An Integrated Approach

New Reporting Structure; Marketing Campaign Target Enrollment Goals

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 14, 2019) – As University constituents think strategically about undergraduate and graduate enrollment, several efforts to strengthen recruitment, retention and student success were launched this semester.

Strategic Enrollment Management

On Jan. 1, UAlbany integrated enrollment management functions into the Division of Student Affairs, including the Offices of Financial Aid, Registrar, Student Accounts, Orientation and Transition Programs and Undergraduate Admissions.

This integrated approach not only brings many services critical to student success together under one roof, but also encourages the division to think collectively about enrollment, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Mike Christakis, who has tasked Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Engelbride with heading up this initiative. He has also established a Dean of Students Office, led by Clarence McNeill, dean and assistant vice president for student affairs, aimed at increasing retention through enhanced and centralized student services.

In August 2018, UAlbany welcomed 2,750 freshmen from its largest application pool in history – 27,652 – to the Class of 2022. Christakis and his staff are focused on increasing those numbers, as the University pushes toward a 3,000-freshman class over the next three years.

UAlbany has integrated enrollment management functions into the Division of Student Affairs under Vice President Mike Christakis. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

The University announced the formation of “The Graduate School” last month, with goals of at least a 9 percent increase in graduate enrollment by fall 2023.

“This restructure is putting a greater emphasis on the entire student life cycle,” Christakis said. “Through this integration, we can think more strategically about student success, starting from the moment a prospective first inquires with us, through their post-graduate career.”

The SEMC

In line with the divisional restructure, Christakis and Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Edelgard Wulfert are co-chairing a strategic enrollment management council (SEMC). It includes students, faculty and staff from across the University, and is composed of six different workgroups:

• Program Demand & Market Trends
• Enrollment Marketing
• Financial Aid
• Graduate Student Enrollment
• Undergraduate Student Enrollment
• Student Success

Guided by the University’s strategic plan, Christakis sees the SEMC as an opportunity to “bring the campus together and lead the University’s efforts in recruiting, retaining, graduating and preparing students for success.”

“This committee is comprised of a wide cross-section of the institution who possess knowledge and expertise about student recruitment from varied perspectives of the University community,” Christakis said. “Enrollment management is a shared responsibility for all of us.”

Expanded Branding Initiative

UAlbany’s branding initiative, “Unleash Greatness,” which was launched this past January to the campus community, is being promoted through a series of targeted advertisements in the New York City, Long Island and Westchester markets, including:

• 15 and 30 second commercials on YouTube, Spotify and local television
• Social media ads on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat
• Digital signage inside Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden City, NY, and on the Bee-Line Bus System in Westchester County
• A full-page print advertisement in the New York Times

From a local perspective, you may have also noticed updated “Unleash Greatness” signage at the Albany International Airport, the billboard facing traffic on I-90 West, and across the UAlbany campus.

“For more than 175 years, UAlbany has kept its promise to provide opportunities for those who aspire to do great things,” said Fardin Sanai, UAlbany's vice president for university advancement and executive director of The University at Albany Foundation. “We are proud to recognize this promise through our ‘Unleash Greatness’ branding initiative, which is now being shared outside of campus with the next generation of Great Danes.”

You can learn more about the University’s plans for an integrated student success model here.

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