Vice President For Enrollment Management

Basic Function

Founded in 1831, Denison is a nationally recognized university known for its forward-thinking approach to an undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education that prepares students for a lifetime of personal and professional success.

Denison University, a selective, private national liberal arts college located in Granville, Ohio, is seeking a proven Vice President for Enrollment Management. The VPEM will be expected to build upon Denison's enrollment momentum while contributing to the institution's ongoing success. Reporting to President Adam Weinberg and serving as a strategic partner on the senior staff, the Vice President for Enrollment Management will lead a division of 33 individuals, including four direct reports, in the Offices of Admission, Financial Aid, Enrollment Systems, and Enrollment Marketing & Communication. Beginning in summer 2024, the Office of Student Accounts will join the Enrollment Division.

Guided by extensive experience and deep knowledge of national and international demographic trends, evolving admission and financial aid policies and practices, and a sophisticated understanding of data analytics, the new VPEM should be willing to listen, learn, engage with and impact Denison's community by gaining and building trust with faculty, board, senior leadership, students, and staff, while shaping enrollment policies that will attract students who will thrive at Denison.

To achieve our mission as a liberal arts college, we continually strive to attract and hire candidates with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities. Denison fosters a campus community that recognizes the value of all persons regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender expression and identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic background.

Essential Job Functions

Responsibilities and Priorities

The expectations for the Vice President for Enrollment Management require that the successful candidate possess the ability and experience to accomplish the following responsibilities and priorities in these key areas:

Leadership

• Develop, articulate, and implement a strategic enrollment plan that meets objectives and goals in alignment with the university's vision and mission.

• Manage, mentor, and inspire a professional enrollment management team; support the growth and development of individual staff members; continue to knit together multiple high functioning teams in their shared work through effective communication.

• Appreciate and champion the work of the enrollment team and promote a high-performing culture with attention to work/life balance.

• Work with an interested and supportive Board of Trustees, President and fellow members of senior staff in all matters related to recruitment, enrollment, financial aid, and strategic positioning of the university amid a rapidly evolving landscape.

• Continue Denison's efforts to create a welcoming environment and a strong sense of belonging for all students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, ensuring that Denison is a place where all students feel included and supported.

Strategic Enrollment Management

• Lead the enrollment management functions of admission, financial aid, enrollment systems, enrollment marketing & communications, and student accounts with vision, creativity and an innovative approach to new opportunities and emerging challenges.

• Sustain enrollment through dynamic recruitment and retention strategies; diversify efforts to offset the effects of demographic trends.

• Develop and execute merit and financial aid leveraging strategies that reflect institutional commitments to access and affordability while optimizing revenue generation and managing net tuition revenues.

• Work closely with university leadership to articulate the complex relationship among value proposition, price point, discount rate, and net tuition revenue.

• Guide progressive practices and policies that align with regional, national, and international demographic trends with the goal of attracting exceptional students who will succeed and persist through graduation.

Technology and Data Analytics

• Possess the capacity to analyze data and lead the division in using data to inform strategic decisions, establish and monitor outcomes, and identify opportunities.

• Foster a culture of excellence in the best practices of leveraging data through a variety of partners and systems, including PowerFAIDS and Slate; and transparently share information within the campus community.

• Provide direction to the Enrollment Division in evaluating, implementing, and leveraging technology to increase operational efficiency and meet the expectations of students and families.

Partnership, Collaboration and Communication

• Engage the campus community in enrollment management strategies and initiatives; partner across institutional boundaries with a forward-thinking approach that is visionary and strategic.

• Collaborate with University Communications & Branding in developing marketing strategies that reach, influence and compel prospective students and their families as they consider a Denison education.

• Develop relationships with faculty and staff across the university to support the enrollment and retention of students and foster relationships of trust and empowerment within the community.

• Partner with academic leadership to understand market demand and address capacity and qualifications specific to individual academic programs.

• Partner effectively with coaches and the entire athletic department to effectively recruit student athletes.

• Partner with Institutional Advancement to work with donors and share the impact of philanthropic support to sustain the momentum of alumni giving.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful candidate should possess a high regard for the liberal arts and a record of past success in higher education enrollment, as well as an understanding of student market trends, data analytics, and best-practice strategies for the recruitment and yield of an increasingly diverse student body. A minimum of a bachelor's degree is required; and an advanced degree is strongly preferred with at least 10 years relevant experience in admission and/or financial aid. In addition, candidates for this position should demonstrate the following experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

• Deep understanding of demographic and higher education trends to build an innovative enrollment strategy for how an institution can evolve to meet the needs of future student populations.

• Creative problem solver with a willingness to drive change; ability to see an opportunity, determine its alignment with the overall mission, get people on board, and move quickly.

• Ability to engage in constant strategic analysis of opportunities and challenges and to produce forward-looking, creative ideas.

• Experience and understanding of institutional technology platforms and how they can be utilized to optimize enrollment results and efficient use of staff resources.

• Ability to think intentionally with an awareness of the various ways in which the campus is experienced by students of all backgrounds.

• Commitment to delivering results in student recruitment and yield efforts, as well as supporting student success, retention, graduation, and lifelong engagement.

• Ability to align one's leadership and goals with an ambitious and inclusive institutional strategic plan.

• Possession of a calming presence that instills confidence and trust among colleagues, faculty, staff and students.

• Evidence of a commitment to a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to create a sense of belonging for people of all backgrounds and identities.

Preferred Qualifications