A People-Centered Strategy for Enrollment Sustainability

Facing an enrollment cliff marked by affordability and accessibility issues as well as increased competition, higher ed institutions must adopt a people-centered approach to enroll and retain students by meeting their needs.

U.S. colleges and universities are navigating an increasingly complex enrollment environment marked by demographic decline, heightened competition, fluctuating international mobility and growing expectations from adult and online learners. Institutional responses to these pressures often emphasize marketing innovations, technological enhancements, new program development and financial aid strategies. However, after 17 years of professional practice in enrollment management—and ongoing graduate study in organizational strategy—I’ve observed a critical and often overlooked insight: Institutional enrollment success is fundamentally dependent on the strategic alignment of compensation, job design, internal structures and workforce capability. 

This is a dimension of enrollment strategy that remains underdeveloped across institution types. Using the theoretical frameworks from Gerhart & Milkovich’s Compensation, this article examines how compensation strategy intersects with institutional mission, labor market conditions and enrollment objectives. The analysis extends to MSIs, regional publics, small privates and professional schools—institutions that often face intensified enrollment risk and resource constraints. 

Theoretical Framework: Compensation as Organizational Strategy 

Gerhart & Milkovich’s Compensation identifies three interdependent dimensions of strategic pay systems that are central to this article: 

1. Internal alignment (chapters 3 and 5): how job roles, structures and responsibilities support the organization’s mission and workflow 
2. External competitiveness (chapter 7): how an institution’s pay levels and pay mix compare to external labor markets 
3. Pay structure design (chapter 8): how institutions translate compensation philosophy into practice through pay lines, pay grades and pay ranges 

These dimensions are rarely considered in enrollment strategic planning, yet they influence recruitment pipelines, conversion rates, yield, student engagement and retention. 

Internal Alignment: Clarifying Roles to Strengthen Performance 

Chapters 3 and 5 emphasize the importance of internal alignment—the fit between job responsibilities, structures and organizational goals. For enrollment divisions, internal alignment is foundational to high performance. 

Challenges When Internal Alignment is Weak 

• Redundancy and role ambiguity across recruitment, admissions, marketing and student success 

• Limited line of sight between staff responsibilities and institutional outcomes 

• Inconsistent expectations between undergraduate, graduate, international and online units 

• Difficulty scaling new program launches or entering new markets 

• Misalignment between advising and recruitment workflows 

Impact Across Institutional Types 

• Graduate and professional units: Specialized roles (CRM analysts, digital marketers) often lack defined career pathways. 

• Online and adult-serving institutions: Enrollment roles need stronger alignment with digital recruitment competencies. 

• International offices: Compliance and recruitment functions often overlap without structural clarity. 

• MSIs and regional campuses: Staff frequently hold multiple roles due to budget constraints, complicating alignment. 

Implication 

Internal alignment is not simply an operational concern but an equity issue, a retention issue and a performance issue. Institutions with clear role structures and advancement pathways retain talent and generate more stable enrollment outcomes. 

External Competitiveness: Compensation and the Market for Enrollment Talent 

Chapter 7 argues that external competitiveness—the institution’s pay level and pay mix relative to peers—deeply influences its ability to attract and retain skilled employees. This element is particularly urgent for enrollment divisions, where the labor market has become national and highly specialized. 

Market Realities 

• CRM administrators, digital recruitment managers, SEO/SEM specialists and data analysts command competitive salaries beyond traditional higher ed norms. 

• Remote and hybrid roles widen the competitive field, making it easier for talent to leave institutions with lower pay. 

• Institutions that lag the market unintentionally experience chronic turnover and unstable pipelines. 

Institutional Variation 

• Large research universities typically match or lead the market. 

• Small privates and regional publics often lag the market unintentionally due to budget limitations. 

• MSIs face persistent underfunding that directly affects staff recruitment and retention despite mission excellence. 

Implication 

External competitiveness is a strategic, not technical, decision. Institutions that do not intentionally manage their competitive position lose talent and experience weakened enrollment performance. 

Toward a Comprehensive People Strategy for Enrollment Management 

A sustainable strategy for enrollment performance must integrate the following. 

1. Job analysis and updated internal structures: Roles should reflect contemporary competencies in CRM systems, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, behavioral analytics and cross-cultural engagement.
2. Market-informed pay structures: Institutions must determine whether to lead, match or strategically lag labor market rates.
3. Predictive analytics and data mining: Forecasting demand, modeling melt and identifying market opportunities require talent and tools that align with compensation strategy.
4. Professional development and capability building: Continuous training in advanced recruitment technologies, digital targeting and yield-modeling strengthens institutional competitiveness.
5. Strategic enrollment planning integration: Compensation and staffing strategies must be embedded into the institution’s strategic enrollment plan, not appended as an afterthought.

Implications for Minority-Serving and Under-Resourced Institutions 

MSIs, HBCUs, HSIs, tribal colleges and regional campuses face distinct challenges: 

• Limited ability to compete on salary 

• High need for student support staffing 

• Market vulnerability due to tuition dependency 

• Pressure to expand online and graduate offerings without increased staffing 

However, these institutions also possess unique strengths—mission-driven cultures, community impact and strong student affinity—that become amplified when supported by aligned compensation and staffing strategies. 

A people-centered framework helps MSIs stabilize recruitment pipelines, improve retention through relational staffing models, expand online and graduate markets with specialized roles, and compete for talent despite structural inequities. 

Conclusion 

The demographic shifts facing higher education will challenge every institution, but they will not challenge every institution equally. The colleges and universities that thrive will not simply be those with the strongest marketing strategy or largest budget. They will be the ones that align compensation strategy, job structure, workforce capability, predictive analytics and a coherent strategic enrollment plan. 

Through my experience as a 16-year enrollment professional and current graduate studies in strategic management, one insight has grown increasingly clear: People strategy is enrollment strategy. Institutions that fail to invest in their people will struggle. Institutions that do will endure—and grow. 

This article offers a framework for reimagining how higher education approaches enrollment, not as a recruitment task but as an organizational design challenge. The future belongs to institutions that recognize this challenge and act to meet it accordingly.