Strategic Enrollment Management in Medical Education

This study provides a summary of how U.S. medical colleges are currently utilizing strategic enrollment management (SEM) principles to respond to enrollment challenges. Similar to undergraduate and graduate enrollment, medical college enrollment is affected by changing student populations, diversity challenges, increased competition, and perceptions of return on investment when alternative career options are available (e.g., nurse practitioner and physician assistant studies programs). Despite varying levels of SEM implementation at a diverse group of medical colleges, SEM has shown great potential to improve communication among a college’s departments. A holistic focus on the student lifecycle may lead to better enrollment outcomes and overall experience for medical students.