Baltimore City Community College Consulting Report

1. Baltimore City Community College Consulting Report Stanley Henderson Clayton Smith AACRAO Senior Consultants December 15, 2007

2. Consultation Summary Senior Consultants Stanley Henderson and Clayton Smith conducted a consulting visit to Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) on September 24-25, 2007 to review student recruitment and retention functions, and make recommendations to support the institution-wide strategic enrollment management agenda. This is the first of two planned visits to BCCC to enhance enrollment management at the College. 2

3. Project Goals • Assist BCCC in reviewing existing recruitment and retention plans and programs. • Make recommendations for improving the College’s overall enrollment planning. • Focus on existing enrollment plans, with less attention provided to specific recruitment and retention functions. Contract, p. 7

4. Visit 1 Agenda Meetings with the BCCC Project Manager, Project Team, and other relevant BCCC staff to discuss existing enrollment recruitment and retention plans and programs, as well as preliminary ideas for improvement. A report in PowerPoint format summarizing observations and preliminary recommendations. The report will be submitted to the BCCC Project Manager within three weeks of the conclusion of the visit for review and correction of factual items as appropriate. The revised report will be presented to the Project Team and other campus groups as requested during the second visit. -Contract, p. 7 4

5. Interviews in Chronological Order Enrollment Management Project Team President’s Staff Director of Admissions Recruiters, Call Center Coordinator, Athletics Recruiter President Deans, Department Chairs, Faculty Members Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dean or Enrollment Management, Dean of Student Success & Director of Off Campus Programs Vice President for Student Affairs 5

6. Interviews, continued BCECStaff Marketing, Publications & Web Staff Financial Aid Staff Group of Students Chief Information Technology Officer Honors Director, Student Success Center Director, Vocational Services Director, EWSSC Coordinator and Student Activities Director, RPC Coordinator, Test Center Director Registrar’s Office Staff Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Talent Search Enrollment Management Project Team 6

7. General Observations Social justice is an important issue in Baltimore, with 73% of the population without an associate degree and 38% not having a high school diploma. Moreover, Maryland is the richest state in the country, while Baltimore City is the third poorest city. The role of BCCC in moving Baltimore forward is both critical and important. Changes in senior leadership (three presidents in six years and 10 academic vice-presidents in 10 years) during the last decade have resulted in a turbulent period of management which impacted support for enrollment management. A 7.6% decrease in fall 2007 enrollment has created concern about the College’s market position. Of particular concern is a recent decline in four zip codes comprising West Baltimore, a traditional market area. 7

8. OrganizationObservations The College has determined that it needs to create a comprehensive and strategic enrollment plan to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive regional higher education market place. The College has used an enrollment management committee (MARS) in the past, but discontinued it. The current Enrollment Management Project Team has potential for effectively coordinating enrollment management activities. The Academic Master Plan calls for creation of “efficient, effective, stable operational systems” based on academic functions, administration of College policies and procedures that promote effective and efficient operations, and implementation of an efficient and flexible organizational structure that meets student needs. 8

9. OrganizationObservations Less than optimal communications between departments has led some to question the College’s organizational dynamics. The work of enrollment management is centered in both academic and student affairs. While the Dean of Enrollment Management reports through the Vice President for Student Affairs, it is important that she develop strong relationships with her academic colleagues in Academic Affairs. 9

10. OrganizationRecommendations Once the SEM Plan is approved, the College should develop a standing enrollment management committee to continue the work of the Enrollment Management Project Team. BCCC should develop an internal marketing effort to emphasize the campus’ social justice vision. The Dean of Enrollment Management should develop strong relationships with the department chairs and academic deans to ensure that enrollment management is well supported by Academic Affairs. 10

11. Human ResourcesObservations The Academic Master Plan calls for the development of a professional working environment that employs highly qualified and effective academic administration, faculty and staff, improvement of employment processes, and fostering a management culture that is grounded in teamwork. Academic department chairs are becoming 100% administrative positions, which should result in more focus on enrollment matters. Customer service is uneven throughout the College. 11

12. Human ResourcesObservations Budget conditions in the State of Maryland have had a serious impact on BCCC as a state agency. The staff and faculty have had difficulty adjusting to the repositioning necessitated by these adverse budget constraints. Evidence provided since the on-site visit suggests that the campus is aware of these difficulties and issues are being addressed. There appears to be more staff per student at BCCC than at comparably sized community colleges. Retention of staff is poor. Some feel it is because of a lack of support. 12

