PDF BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY SUCCESSFUL ... - Catholic Universities

[Pages:131]BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY

SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES AND MODELS OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT IN ILLINIOS COMMUNITY COLLEGES: AN EXPLANATORY MIXED-METHODS RESEARCH CASE STUDY

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION BY ANDREA LEHMACHER LISLE, IL MAY, 2012

Copyright by Andrea Lehmacher, 2012 All rights reserved.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my family, friends and colleagues who supported and encouraged me along my journey. First, I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Julie Bjorkman, Dr. Ryan Smith and Dr. Jeff Papa. Thank you for your time, patience, encouragement, and guidance; were it not for each of you, I could not have completed this journey. Your faith in me as a doctoral student was an inspiration and I could not have asked for a better committee. You have my heartfelt appreciation. Second, I would like to thank my fellow cohort members. You have helped me to grow personally and professionally from our lively class discussions, projects that we have worked on together, and through the sharing of our experiences within higher education. Anne, Regina, Matt, and Catherine, I thank you for the laughter when I needed it the most and for supporting me through this program. I could not have completed this journey without "a little help from my friends--lifelong friends." Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude for my family and friends who provided me with encouragement and incredible support, and who always believed in me when I thought I took on too much. Thank you for seeing more in me than I saw in myself. To my amazing sons Nicholas and Zachary, who sacrificed the most and asked for the least, I hope you are proud of your mom.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Illinois Community Colleges: Enrollment Growth..............................................................2 Illinois Community Colleges: Funding Challenges .............................................................3 Illinois Public Agenda for Higher Education.......................................................................6 Researcher's Perspective .....................................................................................................7 Theoretical Framework for the Study ..................................................................................8 Community Colleges: Open Systems and Collaboration.....................................................9 Enrollment Management: A Driver for Change ................................................................10 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................11 Purpose of the Research.....................................................................................................12 Research Questions ............................................................................................................12 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................12 Research Methodology ......................................................................................................14 Data Collection and Analysis Tools and Strategies ...........................................................15 Limitations of the Study.....................................................................................................18 Assumptions .......................................................................................................................19

iv

Summary ............................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................21 Introduction ........................................................................................................................21 Community Colleges as Open Systems .............................................................................23 Enrollment Management: The Role of Collaboration .......................................................25 Enrollment Management: Response to Accountability, Social Trends, the Market..........30 Enrollment Management and Community Colleges ..........................................................32 Enrollment Management: Definitions................................................................................33 Enrollment Management: Goal and Purpose .....................................................................34 Enrollment Management: Orientations..............................................................................36 Enrollment Management: Models......................................................................................38 Barriers to Successful Enrollment Management................................................................41 Enrollment Management: The Continuum ........................................................................43 Enrollment Management: Implementation ........................................................................45 Summary ............................................................................................................................47 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................49 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................49 Purpose of the Research.....................................................................................................49 Research Questions ............................................................................................................50 Methodology ......................................................................................................................51 Research Design.................................................................................................................51 Site Selection .....................................................................................................................52 Survey Instrument ..............................................................................................................56

v

Participant Selection ..........................................................................................................57 Reliability ...........................................................................................................................58 Summary ............................................................................................................................59 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ...................................................................60 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................62 Research Questions ............................................................................................................62 Results ................................................................................................................................63

Community College A: Findings ..................................................................................63 SEM as a system ......................................................................................................64 SEM and academic program innovation ..................................................................66 SEM and marketing..................................................................................................67 SEM and recruitment ...............................................................................................68 SEM and retention....................................................................................................69 SEM and service delivery ........................................................................................70

Community College B: Findings ..................................................................................71 SEM as a system ......................................................................................................72 SEM and academic program innovation ..................................................................73 SEM and marketing..................................................................................................74 SEM and recruitment ...............................................................................................75 SEM and retention....................................................................................................76 SEM and service delivery ........................................................................................77

All Participants: Findings..............................................................................................77 SEM as a system ......................................................................................................77

vi

SEM and academic program innovation ..................................................................78 SEM and marketing..................................................................................................79 SEM and recruitment ...............................................................................................79 SEM and retention....................................................................................................80 SEM and service delivery ........................................................................................81 Summary ............................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.............................................................................................83 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................83 Summary ............................................................................................................................84 Recommendations for Community Colleges .....................................................................95 Leadership .....................................................................................................................96 Institutionalization of EM .............................................................................................97 Creation of a Shared Understanding .............................................................................98 Data-driven Decision Making .......................................................................................99 Assessment and Evaluation...........................................................................................99 Collaboration ...............................................................................................................100 Communication ...........................................................................................................100 Recommendations for Future Research ...........................................................................101 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................102 APPENDIX A: MODELS AND PRACTICES OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT CONSENT FORM...........................................................................................................103 APPENDIX B: RESEARCH ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT......................................106 APPENDIX C: FOLLOW UP INTERVIEW GUIDE.....................................................111

vii

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................113 VITA ................................................................................................................................119 Approval Sheet.................................................................................................................120

viii

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download