An outside team of enrollment consultants focusing on strategic management is helping campus administrators plan for next semester and also the larger goal of increasing student success.

Contra Costa College was accepted as one of 15 schools to participate in the program after submitting a proposal to the Strategic Enrollment Management Academy.

“As a college, we want to offer a robust schedule of classes to ensure our students are able to get the courses that they need and complete their educational goals,” CCC President Katrina VanderWoude said. “It’s

important that the right mix of classes is offered to help students stay on track.”

Dr. VanderWoude is not the only administrator on campus who is passionate about helping students.

Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Susan Kincade said, “We as an administration want to make the process as easy as possible for students.

“Enrollment management is multidimensional and involves so much more than schedules.”

Success in this aspect of college planning means providing proper instruction and services to students.

Kincade said ensuring that all services and classes a student needs are offered is part of the administration’s responsibility. So far, services have been readily made available to students as they were needed.

Research needs to be done on the numbers of students, staff, classroom sizes and declared educational tracks for administrators to make an informed decision, she said.

Interim Vice President of Student Services Carsbia Anderson said, “I think that the program has created great discussions.”

He said getting people to talk about enrollment management was one of the motivating factors toward joining the academy.

At any point, the primary focus of campus administrators is to ensure that services are given to students, something Anderson said is entirely covered.

“When the Student Services Building was down (due to a power outage), the staff made pop-up shops to continue helping students,” he said.

Campus faculty and staff have continuously given their best efforts to support the student community. From the very beginning of the semester, the Welcome Center in the SC Center has been very busy, Anderson said.