13. Human ResourcesObservations, continued There is little time available for staff development. Nearly 2/3’s of faculty and staff reported in the Climate Survey that morale is not high on campus. While Student Affairs staff and faculty express satisfaction with how communication flows within their individual departments, there is less satisfaction with general campus communication (see Climate Survey). Academic deans and student affairs deans have developed a collaborative process to deal with common issues. 13

14. Human ResourcesRecommendations When staff changes are necessitated by budget cuts, ensure that staff moving into new positions are supported by existing staff development funds and programs to minimize negative impact on morale and performance. Conduct customer service training throughout the College, especially in the key student touch points. Develop a plan to make maximum use of department chairs now that they are 100% administrative. Accountability should be established in support of recruitment, retention and enrollment planning. 14

15. Human ResourcesRecommendations Examine the distribution of staff at BCCC to determine if staff levels are appropriate to work-flow. Explore why staff turn-over at BCCC is high. 15

16. Physical StructureObservations • The Academic Master Plan calls for ensuring that all instructional facilities are conducive to creating an appropriate learning environment and that the College should secure additional instructional space for new and expanding programs. • BCEC has outgrown its Harbor facility, while there is ample space for growth in the Bard Building. • Decline in Harbor campus credit hours appears to be caused more by a decline in the supply of courses offered than in student demand for such courses. 16

17. Physical StructureRecommendations • Address campus appearance by establishing a master plan for physical facility enhancements. • There is considerable evidence that there are not enough offerings in general education and development courses since Harbor Campus offerings were dialed back. • Although developments since our visit indicate that the Harbor Campus may not be available due to demolition and redevelopment by a private developer, the college should develop a strategic facilities plan that will ensure adequate classroom stock to allow for growth. 17

18. SEM PlanObservations The Academic Master Plan calls for the development of a comprehensive recruitment and retention strategy that considers the diverse needs of student populations. A draft Strategic Enrollment Management Plan is in the developmental stage. The Strategic Planning Model’s connection between strategic planning and the enrollment management plan is an effective way to center enrollment activities consistent with strategic priorities of the institution. 18

19. SEM PlanRecommendation The SEM plan needs to include actions, timetables and assessment activities. It should be completed before the College embarks on any substantial changes to the way in manages its enrollments. 19

20. Academic Programs Observations Non-credit courses are primarily taught at the Harbor campus or at off-campus sites, with credit coursework taking most of the Liberty campus capacity. Potential exists for enrollment growth in pre-GED coursework. However, there is limited space to meet this need. There are waitlists for most ESL classes. 15% of ESL graduates continue toward credit degrees. The “one-college” concept, which called for the integration of credit and non-credit programming, appears to work better for those engaged in credit coursework. 20

21. Academic Programs Observations, continued State agencies located downtown do not make effective use of BCCC. Since the 1980’s, there has been a decline in the number of general education sections offered at the Harbor campus (from 40% of the total to 20%). BCCC has developed very few new academic programs in recent years, while CCBC has aggressively introduced a number of new programs. A number of academic programs do not have program advisory committees. Courses are often cancelled late, which results in space not being available for non-credit classes. 21

22. Academic Programs Observations, continued Perception that the Allied Health program is not flexible enough to support enrollment due to a lack of Saturday and evening classes. The Academic Master Plan calls for the creation of an “exemplary and effective model for developmental education”. A relatively small percentage of general education (32 out of 316 sections) and developmental education (27 out of 164) sections are offered at the Harbor campus despite apparent space availability and demand. 15% of credit enrollments come by way of prior enrollment in non-credit coursework. 22

23. Academic Programs Observations, continued The development education curriculum implemented in fall 2005 has not achieved different outcomes from the program in place previously. ESL enrollments have grown considerably over the last three years. BCCC’s credit enrollment is 50% higher than in 1991, when it became a State institution, with most of the increase related to health careers. Use of some terms (e.g., Apparel Technology) are not consistent with their use in the student population. 23

24. Academic ProgramsRecommendations Develop a plan for finding more facilities to teach pre-GED courses. This will require increased quality control. Consider expanding ESL sections to meet demand for ESL instruction. Conduct a program mix assessment to determine what new programs should be developed and what current programs should be modified or terminated. The assessment should include examination of employment trends. Establish advisory committees for any programs that do not have advisory committees. 24

25. Academic Programs Recommendations, continued Consider renaming academic programs so that they match the language of today’s students. For instance, Apparel Technology might be changed to Fashion Design. Consider adjusting how departments are listed on the Web so that they can be found more easily. English is currently listed as “Department of English” rather than English Department. 25

