The art and the science of managing enrolment

By Daniel Drolet. At the University of Saskatchewan, the enrolment challenge this year was an unexpected surge in applications from Alberta. At many universities in Atlantic Canada, the ongoing concern is how to manage declining demographics. For the University of Windsor, it’s figuring out how to grow the student body in a region with a relatively small population. Planning university enrolment has never been easy. Demographic trends are predictable but societal changes and swings in the economy are not, and surprise developments – as when a provincial government cuts funding to universities, sending applicants scurrying to neighbouring provinces – can disrupt enrolment targets. More...