In a recent SEM Quarterly article, authors Brian Dalton, Vice President for Enrollment and College Relations at Allegheny College, and Patricia Somers, Associate Professor of Higher Education at University of Texas at Austin, share the results of their study on the relationship between football and enrollment management.
Dalton and Somers examined whether the creation of a football program increased student enrollment and fiscal health at small, tuition-dependent private colleges between the years of 1985 and 2000. Their results indicated that a new football program was associated with achieving both goals.
“Small, tuition-dependent private colleges have arrived at a crossroad, with few attractive paths available to them," the article states. “They are likely to experience escalating costs and diminishing revenues for the near future with increasingly diverse competition from larger and wealthier private institutions, public universities, and for-profit institutions.”
“The addition of a football program appeared to benefit the institution in both increased enrollment and fiscal health,” the authors wrote. “However, managers should carefully consider their options and obtain full buy-in from their communities before initiating a football program.”
For example: “The addition of less expensive sports, other co-curricular activities, an expanded arts program, or a new academic major might also engage the community, increase enrollment, and advance fiscal health.”
The January 2015 issue of SEMQ also features articles by Susan Gottheil, University of Manitoba; Michael J. Roszkowski, La Salle University; Richard Nigro, La Salle University; and Michelle Gierman, St. Clair County Community. Topics include: SEM and the student experience; the value of SAT scores and high school grades in the selection of honor program candidates; and the investment in faculty relationships to maximize student success.
Access SEMQ here: http://www.aacrao.org/resources/publications/sem-quarterly
SEMQ Manuscript Guidelines are available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2325-4750/homepage/ForAuthors.html
For more information, please contact Editor-in-Chief Tom Green at tomg@aacrao.org, or Managing Editor Heather Zimar at zimarh@aacrao.org.
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