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WHITE PAPER
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ACADEMIC PROGRAM INNOVATION AND
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
by Dr. Lynda Wallace-Hulecki
The access mission of community colleges places program innovation and renewal at the
heart of the strategic enrollment management (SEM) enterprise, as the ability to innovate
and renew program offerings is central to your ability to address the multitude of educational
needs of the communities you serve within a complex and changing economy. Indeed,
having the “right” programs, in the “right” markets, delivered in a manner that is conducive
to the learning needs and preferences of the students you serve are mission critical (Black,
2008). The U.S. population is aging and becoming increasingly more racially and ethically
diverse. Changes in demography have implications for changes in student learning styles and,
by extension, in instructional pedagogy. Increasingly the student, not the institution, will
define what learning is, how it is to happen, and when and where it occurs. To address the
diverse range of student needs, flexible curriculum delivery options and technology enabled
learning approaches are essential sources of competitive advantage.
It has long been recognized that there is a symbiotic relationship between enrollment
management, strategic planning and academic program innovation (Dolence, 1993, 1997). At
the core of an institution’s strategic plan is the academic mission and program plan.
Enrollment planning, effectively implemented, brings a systems perspective in strategically
focusing an institution on its program areas of marketplace relevance, distinctive
competence, and competitive advantage. When aligned with budget plans and priorities, the
resultant SEM plan becomes the lever by which the academic plan is realized, and a
touchstone for measuring the effectiveness of institutional enrollment performance. In this
way, the enrollment management plan becomes an integral component of the institution’s
strategic plan, rooted within the academic context, and linked to resource management
decisions. Thus, academic program innovation and renewal become the cornerstone of the
enrollment enterprise, enrollment becomes the lifeline to institutional vitality, and the
enrollment planning process becomes the vehicle by which to realize continued success in
achieving enrollment and financial goals (Wallace-Hulecki, 2010).