Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a series of Noel-Levitz consulting articles.

It takes a village to recruit a student, the provost said, so Eastern hired the Noel-Levitz Enrollment Management Consulting Services to address recruitment along with two other issues.

Eastern’s one and a half year contract with Noel-Levitz extends to June 30, 2013, and costs about $167,000.

Three consultants from Noel-Levitz were assigned to each of the areas consisting of: Colleen Murphy, marketing and recruitment; David Trites, retention; and Cliff Neel, enrollment management revenue services.

Blair Lord, the provost and vice president for academic affairs, said they have started to act on some of the preliminary recommendations the consultants offered from their first visit cycle.

“In admissions, we have purchased some more prospect names, carefully selected based on (the consultants’) advice to enlarge the (enrollment) pool for Fall 2012,” Lord said.

Certain companies, such as the ACT, sell name and address files to public institutions, and Eastern bought an additional 20,000 prospect names, Lord said.

The amount of purchased names varies each year depending on prospective student interest in applying to Eastern.

Lord said Eastern might choose to purchase 40,000 names one year and none the next.

The suggestions from the preliminary consulting reports stem from three key themes, one of which is to improve enrollment coordination, Lord said

“Right now, enrollment services are spread along all four vice presidencies, and a prospect who is going to become a student is touched by all of these offices,” Lord said.

The Academic Affairs Office handles admissions, and the Student Affairs Office oversees financial aid along with housing and dining, and New Student Programs. The University Advancement Office directs marketing, and the Business Affairs Office manages billings and payment plans, Lord said.

The other key themes are to gather and use data more efficiently regarding admissions, recruitment and registration process, and to develop a strategic plan for enrollment management.

Brenda Major, the director of the admissions office, said she worked with Noel-Levitz consultants at two prior institutions.

“They’ve helped hundreds of colleges and universities through their enrollment challenges,” Major said. “There is no issue they haven’t tackled. I’m confident they can help us.”

“We’ve been working through enrollment and marketing challenges, goals and areas on which we need to focus to impact 2012 and 2013,” Major said. “We’re also planning strategies to strategically use financial aid to increase our enrollment numbers.”

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].