At County College of Morris (CCM), our mission is to provide a high-quality education to support people in their quest for lifelong learning and professional development. To help ensure that we continue to provide students with pathways for success and to ensure our ongoing viability, we have undertaken a Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) process to identify how we can better enroll our students, retain them, and support them through the completion of their educational goals, and grow our enrollment based on market need and the desire of individuals to improve their lives.

The SEM process is an exciting one involving every area of the college. It is an opportunity to examine what we do well, what we can do better and how we can build recognition among the college community that we each play a role in the success of our students. It is a process that is solidly based on data – data to drive decisions, evaluate strategies and determine our direction.

As part of the process, we will be looking at enrollment trends and the labor market, recruitment practices, retention, academic programs, revenue management and marketing. When we are finished, the college will have a strategic enrollment plan to build CCM into an institution that is more clearly focused on the experience of students.

We encourage you to take the time to read through the information on this webpage and to offer us your input and suggestions. Should you wish to serve on any of the task forces, please let us know. We also will be providing regular updates on this page so you can track the SEM progress.

Sincerely,

Dr. Anthony J. Iacono,
President

Dr. Bette Simmons,
VP Student Development and Enrollment Management

OVERVIEW AND CORE CONCEPTS

Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) is an institution-wide process focusing on enrollment to determine what is best for students, how to retain them more effectively and what measures need to be in place to ensure their continued success. It is a process that provides educational institutions with the data and insights for developing programs and services to recruit, retain and support students throughout their academic careers and beyond. To be successful, the process requires the input and support of the entire college community and the recognition that each member of the college community plays a role in the experience of students.

  • Core Concepts
    • Students and their success are at the core of all we do.
    • Campus-wide participation is essential for meeting the goals established in the SEM plan.
    • Relevant data is essential for setting direction, driving decisions and developing strategies and practices.

STEERING COMMITTEE AND SEM COUNCIL

The purpose of the SEM Steering Committee is to provide leadership and direction for the development of a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, including its vision, goals and strategies; ensure direct participation from all stakeholders and cross departmental collaboration; and align with the Strategic Plan for 2015-2018. The SEM Council is a larger organization of nearly 40 individuals representing the various areas of the college. The purpose of the SEM Council is to analyze data that can be used in setting the college’s enrollment goals, recommend strategies for achieving established goals, and develop an overall Strategic Enrollment Management Plan that will guide the college over the next three to four years.

Members:

  • Dr. Bette Simmons, vice president, Student Development and Enrollment Management
  • Kathleen Brunet Eagan, director, Communications and College Relations
  • Venny Fuentes, chair, Engineering Technologies, Engineering Science
  • Debbie Hatchard, bursar
  • Maria Isaza, chair, Biology and Chemistry
  • Phebe Lacay, director, Institutional Research and Planning
  • Jill Schennum, chair, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology
  • Keith Smith, dean, Liberal Arts
  • Gene Soltys, director, Admissions

SEM Council members are assigned to one or more Task Groups that include the following:

  • Task Groups
    • Enrollment Trends, Population Characteristics, and Labor Market
      To gather and analyze data and conduct a SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats – analysis of enrollment trends, population and the labor market to determine 3 – 4 key markets and potential growth targets for each.

      • Kathleen Brunet Eagan, director of Communications and College Relations (Steering Committee member)
      • Venny Fuentes, chair, Engineering Technologies, Engineering Science (Steering Committee member)
      • Geetali Basu, coordinator, Reference Services
      • Joanne Kearns, manager, Purchasing
      • RoseAnn Maione, supervisor, Computer Labs
      • Monica Maraska, chair, Nursing
      • Pam Marcenaro, director, EOF
      • Lynee Richel, coordinator, Instructional Services
      • Denise Schmidt, director, Career Services and Cooperative Education
    • Recruitment Practices
      Identify high school recruitment along with business and community outreach practices of the college community, identify our competition for credit and non-credit coursework, and identify our conversion of credit seeking students.

      • Gene Soltys, director, Admissions (Steering Committee member)
      • Venny Fuentes, chair, Engineering Technologies, Engineering Science (Steering Committee member)
      • Jan Caffie, dean, Student Development and Enrollment Management
      • Pam Marcenaro, director, EOF
      • Maria Schiano, director, Disability Services and Testing
      • Maureen Sutton, assistant professor, Business Administration
      • Sharon Tremitiedi, assistant director, CCM in Morristown
      • Carolyn Ucci, counselor, Admissions
      • John Urgola, counselor, Counselling and Student Success
    • Retention
      The Retention Strategies Committee has the goal of improving the retention of CCM students, leading to higher graduation rates. We recognize that a community college must serve the needs of the community, and that some of our students will take courses at CCM to transfer credits to other colleges, for career advancement or simply for enrichment. We value high academic standards for CCM students and wish to ensure that our students receive the appropriate advice and foundations to allow them to choose courses and programs that will best support their academic goals and to receive assistance in their course work. To this end, the committee will examine ways that instruction, advisement, scheduling, orientation, remediation, tutoring and extracurricular activities can best meet the goals of student retention, graduation and transfer.

