Defining Enrollment Management: The Political Frame
2004; American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers; Volume: 80; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0010-0889
Autores Tópico(s)Higher Education Research Studies
ResumoElements of Bolman and Deal's (1991) political frame are widely discussed and written about among enrollment managers. Whether it is under guise of managing change, getting things done, understanding institutional politics, or soliciting campus-wide involvement, issues are often thorny and leave many practitioners perplexed. Frequently, these issues involve leadership styles, decision-making criteria, organizational impediments, competition for scarce resources, power struggles, and institutional culture. Politics is a natural way of getting things done in enrollment management because, by its nature, enrollment management relies on an interdependence of many departments, functions, and processes (Kalsbeek 1997, p. 157). It is this interdependence that makes politically savvy enrollment managers an institutional asset. Even if an enrollment manager is in a position to mandate what matters or has ear of a president or another senior administrator who can issue directives, skills such as building relationships and motivating others to embrace an idea or a strategy are needed to integrate services, influence academic product, shape institutional image, or on occasion, circumvent bureaucratic maze. Politically astute enrollment managers are always searching for leverage (Owens 2001). For example, a decline in new student enrollments or continuing student retention can provide leverage necessary to create an institutional sense of urgency. It is virtually impossible to effect substantial change without a sense of urgency (Belasco 1991; Kotier 1995; Black 2001; Whiteside 2001). After all, colleges and universities have been in existence longer than any other organizations in world except church. We have endured not because of our capacity to change, but rather in spite of it. As enrollment managers we have access to data that can transform or influence mindsets, business practices, strategic decisions, and institutional priorities. But data are rendered useless if there is no analysis. According to Black (2001), data also must be used to tell a story. The story should promote an understanding of dynamics that impact enrollment. And it must be delivered in digestible sound bytes, over an extended period of time, with some repetition. It must answer proverbial question, What's in it for me? Lastly, story must be compelling. Once story has been ingrained in psyche of intended audience and they have shown signs of investment in cause, it is time for what development officers call the ask. Not only should circumstances and data be leveraged, but relationships should as well. Enrollment managers should invest considerable time in identifying power brokers and developing relationships that are mutually beneficial. A recently retired dean had a practice of sending a single long stem rose to departmental secretaries along with a brief personal note expressing appreciation for what they had done for his unit. He recognized that secretaries, particularly in academic departments, play a major role in getting things done. Similarly, an admissions office at a public university in South hosts a reception for physical plant and grounds staff once a year to show appreciation for what they do to keep campus looking pristine. …
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