26. Academic Programs Recommendations, continued Develop a facilities plan that will allow for the expansion of general education and developmental course offerings outside the Liberty Campus and that will take course offerings to where students are (e.g., governmental agencies). Such expansion should allow for course offerings at least equal to the current potential of the Harbor Campus. This will be especially important in light of the potential loss of the current Harbor Campus for redevelopment purposes. 26

27. Data Mining & Analysis Observations The Academic Master Plan calls for the establishment of a comprehensive student learning outcomes assessment plan, which includes monitoring of graduation, transfer and employment rates, and utilization of an academic assessment model to track the success of academic support services. It appears that the College is not tunneling far enough into the data to make meaningful use of available information. 27

28. Data Mining & Analysis Recommendations Conduct an environmental scan (last one completed in 2000) prior to finalizing the strategic enrollment plan. The College should consider adopting a data-driven decision making approach. This will require making more extensive use of available data. Need to tunnel further into the data to achieve meaningful information. For instance, it is important not only to know what zip codes perform but what is going on in each zip code region in order to determine what recruitment is appropriate. 28

29. Information Technology Observations The student information system, while satisfactory for performing basic administrative functions, does not meet the minimum needs of a modern college. Student information system does not permit on-line registration for non-credit students. An on-line early alert intervention is being introduced; however, since faculty members will need to enter data in the system manually buy-in may be limited. Many classrooms do not include overhead projectors at the Harbor campus (4 out of 20 rooms). Web seminars cannot be done at the Harbor campus because of the way the campus links to the Liberty campus system. 29

30. Information Technology Observations, continued There is a student portal; however, it is not well promoted. The Computing Options Corporation (COCO) student information system has been considered outdated since 2000. The search for a new student information systems will include an assessment of the IT organization. It also will include a business process work flow analysis in such areas as Financial Aid, Registrar’s Office, Student Affairs and Admissions. Training has been provided on a number of software applications, but use of the new systems has not been widespread. There appears to be some reluctance to learn new technology. 30

31. Information Technology Observations, continued There is success with document imaging in the Financial Aid Office. Potential exists for expanding document imaging to other student records offices. Approximately 30 students use the telephone registration system each semester. Only 600 students register on-line each semester. Student passwords were reported not to work at critical times during the academic year. 31

32. Information Technology Recommendations Set in motion the purchase of a new student information system. Enhance the early alert system so that faculty members have minimal data entry responsibilities. Assess IT training program to determine if it might be improved from a customer perspective. Consider expanding document imaging to other student records offices. Explore ways to increase on-line registration. This will require assessing whether the current holds are necessary and limiting all but the most critical holds. 32

33. Information Technology Recommendations Consider terminating the telephone registration system. Discontinue arena registration. Assess student passwords to ensure that they are operational 24/7 and throughout the year. 33

34. Marketing Observations There is a lack of understanding as to who the student customer is at BCCC. College leadership has placed more emphasis on university parallel/transfer programs even though there is strong interest in applied technology programs. Web site includes out-of-date information. Navigation may also be a concern. Some key words missing, like “admission”. The rules of engagement have changed in Baltimore now that the University of Baltimore admits students at the lower division level. 34

35. MarketingObservations, continued Send 40,000 course schedules out to 5 zip codes. The College has entered into a branding process for the first time. Half of the funds available are one-time, which could be problematic in fully implementing the brand. It will probably be difficult to establish outcomes after only one year. Marketing staff appear overwhelmed. It may be difficult to focus on the branding strategy when the day-to-day activities are sometimes beyond reach. The Web site includes a large number of PDF documents, including the catalog, which are not easy to navigate. The Marketing staff support a large number of publications. 35

36. MarketingObservations, continued Accessibility to the Web is not fully understood; some feel that low-income students do not have good access, while others see access as nearly universal. The catalog is not produced prior to the beginning of the recruitment cycle. The master calendar has not been completed in a year and a half. The Draft Comprehensive Branding & Marketing Plan is missing a costing section. 36

37. MarketingObservations, continued Areas outside of Marketing have found it necessary to develop promotional publications without involvement from Marketing. This has sometimes resulted in errors appearing in publications. Internal marketing can be helpful in supporting staff and brought faculty in times of change and resulting morale issues on by budget constraints and reductions. 37

38. MarketingRecommendations All recruitment publications should be current and available prior to the beginning of the recruitment cycle. Promotion should be more targeted. Identify market segments/market niche and target promotional activities to reach these student groups. Consider outsourcing the branding campaign. Change most PDF documents on the Web site to HTML pages. Consider reducing the number of marketing publications so that the remainder can have better quality. 38

