Chief Enrollment Officer and Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management
University of Montana
Missoula, MT - United States
The University of Montana (UM) seeks a strategic enrollment professional to serve as the next Chief Enrollment Officer and Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management. This dynamic leader will be highly visible, adept at forging productive professional connections with a wide variety of leaders and units across campus. The Chief Enrollment Officer will cultivate valuable relationships with external stakeholders and public entities essential to maintaining the University’s ties with local and statewide partners and communities.
The Chief Enrollment Officer works collaboratively and in support of the Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management (VPSSEM), and UM students, staff, faculty, and administrators. Reporting directly to the VPSSEM, this position formulates, executes, and manages UM’s enrollment efforts and collaborates with the Graduate School on shared initiatives. A key member of the President’s executive team, this position provides visionary and responsive leadership to the offices of Financial Aid, Admissions, Enrollment Data and Systems, and Military and Veteran Services.
The successful candidate will be thoroughly knowledgeable of student enrollment trends and understand how those trends impact the regional, national, and international enrollment landscapes. Utilizing in-depth knowledge and a data-informed approach, the Chief Enrollment Officer will develop and implement sophisticated, nuanced plans to ensure success in the University’s enrollment efforts, while also pioneering creative strategies and solutions to adapt to rapidly evolving markets.
UM’s mission can be boiled down to two words: Inclusive Prosperity. The Enrollment sector leans into this mission by ensuring that every Montanan has an opportunity to get a quality UM education through a variety of strategies and tactics, including the Grizzly Promise scholarship program which provides free tuition for Montana families making less than $50k a year.
Deeply committed to making education both accessible and affordable to all, UM serves learners from all backgrounds. UM cultivates not only pathways to meaningful work that enables graduates to support themselves and their families, but also healthy relationships, lifelong curiosity, and a deep sense of responsibility to one’s community. In service of this commitment, the person assigned to this position will be charged with developing and implementing targeted enrollment strategies aimed at serving students from under-represented populations.
After a decade of enrollment decline, UM systematically rebuilt the enrollment enterprise and is now in a solid trajectory of growth. With this foundation set, the AVP for Enrollment Management is poised for continued success with opportunities to be a part of the continued resurgence of UM.
The size of UM’s incoming class has grown 40% in the last three years, far outpacing other 4-year universities. Net tuition revenue for the incoming class has grown 36% while at the same time, UM has awarded more institutional aid to more students. The multi-year growth in incoming students and the increase in retention led to an overall enrollment growth of 3.7% in fall 2024, which is the largest single year enrollment increase for UM in 14 years.
Spring 2024 enrollment at UM reached 10,349 students, reflecting a stable trajectory of enrollment growth. Headcount was 5,628 at the undergraduate level on the four-year campus; 2,040 at the graduate level; and 2,681 in two-year and/or partnership programs. Of incoming UM students in fall 2023, more than 60% were Montana residents, 25% of undergraduate students were first-generation college students, and 21% were offered Pell grants. UM’s 2023 retention rate is 76%, an 8% improvement in the last five years and the highest in UM history. Notably, UM’s Native American student enrollment has increased 37% since spring 2019, including a 5% increase from fall 2022, with 715 Native students now enrolled. Veteran student enrollment has increased 13% over the previous year. In 2022-23, UM conferred 1,250 baccalaureate, 512 master’s, 70 research doctoral, and 507 professional doctoral degrees.
All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile. Professional references are not requested at this time.
WittKieffer is assisting the University of Montana in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by June 28, 2024. The position will remain open until filled.
Application materials should be submitted through WittKieffer’s candidate portal using the buttons below.
Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
Amy Crutchfield and Kim Migoya
MontanaEnrollment@wittkieffer.com
The University of Montana is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.