Educational institutions are dedicated to ensuring students not only graduate but also transition into sustainable, meaningful employment. However, the reality is that some students may temporarily halt their academic pursuits, posing a challenge for institutions in reengaging and supporting their success.

Bringing a compelling real-world success story, we are delighted to introduce Anika Olsen, the Vice President of Enrollment Management at Northern Arizona University, who will unravel the remarkable journey that brought back an impressive 2,500 students within a mere three and a half years, all through their partnership with myFootpath. In this exclusive session, Anika will impart her valuable insights, shedding light on the effective strategies that drove this achievement, all without the need for extensive internal staff capacity. Through this partnership with myFootpath, Northern Arizona University witnessed a significant 3% annual increase in enrollments, backed by a proven framework for reengaging with stop-outs. When the time came to transition these strategies in-house, NAU was well-prepared for the task, setting a remarkable example for other institutions.

With over 25 years of experience in higher education, Anika Olsen brings a profound understanding of the inner workings of educational institutions and the crucial role that student services play in fostering success and a sense of belonging on campus. Her extensive background as a consultant for EAB Enrollment Services has allowed her to advise some of the nation's most esteemed colleges and universities on improving and modernizing their operational and recruitment strategies.

Leading this enlightening conversation is Gerry Henley, a seasoned professional who formerly served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Technology Services at California State University.

Gerry: When it comes to re-enrolling students, it's important to recognize that their needs and circumstances differ from those of entirely new students. The challenge arises in seamlessly integrating these new requirements and responsibilities into an organization that may not have been initially prepared or established specific processes for re-enrollment. How do you effectively navigate this transition?

Anika: Great question, and it didn't happen overnight. I would say it's something we're still working towards. So we began this partnership in the later part of the fall of 2019, and we didn't have any staff team that was like, oh, pick me, I want to do all of this work. It really required us to look internally into enrollment management in our one-stop as well as our admissions processing team. We then had to explain the need to that group and then reach out to advising, the registrar's office, and academic affairs to make sure courses were offered when students wanted to re-enroll. And so it truly, truly was a cross-divisional effort and thankfully colleagues at NAU understood that this was a population that we had a moral obligation to go back to and give them a pathway and an on-ramp back to the institution. 

Gerry: You said that it didn't happen overnight, but from what I've learned about you, it happened pretty fast. In terms of higher education's timeline, do you want to talk about the benefits of the ReEngage NAU results? They really are amazing. 

Anika: Yeah, I'm very proud of these results. You can see the number of students impacted by our fourth year is over 2,500, which is phenomenal. We're a campus of just over 28,000 grad and undergrad online students. And when we began this effort, we kind of assumed that a lot of students would be going back via online learning, and that's true. But we also found that initially, a lot of students wanted to be back on the main campus or in one of the Arizona statewide campuses. Certainly, re-enrolled students bring revenue to the institution and that certainly has been amazing, especially in the last couple of years.

I'll also say it did happen a little faster than we thought, but we also had very willing leaders ready to champion this work. The way this partnership is designed, it's not for myFootpath to do it forever and ever for NAU. It's to teach us along the way through the partnership to build that capacity. And so when we've had employees leave or move on to other opportunities, we've been able to think, okay, now planning ahead, do we want to reallocate this position to this effort knowing that in another year, year and a half, two years, we are going to be taking this work back? And so those have been awesome discussions amongst leadership across campus where we're examining and trying to find efficiencies in our own system, which the myFootpath team has been very helpful with.

Gerry: That's just wonderful. When you look at it, you have to think of it like an investment. Look at the return on the investment that you’ve made, you've gained almost 2,500 students—that's almost a 10% increase in enrollment. And any campus would go wild about that type of increase and the funding. Now that's the outcome that we all would like to achieve. Now, do you want to give us a little background on how you made this happen? 

Eager to learn more about the solutions that helped NAU bring back over 2,500 students? Watch the full recording for webinar 3 to dive deeper into the strategies universities can adopt to dismantle barriers and guide students toward graduation.

Universities can create a clear path towards graduation, but there are always students who drop out of the funnel—students who had high hopes and big dreams, who year after year, wait for the right moment to jump back in and finish that degree. For universities, tracking and re-connecting with these students can be monumental for retention rates, but re-enrolling these students starts with understanding why they left. 

For the second webinar in our series, Katie Dawson from the University of Louisiana System is here to dive into the four main barriers that are holding back your students. From institutional hurdles to situational obstacles, Katie will map out the main stop-out points that are backed by research—giving your university an inside look at the lives of these students and how you can create support systems to get them back in the classroom. Having helped over 27,000 students resume their college journey, myFootpath is teaming up with Katie to discuss how you can do the same through partnerships that drive enrollment and bring back stop-outs.

To access the complete recording of our second webinar, "Mapping the Journey: Identifying Stop-Out Points in the Enrollment Funnel," simply click here. Additionally, for an in-depth exploration of insights from Katie Dawson, be sure to read our "Perspectives in Higher Education" blog by clicking here.