39. MarketingRecommendations, continued Discern the extent of Web accessibility among student market segments. Establish clear deadlines for catalog sign-offs to ensure prompt printing. Develop an internal marketing plan to increase communication among College groups with an eye toward increasing staff morale. Marketing priority should be given to the 4 zip codes in West Baltimore in the core market area that have shown a recent decline in student enrollment. Print a catalog once very two years. 39

40. MarketingRecommendations, continued Keep the master calendar up-to-date. Implement the practice of requiring of all promotional publications to be approved by Marketing. 40

41. RecruitmentObservations By moving the recruiters in and out of Admissions and through uneven recruiting hiring practices, the College has not been consistent with new student recruitment; especially in community and middle school recruitment. Recruiters have not had consistent access within the past five years to recruiting publications (e.g., viewbook, view piece, catalog). For instance, the catalog is currently not available even though the fall semester is well underway. Instances were reported of shifting funds from non-publication accounts (e.g., Student Affairs) to support publication development in an ad hoc fashion. 41

42. RecruitmentObservations, continued The Admissions Office uses an innovative middle school awareness approach that provides a simulation of the admissions and student experience at BCCC. The recruitment effort has had a number of starts and stops, resulting in uneven follow-up (e.g., middle school partnerships). Some recruitment publications were found to contain typo’s and inaccurate information. Some key information is unknown at critical recruitment points (e.g., the start dates for the spring semester were unknown during the first few weeks of the fall semester). BCCC enrolls a relatively small percentage of Baltimore City high school graduates. 42

43. RecruitmentObservations, continued Brochure racks in the high schools were taken down because the College did not have current publications and were never put back in use. Approximately 20% of new student enrollment comes directly from high school. However, most of the recruitment effort is focused toward high school students. A recruitment rewards program was implemented. Competition is more prepared for student recruitment than BCCC. This is especially true with regard to CCBC. With 42% of 9th graders not expected to graduate, there is room for BCCC to collaborate with city schools. 43

44. RecruitmentObservations, continued The Academic Master Plan calls for strengthening articulation with community and educational institutions, and specifically to enhance the partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools. The Call Center is a good way to process high-volume recruitment calls, especially during peak periods. The Draft 2006-2008 Comprehensive Recruitment Plan does not include numeric goals by target market. It does, however, contain a well-written action plan for each target group. 44

45. RecruitmentRecommendations Clarify the role of the recruiters so that they can achieve the College’s enrollment goals. The recruitment plan should be supported more consistently to ensure appropriate follow-up of recruitment activities, especially in middle schools and churches. Re-introduce BCCC brochure racks in the City high schools. Find ways to include faculty members in student recruitment (e.g., on-campus recruitment events) and admissions yield (e.g., post-admission calling campaigns). 45

46. RecruitmentRecommendations, continued Develop a mechanism for capturing more ESL graduates into credit degree program coursework. Establish recruiting systems that take into account the sources of new student enrollment. Assess the recruitment rewards program to determine how it might be enhanced to increase student enrollment. Evaluate the effectiveness of the middle and early high school awareness programs. Establish numeric goals for each target group. Finalize the Comprehensive Recruitment Plan, insuring that it encompasses academic and student affairs recruitment strategies. 46

47. AdmissionsObservations Prospective students experience a “run-around” during the application process, requiring them to visit 3 different buildings. On-line registration is limited by institutional practice, resulting in relatively few students choosing on-line registration. Faculty do not appear to be involved in student recruitment or admission yield activities. Communication overlaps, which sometimes result in the same population receiving two different communications at the same time. 47

48. AdmissionsRecommendations Reschedule college-wide “welcome back” events so that they do not conflict with registration. Examine the criteria for participation in on-line registration and remove any rules unrelated to course registration. Conduct a communications audit and then develop a communication system that coordinates the various communications from BCCC to maximum enrollment management effect. 48

49. Financial AidObservations Most students (80-85%) receive some financial aid. The student Web portal does not include the scholarship matrix. BCCC does not offer any loan programs to its students, other than private loans, out of concern for student defaults. Completing registration in a one-stop environment is difficult for financial aid professionals given the complexity of the financial aid process. Students can apply for financial aid through the beginning of the semester, which creates difficulties for students to fully comprehend their financial obligations. 49

50. Financial AidRecommendations Place the scholarship matrix in the student Web portal. Consider participating in the federal student loan programs to ensure that low-income students receive enough financial aid to attend the College. A default minimization program should also be implemented. Review the one-stop registration process to assess how financial aid processing might be enhanced. Consider establishing appropriate financial aid deadlines to ensure that students a) obtain all the financial aid they are entitled to receive and b) fully understand their financial obligations. 50