Strategic Enrollment Management Planning and Assessment
Strategic Enrollment Management has evolved beyond enrollment targets and tactical planning.
Today, sustainable success requires full institutional alignment, connecting enrollment strategy, academic offerings, financial aid, marketing, operations, and financial planning into a unified, continuously improving system.
BPS’s approach—Institutional Alignment for Enrollment and Fiscal Success—redefines SEM as a shared institutional responsibility. We help colleges and universities align leadership, data, strategy, and execution around common enrollment and revenue goals, ensuring that decisions are coordinated, data-informed, and financially sustainable.
The result is not just a plan, but a living framework that drives ongoing performance, accountability, and long-term institutional health.
Client Outcomes
→ 9% increase in enrollment after five years of enrollment decline
→ Achieved first year of new student enrollment growth in nine years
→ Improved yield by nearly 12%
→ Increased event show rates from 40% to 70%
→ Increased FAFSA submissions by nearly 12%
→ Developed armchair recruitment and territory management plans
Our Approch
ANALYZE
Every engagement begins with a comprehensive assessment of your institution’s current state, spanning enrollment performance, market position, financial health, and organizational alignment.
We conduct a full environmental scan, evaluating internal data (enrollment trends, retention, program performance) alongside external factors (demographics, competition, workforce demand). We also assess leadership alignment, governance structures, financial practices, and cross-functional collaboration to identify gaps, risks, and opportunities.
This analysis establishes a clear, objective understanding of how well your institution is positioned to achieve its enrollment and revenue goals.
DESIGN
We develop a customized SEM framework grounded in institutional alignment and shared ownership of outcomes.
Our work brings together key institutional functions, academic affairs, enrollment, marketing, finance, student life, and advancement, into a unified strategy. We define enrollment and revenue goals, align them with program strategy and market demand, and establish clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making structures.
This includes designing integrated strategies across recruitment, financial aid, academic portfolio, marketing, and student experience, ensuring all efforts are aligned, mutually reinforcing, and scalable.
IMPLEMENT
With alignment established, we work alongside institutional leadership to operationalize the SEM plan.
This includes embedding strategies into budgeting processes, aligning financial aid and pricing decisions with enrollment goals, integrating CRM and data systems, and ensuring that recruitment, marketing, and onboarding efforts are coordinated and student-centered.
We focus on translating strategy into institutional practice, ensuring that plans are actionable, cross-functional, and supported by the right processes, systems, and staff capabilities.
MONITOR & REFINE
We establish a culture of continuous planning and improvement through clear KPIs, reporting frameworks, and accountability structures.
Institutions are equipped to monitor performance across enrollment, revenue, marketing effectiveness, and student success, using real-time data and predictive analytics to inform decisions. Over time, this enables proactive adjustments to strategy, ensuring the institution remains responsive to market changes and aligned with long-term goals.
This disciplined, iterative approach transforms SEM from a static plan into an ongoing driver of institutional success.
Strategic Enrollment Management Offerings
Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Institutional Alignment for Enrollment and Fiscal Health Assessment
Enrollment, Revenue, and Discount Rate Forecasting
KPI Reporting & Analytics
Enrollment Management Org Design
Budget Assessment
Change Management
Turn Strategy Into Results.
If your institution is ready to align market reality, institutional goals, and operational capacity, we’ll help you build a plan your team can actually run — and stay alongside you through implementation.