Interested in our stop-out webinar series? Click here to watch the recording of our first webinar, "Decoding Stop-Outs: Unveiling the Hidden Demographics," and delve deeper into Ruru Rusmin's work by clicking here.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce Dr. Katie Dawson, the Assistant Vice President for Academic Innovation and Learning at the University of Louisiana. Dr. Dawson's extensive experience spans both on-campus and state-level systems within Louisiana, making her a valuable source of insights. Her expertise in re-enrollment and support strategies for students who have temporarily halted their education is invaluable, offering a roadmap for their successful return and contribution to the state. Her passion for innovation and deep understanding of student support systems align seamlessly with the data-driven approach emphasized by myFootpath. 

Dr. Dawson is deeply passionate about the subject matter at hand. In Louisiana, she has been instrumental in implementing the Compete Louisiana program, designed to re-engage adults who possess some college experience but lack a completed bachelor's degree. Within this initiative, Dr. Dawson's success coaches play a pivotal role in collaboratively charting personalized pathways for these students' return to higher education.

A fundamental aspect of success lies in comprehending the unique characteristics of your student population. In the context of Compete Louisiana, these individuals typically boast 60 to 70 credit hours when considering their return, often juggling full-time employment, familial obligations, and community responsibilities. Dr. Dawson's profound understanding of the demographic is central to guiding them forward.

When considering the broader context of adult students, it becomes evident that four distinct barriers to reentry persist among this demographic. What has notably intrigued Dr. Dawson during her research and engagement with this program is the observation that the measures taken to address the challenges faced by returning adults can also have positive implications for traditional students.

Katie: The first barrier I'd like to discuss today is what we call "dispositional barriers." These are internal obstacles that reside within the student themselves, primarily tied to their perceived competence level and self-efficacy. Stop-out students often carry a history of attempting to return to education, only to fall short of earning a bachelor's degree. Within them, a lingering seed of doubt persists, questioning whether this time will be any different. As practitioners, recognizing and comprehending these dispositional barriers is crucial. By actively working to bolster the confidence of these students throughout their academic journey, we can significantly improve our chances of retaining them.

The second type of barrier that we typically encounter is what we call "situational barriers." These barriers encompass a wide spectrum of life events, ranging from joyous occasions like marriages, the arrival of new babies, and landing new jobs, to more challenging experiences such as job losses, bereavement, and illnesses. In these instances, as an institution, there may not be much we can do to prevent these life circumstances from occurring in our students' lives. However, what we can control are the processes and policies we have in place to support students when life events become barriers to their education.

Gerry: Thank you so much, Katie. One of the things I'm hearing is that your first two barriers are focused on finding compassion for your students, understanding their circumstances, and then finding ways to address those concerns as an institution. It's a pretty complex system that you're trying to juggle. I know from a state institution and community college perspective, we often struggle to know how to address all of these different barriers. When we don't have a lot of time or staff, where would you recommend we prioritize our efforts?

Katie: For me, it always starts with relationship building. You have to reestablish that relationship with the student and regain their trust, being upfront when you don’t have all the answers or when the school is still working to address structural problems. What I tell my team all the time is that we're in the business of setting expectations. It doesn't mean that there won't be difficulty, but it means that you have somebody who's going to stick with you and help you navigate that difficulty as you move forward.

Gerry: It seems that your leadership is instrumental in guiding the various staff members who interact with re-enrolled students across different services. Effective communication of this message is crucial.

Katie: Absolutely. I'm very lucky to be one of many great leaders within our system who have their eye on the prize of student success and student engagement. And so I think that if we work together, which we'll talk about in a little bit, there's a lot more that we can accomplish than just working as a team of one.

The third type of barrier I want to discuss is what we call "institutional barriers." It might sound a bit strange to say that I have a favorite type of barrier, but the reason I appreciate institutional barriers is that they fall within our control to change. These barriers are essentially obstacles that we, in higher education, often unwittingly create, making it more challenging for students to return.

The fourth barrier we often encounter is technology. The pandemic emphasized disparities in tech access, from internet infrastructure to hardware for online learning. Many adult students opt for online formats due to flexibility and affordability. We must prioritize digital literacy support, as some students may be entirely new to online courses. This means comprehensive orientations, early skill assessments, and resource assistance are crucial, even for seemingly basic digital skills.

Gerry: With all these barriers, you have a pathway that you can guide people through what we need to keep in mind.

Katie: I have some guiding principles that can frame our work and ensure that student success and access remain at the forefront of our efforts. Earlier this summer, my leadership team asked if there's a universal process that all institutions should follow to efficiently move students through and prioritize their needs. I pondered this question and explored various models. However, the reality is that there's no quick and easy fix for these challenges. If such a solution existed, it would already be widely known. I believe in the strength of diversity in our approaches to working with students because each student group is unique, and you are best equipped to engage them effectively.

Eager to learn more about the barriers holding back stop-outs? Watch the full recording for webinar 2 to dive deeper into the strategies universities can adopt to dismantle these barriers and guide students toward graduation.