2023-2026 Strategic Enrollment Plan

In response to evolving trends in college enrollment nationally and specifically in California, CSUN developed a dynamic strategic enrollment plan. The plan is designed to stabilize or increase student enrollment through organizational synergy and alignment with the university's mission. The EMC harnessed CSUN's collective intelligence to identify, evaluate and recommend strategies for recruiting first-time freshmen and transfer students while enhancing the onboarding experience to boost yield rates.

Following campus consultation, the President’s Cabinet approved the strategic enrollment plan. Execution of these strategies falls under Enrollment Services, encompassing Student Outreach and Recruitment, Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, International Student Center, Strategic Communication and Technology units. These units collaborate to ensure integrated communication, streamlined processes and a unified student service experience. Additionally, stakeholders from various departments and divisions contribute to achieving strategic goals beyond Enrollment Services.

Strategic Initiatives

High school counselors and transfer center advisors influence college choice. Building and maintaining relationships with counselors and advisors requires time, effort and human resources. Currently, four staff members in Student Outreach and Recruitment (SOAR) manage rosters of prospective students. In order to extend our capacity for relationship building at target high schools and community colleges, additional personnel must be added and new funds are requested for anticipated increases in travel.

 

Strategy Add two Outreach Counselor Positions to Student Outreach and Recruitment
Budget Allocation $158,500 for two outreach counselor salaries, travel, and programming costs
Status Hired two new Outreach Counselors over the course of six months and created additional recruitment territories to make territory management more effective.

Leverage selected current campus events and other external community outreach events to directly target prospective students and their families. Possible options include Explore CSUN, Matador Nights, Summer Movie Festival, Big Show, EOP events, Career Center events, Bridge to the Future events, CSUN athletics games, Soraya events and a variety of other activities.

 

Strategy CSUN DAY is envisioned as an expansive celebration encapsulating the essence of our university – a large, welcoming, inclusive, and diverse community dedicated to student success. Designed to be free to individuals of all age groups, the event aims to provide informative and entertaining activities for parents, children, teens, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, alumni and the public.
Budget Allocation $240,000 for event implementation
Status Established a university-wide planning committee tasked with developing and proposing the event structure, crafting a comprehensive marketing plan and designing the program. Target date for the event: fall 2025.

Currently, CSUN hosts one event a year designed to encourage admitted students to enroll in the fall semester. On- and off-campus events significantly increase the likelihood of students applying and attending an institution. This strategy will increase the number and quality of on campus and regional events.

 

Strategy In partnership with colleges and academic departments, host a fall open house to increase interest and application submissions from prospective 11th and12th grade high school students across California as well as transfer students, and a CSUN First Look event targeting high sophomores and Juniors. Develop a spring admission yield event to increase the yield rate among transfer students admitted to the spring term. Design four yield receptions in targeted geographical areas across California to increase the number of intent to enroll submissions.
Budget Allocation $260,500 for event coordinator salary and event costs
Status Hired one event coordinator, hosted fall Open house, will host two regional yield events (Oakland and Riverside) and planning CSUN First Look event for fall 2024.

A very important step in thriving within a highly competitive enrollment market place involves increasing awareness about our institution among our target populations. Building institutional awareness with prospective students, including teenagers and young adults, requires a comprehensive marketing approach that includes digital marketing, direct marketing (paper), social media strategies, email, text and in-person components.

 

Strategy Partner with a third party vendor to design and execute a holistic marketing plan. Marketing partners in the enrollment space include the design, content creation and deployment of email, social media, digital marketing, direct marketing, research and data analysis in the pricing of services.
Marketing Services Budget Allocation $1.2 million over four years for marketing services as described above.
Market Assessment Studies Budget Allocation $150,000 for a market perception study and a communication audit.
Status Selected EAB after a thorough RFP process. EAB submitted the results of the perception study and communication audit in October 2023. The findings of both evaluations will be integrated into communication campaigns, websites, events and other types of communication content. EAB and CSUN worked together to launch the first of three communication campaigns in October 2023 designed to generate first-time freshmen and first-time transfer applications. Overall, undergraduate applications increase 4.5% over the previous year.

This strategy will focus on re-enrollment of students who have not re-enrolled, are in good academic standing and who did not complete their degrees. The strategy aligns with GI2025 Equity Priorities #1 (re-enrollment of underserved students) and #4 (administrative barriers) and existing efforts already underway to re-enroll some of these students.

 

Strategy Identify inactive students in good standing who last enrolled between fall 2017 and did not complete a BA elsewhere and invite then to reapply and enroll at CSUN.
Budget Allocation No budget allocation required.
Status A Re-enrollment Working Group was established to develop recruitment strategies, marketing campaigns and assessment methods to increase inactive returning student enrollment. Returning student applications increased 40% for spring 2024 compared to spring 2023. Yield declined by 20 percentage points. RWG seeking to understand reason for yield decline and incorporate findings into future campaigns.

From 2010-2020 Black student enrollment at four-year colleges and universities declined at a faster rate than the general college-going population. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that while undergraduate enrollment declined by 9% from 2010-2020, Black student enrollment fell by 17% over the same period. Deep and persistent equity gaps remain at CSUN, highlighting our ongoing struggle to recruit, retain and graduate Black students. Black student enrollment at CSUN fell by 35.3% from 2010 to 2020. In 2020, the Black Matadors Rise initiative was launched to increase Black student enrollment. This plan builds on the success of this strategy by expanding our capacity to reach larger numbers of Black students.

Strategy Build intentional early outreach and recruitment services to establish strong relationships with college counselors, parents, students and communities to create a college pipeline for Black students from our local feeder highs schools and community colleges that enroll large numbers of Black students.
  • Work directly with sophomores, juniors and seniors from six local high schools that enroll high numbers of Black students (e.g., Antelope Valley High School) and 10 of our local community colleges affiliated with the Umoja Community Education Foundation (Umoja means unity).
  • Develop relationships with students and their families to address concerns about the affordability and value of a college education.
Salary and Benefits Budget Allocation $77,752 for outreach counselor salary and benefits and two student interns, travel and programming costs.
Programing Budget Allocation $30,000 for programing and travel costs.
Status Hired one new Outreach Counselor to execute strategy and manage a recruitment territory to make territory management more effective.

In 2020, CSUN lost its Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution (AANAPISI) designation. The loss of this important designation reflects both a demographic decline and a lack of institutional attention to APIDA students. This strategy focuses on increasing new APIDA student enrollment and APIDA student success.

Strategy Build stronger relationships with counselors, parents and students at specific high schools and community colleges. Develop relationships with students at four high schools (e.g., Granada Hills Charter High School and Crescenta Valley Senior High) and three community colleges (e.g., LA Pierce and Pasadena City College) in our local area.
  • Work directly with sophomores, juniors and seniors from 10 local high schools that enroll high numbers of APIDA students (Granada Hills Charter and 5 community colleges with significant APIDA enrollment (Pasadena City College; Santa Monica College).
  • Develop relationships with students and their families to address concerns about the affordability and value of a college education.
Salary and Benefits Budget Allocation $67,752 for one outreach counselor salary and benefits.
Programing Budget Allocation $22,500 for programing and travel.
Status Hired one new Outreach Counselor to execute strategy and manage a recruitment territory to make territory management more effective.