Navigating institutional change with strategic enrolment research

Like many institutions, the University of Saskatchewan has gone through significant institutional change in recent years. Shifting enrolment trends, funding challenges, and new strategic directions meant that the organization needed reliable data to plan for the future. The priority for USask was to create and validate a strong Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) plan that would support future growth in specific program areas.

Academica provided a trend analysis of the annual University/College Applicant Study (UCAS) to reveal how applicant perceptions of the USask’s brand had changed over a seven year period. Trend analysis revealed that applicants’ top of mind perceptions had become more positive, validating the USask’s marketing strategy of focusing on strengths and opportunities. USask also also needed to understand why some applicants were declining offers of admission: Using the Acceptance Declined Study (ADS), Academica helped USask to identify and address the concerns and needs of accepted applicants.