After nearly a decade of mistakes, experimentation and progress, it is very clear that the role of the enrollment manager, especially at a historically Black college or university (HBCU), requires a reservoir of energy, fortitude and patience. In addition, the complexity of the role, which inherently requires specific competencies like managing institutional and external relationships, negotiating priorities and understanding the political landscape, while attempting to be diligent and informative with university constituents about enrollment, is quite a heavy lift.
In a shorter phrase, leading an enrollment management unit at an HBCU is an enormous task. Walter Elliot echoes poignantly: “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after the other.” Through trial and error, and ultimately wisdom, I have learned that to be an effective enrollment manager at an HBCU, effective communication, intentional collaboration and strategic coordination are essential to institutional enrollment success.
As indicated by data and trends, most colleges and universities will experience an enrollment decline or stagnation due to the shortage of high school graduates forecast over the next decade. Only specific regions within the nation are expected to anticipate a mass production of high school graduates that will be a minority — non-White, who will become much of the college-age-going prospects. This does not mean that these prospects will go to college or even consider HBCUs as an option. However, this offers a picture of what is to come.
As such, the constricted market will force institutions of all types to truly understand their footprint of distinction or differentiation and carve out a competitive edge very pointedly. For HBCUs, the enrollment manager must be able to articulate the unevenness of the distribution of prospects as well as prepare the campus for the shift in demographics and the inherent needs that come with this change. These changes will require HBCUs to understand what types of actions will be needed, if any at all, because they will have an immense impact on net tuition, yield conversion, persistence, retention and, ultimately, graduation rates.
For that reason, in articulating the needs for resources, the enrollment manager must also ensure that the university as a whole understands the importance of strategic enrollment planning through recruitment data, leveraging and targeting efforts to meet enrollment goals. Even more critical, the enrollment manager must, in concert with academic affairs and student affairs, develop a potent student success/retention infrastructure that is nimble and multidimensional and addresses diversity, gender and racial or ethnic variances. In doing this, the procurement of confidence and trust from the faculty, senior leadership, staff and board of trustees is most crucial.
The following perspectives are recommended to assist in anchoring enrollment stability as the enrollment manager at HBCUs:
Effective communication
