Kansas State University

A new strategic enrollment management structural framework

Submitted by Richard Myers, Charles Taber and Pat Bosco

Dear Colleagues,

Just one year ago, we began a comprehensive universitywide assessment and strategic planning effort to rethink our enrollment strategies and develop an effective foundation to grow enrollment while promoting student success now and in the future.

Working in partnership with our Huron consulting partners, we engaged hundreds of K-Staters to understand our enrollment practices and reimagine new directions for recruitment, financial aid, and student retention and success. We completed a multiyear strategic enrollment management plan and mobilized seven task forces and a SEM Student Advisory Working Group to advance key strategies to boost enrollment and net tuition revenue. We established an implementation framework that included the task forces and working group, a SEM implementation team co-chaired by the Provost and Vice President for Student Life, and the combined Cabinet and Deans Council. 

While we made some progress this fall, we know that the task force structure is not sustainable over time and cannot substitute indefinitely for a more unified management structure at the institutional level. We know that if we are committed to new approaches to enrollment management and institutional research, we must better align the structure, roles, and responsibilities for strategic enrollment activities across the university. Today we are announcing the key components for a new strategic enrollment management organizational structure/framework to be put in place by July 1, 2019: 

• Maintain the SEM Implementation Team chaired by the Provost and Vice President for Student Life reporting to the combined Cabinet and Deans Council to provide continuity during organizational transitions.
• Create a Vice Provost for Enrollment Management position (using the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs vacancy) with a portfolio that includes New Student Services, Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid, University Registrar, Powercat Financial Counseling, International Admissions & Recruiting, the College Advising Corps and a new Transfer Success Center.
• Realign all Student Success programs under a Vice Provost for Student Success (using the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies vacancy) with a portfolio that includes:
• All units currently reporting to the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies, including Academic Advising, K-State First, Undergraduate Research and Developing Scholars, Student Success Collaborative, Honors Program, Nationally Competitive Scholarships, Pre-Law Advising, and Honor and Integrity System.
• All units currently reporting to Assistant Vice President and Director of Educational and Personal Development, including Educational Supportive Services, McNair Scholars Program, First Generation Students, Upward Bound-Polytechnic Campus, Academic Achievement Center, Academic Coaching, Tutoring Services, Testing Services, Supplemental Instruction, Student Success Courses.
• Move the Student Life Technology group to Information Technology Services, reporting to the Chief Information Officer, to align technology capabilities for additional support and guidance.
• Adjust the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students portfolio to strengthen the focus on services to current students, including:
• All units currently reporting to the Associate Vice President and Director of Housing and Dining Services, including Housing and Dining Services, K-State Student Union, Recreational Services, Center for Child Development, Lafene Health Center and Counseling Services.
• All units currently reporting to the the Assistant Vice President and Director of the Office of Student Life, including the Center for Student Involvement, the Student Access Center, Non-Traditional and Veteran Student Services, the Center for Advocacy, Response, and Education, and the LGBT Resource Center.
• The Career Center, Office of Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs, Parents and Family Relations and Military and Veterans Affairs.
• Establish a robust university institutional research capacity under an Associate Provost for Institutional Research (using the Director of Planning and Analysis vacancy) and realign institutional data analytics, reporting, and assessment in a newly defined Office of Institutional Research which includes Planning and Analysis and Assessment.
• During the transition to new SEM structure, reassign functions previously assigned to the Senior Vice Provost to the Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness. During FY 20, consider further realignment of Provost's office functions to better support academic program planning, curriculum, transformational teaching and learning, and faculty development. 

You can see these changes detailed in this PDF chart. Please note this is a top-level view focused on changes to support the strategic enrollment management initiative.

The time to begin making these changes is now. This new structural framework does not require any new senior administrative positions, but makes strategic use of those vacancies currently in the Provost's office. It allows us to begin building our SEM leadership and expertise now rather than continuing to rely on our Huron partners. It allows the university to begin the process immediately of conducting a national search for a new Vice President of Student Life/Dean of Students. It creates a more unified management structure across centralized student services and the academic organization for strategic enrollment management. It reduces silos and promotes institutional effectiveness, efficiency and collaboration across the university to support students from recruitment through graduation. It affirms our commitment to the changes needed to meet the goals outlined in our strategic enrollment management plan.

Our immediate next steps are to put together a transition planning team after winter break and launch national searches for key positions in February. These positions will include the Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students, the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, the Vice Provost for Student Success, and the Associate Provost for Institutional Research. We will share more details on transition planning and update you on the SEM work completed this fall and planned for spring after the winter break.

Organizational change on this scale can be exciting, but difficult. It is critical as we take on our new structural design that we continue the important daily work of recruiting and supporting students in their academic, personal, and professional development.

Our university focus on new approaches to strategic enrollment management provides us with tremendous opportunity, one that builds on the inspiring commitment to students we are known for and calls us to work together in innovative ways to best serve students into the future. Thank you to the entire university community for all you do to make K-State such a special place.

Sincerely,

Richard Myers
President     

Charles Taber 
Provost and Executive Vice President

Pat Bosco
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students