USM Strategic Enrollment Planning Council Meeting 3-19-08
The committee met for the first time to review strategic enrollment planning (SEP) fundamentals, to develop key performance indicators for Southern Miss, to establish a timeline for its work, and to develop communication strategies to those not on the Council. The members of the Council are listed at here.
The facilitator from Noel-Levitz, Dr. Jim Mager (see www.noellevitz.com), began the SEP fundamentals session by addressing key questions, such as: what is strategic enrollment planning (SEP) and how does it relate to university strategic planning processes? He described how SEP seeks to align the organization with its environment to promote stability, survival, and/or excellence. Keys to the process include assessing how best to serve students and how USM fits into the market. Both the outline of the presentation in Attachment 2 and the PowerPoint version of the presentation provide key information on strategic enrollment planning.
Next, President Saunders spoke to the group. She affirmed the centrality of this process to the university’s overall planning initiative, and reminded attendees that this is a highly iterative process.
The group then set about determining its plans for communication, since high levels of participation are a necessary part of any SEP project. The Council plans to establish a website for use by the university community, and to send periodic summaries and updates on its work. The plan also includes both formal presentations to the various bodies which our members represent (such as Academic and Graduate Councils, the Deans, Faculty Senate, etc.) and also informal and ongoing communications between Council and individual members of the faculty and staff.
A subcommittee (termed the SEP Action Committee) is beginning a series of research projects to evaluate key performance indicators such as admissions and retention data, surveys, and similar sources of useful information. Additionally, informal qualitative feedback is being solicited by the consultant via focus groups and informal listening sessions with various representatives of faculty, staff, and students.
The Action Committee members and the consultant presented a list of Top Level and Support KPI’s, which were reviewed and refined by the entire Council. See the draft of the key performance indicators from the March meeting here and check for updated and revised KPIs on the SEPC main webpage. The Council seeks feedback on latest draft of KPIs.
Members of the Action Committee were assigned tasks to complete prior to the next meeting. An overview of the strategic planning project and estimated timelines are provided here.
The next meeting will take place in late-April. The third meeting is set for May 29th from 1-3 pm. (NB: Next meeting wil be June 26)