The Enrollment Season Has Launched - New Ideas to the Parking Lot, Please.

🚦 The #1 Way to Ensure a Successful Enrollment Plan This Year?

Avoid chasing every “great idea” that lands on your desk mid-cycle.

Trust me. I’ve been there. A well intentioned trustee once handed me a “can’t miss” idea halfway through the year: Take out a half page ad for $2,500 in a local director of lawyers.

Perhaps not a completely crazy idea, but my new highest priority and best use of financial resources mid year? No.

Unfortunately, I had to learn that lesson the hard way several times.

The hard way meant getting an idea added to my plate that drained staff time, ate budget dollars, sent us down data rabbit holes, and pulled us off the very plan that could have delivered the results we needed. Lesson learned.

Here’s the truth: enrollment success is most likely when…

• You’ve got a clear and thoroughly documented plan.

• That plan is grounded in data and adjusted annually based on measurable outcomes.

• Your office focuses on the priorities established in your plan.

• Every member of the enrollment team helps to build the plan, knows their role in the plan, and understands how their work connects to the rest of the team.

• New ideas are welcome - and introduced strategically.

That shared clarity creates focus and momentum.

So what do you do when a shiny new idea shows up?

👉 Park it in The Idea Parking Lot.

Capture it, set it aside, and bring it back at your summer retreat when the whole team can vet it thoughtfully. That way, you honor the idea, especially one from a trustee, without derailing your plan.

And if you don’t have an enrollment plan? That’s the conversation to start having—today.

Stay focused. Execute the plan. Celebrate the progress. The great ideas will still be there when the timing is right.