Message from Dr. Belinda S. Miles – August 23, 2016
It is always heartening to see members of our college team expand beyond what is considered “the usual” in order to improve our student services. That is exactly what happened as many of our colleagues – representing various departments across all divisions – arrived on campus last Saturday to find lines of students already queued up to register for fall classes, take the college placement exam, or make financial arrangements in support of their studies.
A total of 99 students succeeded in obtaining fall course schedules due to their efforts, and more are anticipated this week after placement test results are available. What a great accomplishment! A big THANKS goes out to everyone involved in planning and implementing our weekend expanded availability in Valhalla and at several of our extension sites.
These individuals are an integral part of the college’s new approach to enrollment management where we are constantly monitoring trends with the goal of reaching 4,589 FTE for the fall, which is a slight increase above last fall’s enrollment. We’re on our way at 3,383 and growing daily. The next few weeks are critical to our efforts.
This new focus requires highly coordinated, cross-functional teams to come together weekly, develop plans, execute on those plans, study the results, and then make necessary adjustments. When students are “stuck,” our teams find them quickly and direct resources to them in order to help them progress. Key communications are based on these data points and targeted actions ensure that students get through each stage of the enrollment process.
I appreciate that those who work most closely with students and know ways to make the class registration experience better are sharing insights and expertise to improve enrollment services. I am proud of what they are doing and what we are achieving through their efforts. We don’t do this for ourselves; we do it for the students and families who come to us for an accessible, affordable pathway to higher education. More students out there need us, so let’s keep up the pace during the next few weeks and exceed our fall enrollment goal this September!
Dr. Belinda S. Miles
President