President Kavalhuna establishes a strategic enrollment management core team

Release Date
Students walking on campus

December 2018, from President Kavalhuna to HFC employees:

Dear Colleagues:

I want to update you on an important initiative regarding our enrollment processes and goals.

Henry Ford College has a proud tradition of serving our community, and we are thankful for the recent vote of confidence from our community in renewing our millage. The community support comes with a responsibility to continually improve our College. One area in which we must grow is our enrollment processes, to improve recruitment, persistence, and completion rates.

I have directed Vice President Daniel Herbst and Vice President Michael Nealon to evaluate and improve our enrollment processes and, in the long-term, our outcomes. They have created a Strategic Enrollment Management Core Team to lead this effort.

Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) is a long-term effort that will help us:

  • Decide how and where to grow our enrollment;
  • Define and assign responsibility for different aspects of the growth process;
  • Understand and implement best practices for increasing retention and completion rates;
  • Connect strategic plans with budgets and marketing/communications efforts;
  • Develop short-term planning objectives;
  • Develop long-term planning objectives, including personnel and infrastructure needs;
  • Develop multi-year financial projections; and
  • Measure, assess, benchmark, and continually improve our enrollment efforts.

The SEM Core Team is a small group established to respond efficiently to the College’s needs. Many individuals at the College who are not members of the Core Team will be asked to provide expertise and collaborate in SEM initiatives.

Strategic Enrollment Management is a joint venture between Academics Affairs and Student Affairs. The SEM Core Team membership includes:

  • Co-chair, Dean Jennifer Ernst from the School of Liberal Arts
  • Co-chair, Executive Director Holly Diamond from Student Affairs
  • Student Council representative Georgia Cotter
  • Faculty Senate Chair Paul Fisher
  • Faculty member Eric Gackenbach
  • Faculty member Rama Chidambaram
  • Counselor Diane Green
  • Director of Marketing and Communications Rhonda DeLong
  • Executive Director of Financial Aid and Financial Services Kevin Culler
  • Interim Vice President of Institutional Research and Planning Lori Gonko
  • Business analyst Jacob Krogol

I will be discussing more details of this initiative at the State of the College meeting January 3. This process will allow you to be engaged throughout the planning and implementation phases. The Core Team is developing a communication plan to make sure you are informed and connected along the way.

If you have questions about this initiative, I encourage you to reach out to Vice President Herbst, Vice President Nealon, the co-chairs, or me. Please look forward to learning more, and participating, in the coming weeks and months.