As a recent publication notes (Strategic Enrollment Management, Dolence, p. 16), "Any factor that influences a student's decision to attend or continue enrolling is fair game for enrollment management." More specifically, though, enrollment management is conceived within the following framework of responsibilities:

• Assessment of issues and policies regarding student recruitment, retention, and enrollment across divisional lines as an overall, long-term institutional effort
• Identification of institutional vulnerabilities with regard to desired enrollment and areas of focus
• Monitoring and shaping of the size and characteristics of the student body
• Provision of long-range planning with regard to enrollment
• Response to short-term crises affecting enrollment

Although the Enrollment Management Steering Committee has a significant number of preliminary recommendations in several areas, it selected three areas for major attention during its first year. These included Admissions policies, practices, and procedures; over-subscribed and under-subscribed majors; and student retention with an emphasis on retention of students of color.

The recommendations in the area of student recruitment are designed to address issues and concerns relating to the perceived and actual quality of incoming students' academic preparedness as well as the yield rate from our admitted applicant pool and external perceptions of institutional image. The recommendations are intended to improve results in all three areas. Recommendations for 1998-99 are:

• Consider engaging a consulting firm to assess our Admissions policies, practices, and procedures and develop recommendations for enhanced effectiveness.
• Significantly increase our scholarship offerings to attract new students, especially high-achieving students of color.
• Develop a tracking and follow-up contact system for both our inquiry pool and our applicant pool.
• In collaboration with Admissions consultant, develop strategies in addition to tracking and follow-up to increase the yield from our admitted pool of students.
• Assess and refine our approach to indices of student quality beyond standardized test scores and high school rank, particularly with high-risk students.

Other related recommendations include a focus on enrollment data and planning, improvement in student satisfaction and an increased yield of academically talented students. Recommendations regarding potential strategies for over-and under-subscribed majors will be forthcoming. Recommendations for 1998-99 are:

• Develop a closer interface between the Enrollment Projections Group and the Enrollment Management Steering Committee.
• In conjunction with Admissions consultant, develop methodology for interpretive enrollment reports as well as a distribution list and schedule.
• Develop a list of no more than twelve truly comparable peer institutions for Millersville University and compile and maintain comparative longitudinal data.
• Develop a model for projecting enrollment, including:
  • part-time
  • out-of-state
  • international
  • graduate
  • summer enrollment
• Develop proposal for funding of remote-access, computer-based registration system.
• Develop a pamphlet to provide undergraduate students with information to assist them in graduating in four years.
• Develop plan for coordination of academic support services.
• Develop and implement Honors College Scholarship Proposal for 1999-00.
• Engage consultant to assess issues/questions related to the proposed Honors College.

In the area of retention, there are successes to report detailed in the retention plan. Areas in which to focus current and future efforts include the following:

1. Our recruitment of students of color is more successful than our retention efforts.
2. For students whose goal is graduation, retention alone is a necessary but not sufficient condition. These students need to be progressing also toward their goals and/or degrees.
3. Our Latino recruitment, retention, and graduation rates are not demonstrating any improvement.

Recommendations for enhancing Millersville University's student retention, particularly the retention and graduation of students of color are:

• Continue to support current efforts that prove successful.
• Initiate efforts to improve the recruitment, retention, and graduation of Latino students.
• Assess need for additional academic support for students whose first language is not English.
• Provide adequate support for tutoring assistance in writing across disciplines.
• Provide adequate reading instruction for students testing at below college level as freshmen.
• Assess feedback from Enrollment Management Steering Committee student focus groups and develop responsive recommendations.
• Assess social activities and institutional climate for students of color and advance recommendations.
• Develop scholarship support and integrated academic services recommended in enrollment management recommendations.
• Re-visit policy restricting students with less than a 2.0 GPA from taking summer courses at other institutions and transferring the credits to Millersville University.
• Implement the following approaches within the Act 10 1 /PACE program:
  • Academic boot-camp focus
  • Emphasis on reading and vocabulary skills
  • Utilize University of Maryland Sedlacek Non-Cognitive Measures Test; consider admission interviews, develop profiles of successful special admits
  • Focus on exit criteria Assign junior and senior level successful Act 10 1 /PACE students as mentors for freshmen
  • Develop learning communities and study groups within program
  • Develop student test-taking skills
  • Use acceleration concepts so that students receive enough exposure to be successful in the next level course.