Enrollment Planning Team

Minutes

March 12, 2008

Penland 110                            2 pm

Present:  Mr. Andrew Hendrix, Mr. Corey Feraldi, Dr. Deb Kladivko, Dr. Ed Callen, Mrs. Gail Ratchford, Mrs. Jennifer Conner, Mr. Randy Duckett, Dr. Suzanne Ozment, Dr. Tom Mack, Ms. Vivian Grice and Mr. Tim Bond – Guest

After a brief welcome from Mr. Randy Duckett, Mrs. Jennifer Conner was asked to give the Marketing Plan Update.

Programmatic Updates

Marketing Plan Update – Mrs. Jennifer Conner

Jennifer began her presentation by stating that the whole campus should know about the marketing plan since we all play critical roles in the recruitment and retention of  students.  She then presented a PowerPoint presentation with handouts which can be found at http://www.usca.edu/ESIP/ept/ under minutes.

Several key points shared by Jennifer Conner included:

• Strengths
• Challenges we face
• Opportunities
• Integrated Marketing Strategy
• Major Continuing Goals
• New Initiatives
• Marketing Funds

Marketing operates on a tight budget but has managed to stretch these funds to be used for printing, advertising and contract services.  The main expense this year will be a new billboard campaign.

Jennifer also shared the” new look” of the recruitment materials which were a result of  one of the recommendations made by the Noel Levitz visit to campus.

Research Updates – Mr. Randy Duckett

Randy shared information regarding the:

• Mid-Year Freshman Cohort Report which displayed the average GPA of the freshman cohort; the persistence rate after one semester.
• New probation and suspension policy and the possible implications this policy will have on enrollment next year.
• Persistence Rate Report after the first semester comparing the last three years.
• VSA (Voluntary System of Accountability) report.

Action Team Reports

Minority Student Success Team – Randy Duckett

Reporting for Stacie Williams, Randy shared that the College Summit initiative is progressing well and is still in the planning stages.  A representative from the National and State offices will be on campus within the week to do a site visit.

Admissions Action Team – Mr. Corey Feraldi

Corey reported that the Admissions Action team hosted a transfer student open forum meeting this morning and would be hosting a second one for faculty in the next week or so.  The Action Team will be gathering information and conducting additional research and will provide some recommendations regarding transfer student enrollment on our campus..

Meeting adjourned at 3:00 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Gail Ratchford