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Topics

Article Type

Professional Proficiency

Competency

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Article Abstract

Related Issue:

Enrollment managers face a perfect storm of challenges—demographic shifts, declining student demand, skepticism about higher education’s value, policy changes, and technological disruptions. Layer on global and national uncertainties—climate change, political turmoil, and shifting funding priorities—and the pressure intensifies. How can enrollment leaders foster institutional resilience while sustaining their own professional and personal well-being? This article explores institutional, professional, and personal resilience—the “three-legged stool” concept—and their intersection, offering strategies to navigate an increasingly complex landscape.

Author(s)

Laurie Koehler, Principal and Founder of Koehler Consulting, LLC, is based in
the Washington, D.C. area, and is an innovative strategist and transformative
leader with more than 25 years of experience in enrollment management,
retention, and marketing. Koehler now uses her expertise as a consultant,
strategist, executive coach, advisor, and facilitator for colleges and
universities, their leaders, and teams.

Koehler previously served as vice president for marketing and enrollment
strategy at Ithaca College, where she was part of the president’s senior team.
She also spent six years at George Washington University, where her success in
delivering positive results and guiding teams led to multiple expansions of
her portfolio. Koehler also held roles at Bryn Mawr College, Miami University,
Cornell University, and the University of Virginia, where she earned her B.A.
and M.Ed. degrees.

John Haller, Ed.D., is a higher education consultant and professor. Most
recently, he served as the Special Assistant to the President, Strategic
Initiatives at Denison University. For ten years, he served as the vice
president of enrollment management and new student strategies at the
University of Miami. At Miami, he led the shift from a merit-based financial
aid strategy to a hybrid model that meets 100 percent of students’
demonstrated financial need. Also, the institution realized a 30 percent-plus
increase in applications and a 50 percent-plus increase in yield. The
institution realized a decrease in student indebtedness ($10,000) and the
highest freshman retention (94 percent) and six-year graduation rates in the
university’s history (82 percent).

Dr. Haller also served as the associate provost for enrollment management at
Saint Joseph’s University and had roles in student success at Drexel
University, M.B.A. admissions at Vanderbilt University, and undergraduate
admissions at Denison University. He is an honors graduate in economics and
statistics from the University of Michigan, received master’s degrees in
business and higher education, and earned his Ed.D. in higher education from
the University of Pennsylvania.

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