      • Jill Schennum, chair, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology (Steering Committee member)
      • Keith Smith, dean, Liberal Arts (Steering Committee member)
      • Clayton Allen, chair, Visual Arts
      • Nancy Binowski, chair, Information Technologies
      • Laura Lee Bowens, registrar
      • Jan Caffie, dean, Student Development and Enrollment Management
      • Jefferson Cartano, instructor, Engineering Technologies
      • Christine Kelly, assistant chair, Biology and Chemistry
      • Maria Schiano, director, Disability Services and Testing
      • Bill Solomons, assistant professor, Criminal Justice
      • John Urgola, counselor, Counselling and Student Success
    • Academic Programs
      To analyze all academic programs with respect to: 1) Cost, 2) Degree Completion, 3) Delivery and facilities, 4) Capacity, 5) Need of current and new programs, 6) Offerings, 7) Transferability.

      • Debbie Hatchard, bursar (Steering Committee member)
      • Maria Isaza, chair, Biology and Chemistry (Steering Committee member)
      • Nancy Binowski, chair, Information Technologies
      • Nieves Gruneiro, assistant professor, Visual Arts
      • Christine Kelly, assistant chair, Biology and Chemistry
      • Monica Maraska, chair, Nursing
      • Craig Pilant, associate professor, History and Political Science
      • Denise Schmidt, director, Career Services and Cooperative Education
      • Cheryl Smarth, administrative assistant, Academic Affairs
      • Maureen Sutton, assistant professor, Business Administration
      • Sheri Ventura, coordinator, Distance Learning
      • Jill Wells, coordinator, Academic Advisement
    • Revenue Management
      Investigates fiscal viability and provides collaborative support to ideas presented by the other SEM task groups and researches a variety of funding streams to aid the college in its efforts in maximizing enrollment to achieve financial stability.

      • Debbie Hatchard, bursar (Steering Committee member)
      • Maria Isaza, chair, Biology and Chemistry (Steering Committee member)
      • Kathy Avola, coordinator, Business and Finance
      • Nieves Gruneiro, assistant professor, Visual Arts
      • Rita Ragany-Bayer, associate director, Human Resources
      • Sheri Ventura, coordinator, Distance Learning
    • Marketing Strategies and Trends
      To educate the community about CCM to drive enrollment,  establish and promote better internal cross communication, and identify ways to measure marketing success.

      • Kathleen Brunet Eagan, director of Communications and College Relations (Steering Committee member)
      • Keith Smith, dean, Liberal Arts (Steering Committee member)
      • Gene Soltys, director of Admissions (Steering Committee member)
      • Jefferson Cartano, instructor, Engineering Technologies
      • Joanne Kearns, manager, Purchasing
      • Rita Ragany-Bayer, associate director, Human Resources
      • Carolyn Ucci, counselor, Admissions

     

DATA

    • The top feeder high schools for CCM students
      • Roxbury High School
      • Morris Knolls High School
      • Jefferson High School
      • Mount Olive High School
      • Morris Hills High School
      • Parsippany Hills High School
    • Top five out-of-county high schools
      • Sparta High School
      • Hopatcong High School
      • West Orange High School
      • Hackettstown High School
      • Livingston High School
    • The number of high school graduates in New Jersey is expected to decrease by 4.1 percent from 2009 to 2022.
    • 12 percent – the number of students enrolled at CCM who come from Sussex and Essex counties.
    • 43 percent – the number of students at CCM who receive financial aid, most in the form of loans.
    • 50.8 percent – the number of CCM students who are age 21 and older.
    • Part-time students over the age of 24 represent the second largest student population at CCM, with full-time students under the age of 21 being the largest.
    • 45 percent – the number of Morris County residents ages 25 and older who do not hold a college degree.
    • The fastest growing racial groups in Morris County since 2010 are Asians (7.3 percent) and multiracial (7 percent). The Hispanic population grew by 6.5 percent during that time.
    • In 2010, professional and business services (25.5 percent) and trade/transportation/utilities (22 percent) made up almost half of Morris County’s private sector jobs. Leisure and hospitality increased by 10.9 percent and education and health services by 9.7 percent.
    • IR Environmental Scan

     

FAQs

When Did SEM First Start?

SEM started in the late 1970s at Boston College as a result of declining traditional student enrolments.

 

What is the purpose of SEM?

According to Dr. Bob Bontrager, a leading SEM consultant, the purpose of the SEM process is to:

  • Establish clear goals for the number and different type of students (traditional, adult, minorities, returning) needed to fulfill the institution’s mission based on demographics, employer needs and emerging markets.
  • Promote student academic success by improving retention, graduation and transfer to four-year institutions and employment.
  • Promote institutional success through effective strategic and financial planning.
  • Create a data-rich environment to inform decisions and evaluate strategies.
  • Strengthen communication and collaboration among departments to support enrollment goals.

 

How does a SEM process help to grow enrollment?

By looking at data related to enrollment trends, demographics and the labor market, the SEM process allows institutions to identify target markets, their needs and how to best reach out to them. The process also allows institutions to develop the practices and strategies to better retain students and ensure their success.

 

What are the key aspects considered as part of the SEM process?

The SEM process considers:

  • The optimal level of enrollment both in terms of revenue and organizational capacity.
  • The best student target markets (age, demographics, cultural background, educational needs, etc.) based on data and research.
  • The desired academic profile based on industry needs, instructional and institutional capacity, competing institutions and emerging trends.

REPORTS