About Lakeshore Technical College:

Lakeshore Technical College has more than an educational mission; it has a mandate. A two-year school offering certificates and associate degrees, it is responsible for educating the workforce in a region of Wisconsin built on its manufacturing economy — good paying jobs that require more than a high school diploma, but not always a bachelor’s degree.

Over the past few years, fulfilling the mandate has become more difficult due to declining demographics. Lakeshore needed to rethink its enrollment strategy.

This is where PS&L comes in.

The Project:

PS&L was retained to help the College forge a new path. Through an assessment, PS&L gained an intimate understanding of the campus and processes and discovered that the Lakeshore team needed a more effective student pipeline model — one that was personally responsive, with more outreach.

PS&L provided guidance for LTC’s effort to shift attention from a built-in pool of students to a concerted customer service approach focused on making the student enrollment process more efficient. Over the next year, PS&L supported reorganization and conducted professional development training to refine LTC’s recruitment and relationship-building strategies. As the staff employed a more proactive recruitment process, they were able to impact prospects’ decisions and help students achieve their educational and career goals.

Outcomes:

Within a year, new student enrollment increased by 11%, the time between student application and registration for classes decreased by 74%, and FTE increased by 6%.