Abstract:

Communication plans are critical to the success of many projects. In this case, the focus is on designing effective communication plans to enhance the student experience and streamline enrollment for the General Education Cross College courses that serve the institution's certificates and diploma programs. The electives are designed to build creativity, communication, and critical thinking by letting students explore practices outside their study program. As programs in various faculties within the institution expand or enrollment decreases, the enrollment in the elective courses gets affected, which poses a challenge in enrollment management. This session will focus on a case study of a sudden expansion in enrollments that positively affected the number of sections. Enrollment data will be shared, as well as presenting the detailed communication plans, the key stakeholders involved and the plan's implementation that supports the student experience's success. The institutional-wide stakeholders engaged and consulted are Deans, Associate Dean, The Registrar, Recruitment, Students and Faculty. As a result, in one semester, we experienced an increase of 49% in enrollment. Also, instead of students enrolling later in the semester and right before the start of the term, there was a rise in enrollment two weeks before the beginning of the term and enrollment went from 48% to 72%. The results show that students are more aware of the electives offerings, reflecting effective communication.

Keywords:

Enrollment, student experience, communication, higher education.