A recent boost in enrollment at Allen Community College has pleasantly surprised the school’s leaders, but it takes a variety of strategies to keep students coming.
Allen’s admissions and marketing staff gave the board of trustees an update on the college’s enrollment efforts at Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting. Becky Nilges, board chair, asked for the presentation because most of the recent applicants for college president referenced having a “strategic enrollment plan,” and she wanted to know where Allen stands.
The enrollment office has a plan, said Cynthia Jacobson, vice president for student affairs. But, technically, it was developed by office staff and isn’t an official “strategic plan.” That’s something that could be explored with incoming president Dr. Lyvier Leffler, she said.
THE GOOD news is the enrollment increase for both the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters. That comes after years — going back more than a decade — of declines in enrollment. State funding is based on enrollment numbers.
As of Tuesday, Allen had 1,744 students enrolled with 13,443 credit hours. Compared to the same point last year, the college had 1,290 students with 10,932 hours.
Enrollment is likely to continue to grow a little more over the next two weeks as classes begin, Jacsobson said. She also compared current numbers to the official spring enrollment count last year, which had 1,570 students.
The bad news? Kansas high schools have faced years of declining enrollment. In 2020, Kansas school districts had nearly 500,000 students statewide. By next fall, statewide enrollment is projected to be around 450,000 — a loss of 50,000 students.
“That number impacts us a lot,” Jacobson said.
Allen needs to get creative in how it targets prospective students, Jacobson said. To that point she outlined some new initiatives, particularly those that target nontraditional, adult learners.
One approach is the “Finish What You Started” campaign that directly targets those who have not completed requirements for a degree. Another effort addresses students who graduated in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic that created a gap in enrollment because of various restrictions on social gatherings.
Allen also is investing heavily in career and technical education courses, pledging millions of dollars to build a new facility for such classes. Those classes appeal to a variety of students, from high-schoolers who want to fast-track their career options to adults who seek a career change.
IT’S ALL about the numbers, Nikki Peters, director of enrollment management, told trustees.
Just about every campaign launched by the admissions and marketing team is backed up by data, she said. She offered a detailed presentation about various ways the college attempts to recruit prospective students. It includes everything from traditional advertising to targeted text messaging and social media.
You probably won’t see Allen on TV, though. That’s because television advertising is expensive and reaches a widespread audience with fewer ways to track success, she said. Peters said most of the current initiatives are aimed at specific demographics, such as high school graduates, nontraditional adults looking at a technical school, or a specific geographic region. 
That might change as Allen seeks a wider, more general audience for its CTE programs.
