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Enrollment Management: The integration
of theory and practice
By Dr. Scott Ingold, University of
Miami
--From Enrollment Management Report,
November 2000.
One of the more challenging aspects of working and
teaching in a higher education environment where the paradigm does not
follow tradition is being able to transform the way colleagues think about
their actions.
This is particularly true for younger enrollment
management professionals who apply actions based on a limited contextual
perspective.
In essence, their actions to follow closely events that
they have observed during their time as students and through their early
professional experiences. It is fairly easy to get a sincere response from
young professionals when asked why certain actions were taken.
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A Look at the
author
Dr. Scott Ingold, associate
dean of enrollments and registrar at the University of Miami,
teaches enrollment management while employing its principles in
daily practice. He helped create the first graduate program
in enrollment management in the country at Miami, and he has
taught a range of courses in the School of Education, including
college student development, higher education history and student
affairs administration.
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It is much more difficult for them to
provide a theoretical context to their actions. More precisely,
the ability to integrate thought with action becomes the challenge
because it is difficult for most of us to think in terms that
cross the traditional disciplines of knowledge.
It is fun to engage colleagues in conversations
about theory and action. It is not uncommon to get perplexing
looks from some when the topic of theory is raised. It is apparent
that the term theory can be somewhat obtuse and misunderstood. It
is not unusual to hear that theory is appropriate to learn in
classes but the work environment requires action. Their viewpoint
suggests that skill development and theory development are
different kinds of activities. While I don’t believe that this
is true in any environment, it is far from appropriate in an
enrollment management environment.
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So the next logical question is how do you change this
perspective and, in effect, change the paradigm?
One way is to join a professional activity with an
academic program aimed at tying theory to practice. This is precisely what
the enrollment management program at the University of Miami has set out
to accomplish. This program provides an opportunity for young
professionals to examine why they act as they do based on a set of
theoretical constructs. As students, they are exposed to a myriad of
theories focusing on enrollment management, Student development,
recruitment, retention, organizational behavior and marketing. With in the
classroom environment, they are provided a laboratory to try out different
behaviors and challenge their current paradigm. They are further
challenged to test these new behaviors within their work environment.
Within this context, students are forced to examine how
theory drives their actions, evaluate the effectiveness of their actions,
and, ultimately, develop their own set of theories based on new
experiences and research that they conduct.
To illustrate, a good enrollment manager should have a
strong understanding about the types of characteristics exhibited by
potential matriculates – Their likes, dislikes, goals, etc. This
information, available through research, assists in the development of a
recruitment theory. But that’s not enough. There is also a need to
develop a retention theory, a pricing theory and a theory based on
organizational behavior, to mention a few. Each of these individual
theories contributes to the development of a retention theory. Without
this theoretical focus, practitioners are limited in their ability to
improve the enrollment process.
Skeptics might challenge this model, suggesting that
theory always drives action or that young professionals will usually
develop the skills necessary to get the job done. I wouldn’t disagree
with this perspective. However, I would suggest that young professionals
are more effective when they understand the theoretical models that
influence their behaviors and that their skills are complemented with a
theory-based approach. The jury is still out on which approach might work
better.
Organization theory suggests that no one model works best
in all situations. The enrollment management program is still in its early
stages, but the students who have completed this curriculum have already
shown great promise. They are the ones who are positioned to become the
change agents
Click on the LRP Publications icon below and visit
their web site for a complete listing of their products, or call them toll-free
at 1-800-341-7874, Ext. 347. This article is reprinted with
permission from Enrollment Management Report newsletter.
Copyright 2000 by LRP Publications, 747 Dresher Rd, P.O. Box
980, Horsham, PA 19044-0980. All rights reserved.
Enrollment Management Report
provides news and practical guidance on administering all aspects of
enrollment management -- including records and registration, recruitment,
admissions, financial aid, retention, and more. Every month, you get
profiles of other institution's successful enrollment management
programs -- so you can apply their proven solutions to your everyday
challenges.
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