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Enrollment management observes not just the recruitment of students into a college, but also the retention of students until graduation. Retention is observed as an institution’s ability to consecutively enroll the same students in classes until they earn a degree; however, factors such as financial difficulty, academic under-preparedness, family life and cultural influences, academic boredom and social isolation, interferes with students’ abilities to continuously attend college without interruptions. A review of the Hannover Reports recommends practices such as having specialized support programs, which engage the students while educating them. These programs help colleges to maintain the students that they enroll until graduation. This paper will review some of these practices, and it will give illustrations of how such programs have been put into practice at Queensborough Community College (QCC).

The Hanover Report, Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Student Body: An Overview of Methods and Programs and Student Retention, encourages higher education institutions to place greater efforts on enrolling students from minority groups to increase diversity. With a location in New York City, one of the most diverse cities in the United States, the City University of New York (CUNY) college system does not have a problem of increasing diversity in the student body. However, programs to retain and graduate minority students, especially in career majors, are much needed. In CUNY there is an underrepresentation of minority students in Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) majors, as well as Law.  The Hannover report, suggest that colleges should create specialized programs to enroll minority students into these majors and mentor them to avoid student failure and drop-outs.

At QCC, there are several programs designed for the purpose on retaining low income, academically challenges and minority students. One such example is the M.A.L.E.S. Program (Men Achieving and Leading in Excellence and Success) which stemmed from the CUNY B.M.I. (Black Male Initiative). M.A.L.E.S. offers services such as mentoring, priority advisement, employment support, internships, cultural enrichment activities through its club and special skills building workshops. Along the same lines there is Collegiate Science Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), which provides career development and support services to students planning careers in the STEM fields and the licensed professions. Like M.A.L.E.S., CSTEP’s mission is to increase minority and disadvantaged student representation in the graduating classes on QCC. Other programs which focus on providing financial and academic support, mentoring, career counseling, internship, tutoring and enrichment opportunities at QCC are ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Program), College Discovery, Single Stop and C.O.P.E. (College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment Program).

Apart from the obvious financial benefits and the new career opportunities for minorities, recruiting and retaining a more diversified student body reduces students’ level of racial ignorance and increases tolerances towards racial and gender differences, and facilitates students’ explorations of diverse perspectives, and as a result fosters intellectual development in the students.

The report suggest that in order to reap these benefits, colleges should enroll a more diverse student body, by seeking out minority students where they are located. Recruitment should be strategically focused to their high schools, college fairs in their community as well as organizations such as social groups and organizations, minority fraternities and sororities and churches and other religious groups. Also, advertising in minority-oriented media and in their language are effective tools to recruiting for a more diverse college.

As mentioned previously, the key to enrollment management is to retain the enrolled students. The Hannover report Student Retention and Persistence to Graduation in Postsecondary Education: An Analysis of Improved Strategies addresses retention strategies geared to all students, not just minorities; the academic and non-academic factors that correlate with student’s decisions to register for classes every semester until they earn a degree at an institution.

A 2004 ACT Policy Report concluded that apart from students’ academic–related skills, their academic goals and academic self-confidence strongly correlated with their decision to re-register for classes every semester. Through programs such as tutoring, per mentoring, counseling, research opportubities and academic advising, QCC motivates its students by building and fostering a positive self-image and clear set academic goals. Other factors such as social support, institutional commitment and institutional selectivity moderately correlate to retention.

Within the last five years, QCC has initiated comprehensive retention programs such as the Freshman Academies and Learning Communities. Operating through QCC’s office of New Student Enrollment, the Academies places emphases on coordinating academic and student support services to help freshmen be successful in the college environment. There are six academies, one for each academic discipline, with coordinators which advise students’ and act as a link between the student and the institution. The students participate in at least two high impact learning experiences, partake in service learning opportunities,  attend special events and field trips related to their academic field, all of which are designed to reinforce their classroom and life experience. Through my personal experience as an admissions counselor and recruiter, I have witness the pull-effect that this program has on parents and high school counselors.

Through its Learning Communities, students are enrolled into two courses taught by two different professors which are linked by a theme.  The same students are in each of the classes.  These classes assist students in seeing connections between disciplines, and help them get to know their fellow students and professors, thus building social support amongst the student and increasing social support.

One of the most important models and least practiced at QCC is profiling at-risk students for early intervention effort to prevent academic failure. At the University of Puget Sound, there is an online “Academic Alert Form” for faculty to use when concerned about a particular student’s academic performance and/or wellbeing. The electronic form allows the faculty member to identify his reasons for concern and also allows him to suggest recommendations. A process such as this creates an awareness of the academic progress of students at the risk of dropping out. By identifying at-risk students, a committee that is designed to address such students, would intervene to help the student gain a positive foothold and succeed in their degree.

At QCC, diversity in the student body is not an issue, and the institution does employee programs that are geared towards retaining its students; however, at QCC there need to be a process of selecting at-risk student, that are not enrolled in programs such as ASAP,  College Discovery, M.A.L.E.S. and C.O.P.E. where profiling is currently practiced. I believe that if QCC improves it method of addressing retention, it would have a complete handle on enrollment management, since QCC does not currently have an issue with recruiting students, especially a diverse student population.