Enabling growth in a challenging environment
Freeman Academy (Freeman, SD) is a Mennonite school for grades 5-12. Located in a remote setting and largely dependent on an unpredictable farm economy, this school has faced unique challenges in both funding and enrollment for much of its 106 years of existence. In 2002, Freeman Academy hired Advancement Associates to assist with a capital campaign. A feasibility study revealed several themes among constituents: 1) potential support for the school and its program and 2) concern about declining enrollment. The Board of Directors decided to build an enrollment component into the campaign and hired Rich Gerig to guide the effort.
Starting from scratch
Because Freeman Academy had no enrollment officer on staff, recruitment efforts prior to 2002 had been divided among various employees and volunteers as time allowed. Gerig proposed forming an Enrollment Steering Committee (ESC) to oversee all enrollment-related efforts until the eventual hiring of an enrollment director.
The first task of the ESC was to create a formal enrollment plan that included the following major sections:
- An environmental analysis that detailed external and internal factors that would either support or hamper Freeman Academy’s attempts to reach its current and future enrollment goals.
- An extensive list of specific enrollment goals, objectives and activities. With Gerig’s help ESC members identified nine separate student markets for Freeman Academy and classified them according to which held the greatest potential for new students. ESC members next determined what methods were likely to be most useful in raising awareness and interest among the targeted groups, what were realistic goals for enrollment growth, and how available resources and responsibilities could best be allocated to meet those goals.
At the beginning of the new school year, the ESC evaluated its progress and adapted this blueprint as needed. When a part-time enrollment director was hired in 2004, she assumed primary responsibility for creating the school’s enrollment plan.
The need for hard data
As program and enrollment efforts continued to evolve, one question persisted: How can we learn more about the characteristics and interests of our prospective student markets rather than relying just on hunches and guesses?
Enter AAI Associate Mike Wiese, who in 2005, along with Gerig and fellow AAI Principal Jerry Kennell, conducted a formal market research study to help guide future enrollment efforts at Freeman Academy. The study relied on mail surveys in which a vision statement drafted by Kennell was tested for appeal among parents of prospective students. The study produced useful findings that helped the academy to focus its energies and resources in the appropriate direction.
The results are encouraging
Gerig completed his contract with Freeman Academy in August of 2006. By that time, the school had experienced several years of enrollment growth and was well on its way to meet its five-year goal. AAI is convinced that with committed personnel, a template for an effective enrollment plan and the findings of the market research study, FA is adequately equipped to continue good enrollment work.
Adriel
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