Enrollment management professionals in community colleges: An exploratory study of their influence on student recruitment and retention

Community college leaders rely on enrollment management professionals (EMPs) to recruit and retain students, but research does not report the attributes these professionals should possess to contribute to student recruitment and retention. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if characteristics exist among EMPs that contribute to their influence on the matriculation and persistence of community college students. This study was designed to assist college leaders in the identification of EMPs who can transform institutional enrollment trends and contribute to college strategic planning. The goals were to describe EMPs from an eastern U.S. state and determine the salient factors that contribute to their effectiveness. Student development, leadership, and enrollment management theories were used as the theoretical framework. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was applied in the self-administered, online survey e-mailed to EMPs. The significant findings included: (a) EMPs with strong institutional leadership skills were more effective in recruiting and retaining students (b) these EMPs are actively engaged in the college strategic planning process and (c) strong enrollment management skills, strong marketing skills, collaboration, and caring were attributes found to have the strongest correlation for EMPs and institutional effectiveness. These findings may contribute to a transformation of the community college culture by providing college leaders with a profile of an EMP who is adept at managing enrollment and contributes to a more student-focused learning environment.