In yield, 'match' is everything: they may enroll, but will they stay and thrive? (The Admissions Angle).

"There are two tragedies in life," said George Bernard Shaw. "One is to lose your hearts desire. The other is to gain it." Shaw may not have had college students in mind when he penned these lines, but when it comes to the college application/enrollment process, these words are highly appropriate. For, after the euphoria of acceptance, a student's decision to attend (or not attend) your institution may be life-altering for him, depending on whether or not he made the best choice for his individual needs. And if you multiply that single enrollment decision by the hundreds or thousands of other such enrollment decisions coming into your Admissions office yearly, it may have a marked impact on the ability of your institution to evolve and prosper. When it comes to the pursuit of strong yield numbers, you need to make certain that you've not lost sight of the importance of "the match," because that slip in strategic vision could come back to haunt you.

YIELD TODAY AFFECTS RETENTION TOMORROW

Simply put, the pressure today on institutions to generate the highest possible yield from the accepted pool of candidates, is a short-term goal. That pressure can easily obscure the far more important long-term goal of a high rate of student retention.

Pros and cons of successful enrollment. Keep in mind that every student who remains in your college and graduates in good standing means that you will have to recruit fewer new students each year--a far less-costly proposition than continual recruitment to replace lost students. Then too, you must never underestimate the power of welt-matched enrollees: The satisfied student becomes your best spokesperson for future candidates of like interests and preferences. Those candidates may, in fact, choose to enroll because of the positive input they receive from a happy student (and family). And the reverse is also true: The unhappy, dissatisfied student who withdraws can negatively influence potential applicants. There's no getting around it: Of great concern to parents and students are low retention and graduation rates. This is one of the key dynamics we observe in the student marketplace year in and year out.

Elements of positive student retention. There are several fundamentals of positive student retention. The first is the moral responsibility an institution has to the individual. There can be no justification for attracting and enrolling students whose intellectual academic, social, developmental, and economic needs may be at major variance with a particular college. Other elements relate to the well-being of the institution: All too often, we hear families dismiss out of hand a college that has been recommended to them, because of the tales they have heard from a friend or relative whose child had a negative experience at the institution. How frustrating it must be for the college or university not to have an opportunity to discuss the merits of the school with a prospective candidate who would, in fact, make a good match.

KEEPING YOUR EYE ON THE MATCH

Bring key individuals on board. The best way, then, to ensure you're doing everything you can to foster sound enrollment decisions on the part of your accepted applicants, is to empower administrators, faculty, and staff across your institution to join with the Admissions office in assisting the accepted candidates. These individuals can assist greatly by educating potential enrollees about the important factors that make for a successful undergraduate experience.

Personalize the pitch. Instead of the hard sell--frequently based on factors that may be generalized and have less to do with an applicant's true reasons for attending college ("Our academics/ food/dorms/you-name-it are superior")--help the inexperienced and impressionable young men and women understand significant elements that may lead to a rewarding and satisfying undergraduate experience for them. (See "Empowering the Final Decision Process," next page.) Give these young people the tools that will enable them to choose their future home without having to bend to the external forces of peer pressure, parental biases, superficial status determinants such as journalistic rankings, and their own--often inappropriate--hierarchy of what matters in choosing a college.

EXPLOIT THE CAMPUS VISIT

After an applicant is accepted to a college, the campus visit is the best possible opportunity for college personnel to help the individual (and the institution) make a thoughtful, appropriate decision that will result in a successful college experience for all involved. In fact, we would say that the campus visit is one of the most critical moments in the admissions process for both the anxious, impressionable student and the college or university.

Pre-visit. To ensure a successful campus visitation program, Admissions should invite all admitted students to submit their specific concerns beforehand. In that way, meetings can be arranged with the campus personnel appropriate to discuss those issues. For recipients of substantial financial aid awards, the necessary funding to travel to campus should be provided so that these individuals can select their college based on key factors other than the amount of aid they may receive from various institutions.

Meeting with key personnel In our experience, students most frequently express the desire to meet with the following key individuals on campus visits: faculty who teach in their potential fields of study, first-year deans, individual advisers, athletic coaches, performing arts directors, religious leaders, multicultural counselors, financial aid officers, and of course, present undergraduates who reflect the true composition of the student body. Do whatever you possibly can to enable prospective enrollees to speak with any or all of these campus figures on an informal and intimate basis.

Don't forget the parents. For minority candidates and all other students From non-traditional college-bound backgrounds, we recommend you invite parents to visit as well. For many of these families, the college choice represents a deeply emotional and challenging process, and in most cases, the parents will play an even more crucial role than usual in the final decision their child will make.

EMPOWERING THE FINAL DECISION PROCESS

Having listened to and counseled scores of seniors on their selection process in the spring of senior year, we suggest you emphasize the following factors during the final decision process:

* Articulate clearly to students the philosophy of education that defines your curriculum. Is there a core curriculum required of all students, or distribution requirements based on the stated goals of educating undergraduates? Is the emphasis on a lecture system, or small classes and seminars? What opportunities are there for independent study and research projects? Can a student readily create a cross-disciplinary major? How does off-campus study fit within the curriculum?

* Explain the role of technology in the teaming process, not just how wired the campus is. Do faculty incorporate computer-based learning in their teaching? Do they communicate with their students electronically on a regular basis?

* Describe the resources of your library and its role in student learning. How will it help students to study and to carry out research? What technology is in place there, and how can students use it to meet the demands for learning that will be placed upon them? What hours is the library open to students?

* Accurately describe the major social units that influence campus life and the options available for individuals with differing interests and needs. If the Greek system represents the dominant social scene, for example, let students know this. Explain how your residential system defines social interaction for men and women.

* Describe the opportunities for athletic and artistic involvement on campus. What are the realistic opportunities both for the highly talented and the interested (but not necessarily elite) student athletes and artists? Can a student participate in club or intramural sports? Can an amateur musician or actor find a place in the orchestra or on the stage?

* Give on accurate picture of the availability of support personnel: faculty advisers, residence hall advisers, tutors, multicultural counselors, and medical and mental-health counseling staff.

* Be very clear about the nature and availability of housing for incoming students. Is there a guarantee of campus housing for the first year; for all four years, if desired? Indicate what percentage of students lives in campus housing, how room selection is carried out, and what accommodations are made for students with physical or learning disabilities.

* Present minority students with an honest picture of the campus environment as it relates to them, as well as the social outlets, counseling, tutorial, and financial support services that are available to them. Also detail relevant opportunities available in the local community, such as churches, social organizations, employment opportunities, and personal care services.

* Provide on accurate picture of key gender-related issues, from the ratio of men to women, to the acceptance of both sexes in the classroom and the laboratory, and in social life and leadership roles.

* Be realistic regarding campus and surrounding area safety. Some students will withdraw from a particular college because of their concern over this issue; they are not prepared to cope with an environment that is totally new and uncomfortable to them.

A FEW WORDS TO THE WISE

We are advocating steps that will require college personnel across the university to play crucial roles in what has traditionally been the domain of the Admissions office. Several rules to consider: Do not promise anything you cannot deliver; do not undervalue the many seemingly small factors that influence individual students greatly; and do not use your campus visitation program to create the impression that college is all about having a good time. Again, the temptation to dose the deal--to have the highest possible number of students commit to your college by whatever means within the bounds of fair play--is far less important to the well-being of your institution than the eventual graduation of satisfied students who stay the course because their interests and needs have been met.

Howard Greene and Matthew Greene ore independent education consultants, and the authors of the Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning. Contact them at [e-mail], or visit www.greenesguides.com.