the next five years at UB have the
potential to be transformative while EM will play a vital role in positioning the
university well in regards to its vision.