Enrollment, Fundraising Strategies Pave Elmira’s Path to Vibrant Future

This story was first featured in the 2024 edition of Campus Magazine. Click here to see more!

Elmira College began the 2024-25 academic year fueled by significant fundraising and enrollment success, including 304 new first-year and transfer students who’ve brought renewed energy to campus. That’s thanks, in part, to Dennis Kelly, Vice President of Enrollment Management, and Paula Lee Hobson, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement, who elevated plans and initiatives into successful strategies. But Kelly and Hobson aren’t resting on their laurels. With the new recruiting cycle and fiscal year underway, they’re ready to capitalize and build on that momentum.

So what’s planned?

First, continue the things that worked well for Fall 2024 recruitment, including strengthened collaborations across the campus. Renewed energy and focus from Enrollment Management, Institutional Advancement, Alumni Engagement, Communications and Marketing, Athletics, and Academic Affairs have everyone working hand-in-hand to introduce new students to, and remind former students about, what makes EC special.
Beyond the enhanced collaboration, Kelly is strategically shifting the recruitment process to engage prospective students earlier while reducing obstacles that impede enrollment. He’s already getting the word out to prospective students about EC’s affordability programs like Take Flight, The Northern Tier Award, and Talent Awards for creative endeavors like Art, Theatre, and the Golden Groove Pep Band.

“These programs were very successful even though we introduced them part way through our enrollment cycle last year,” said Kelly. “So phase two is to build awareness earlier and reach out to larger groups of prospective students in new and expanding territories.”

This year includes a new affordability program aimed at students who are Pennsylvania residents. The Good Neighbor program helps to clarify to students that “whether they are in-state or out-of-state, an Elmira College education is affordable,” explained Kelly.

The recruitment team is also incorporating artificial intelligence into their recruitment efforts this year to engage early and often with prospective students. In September, the recruitment team introduced Olivia, named after alumna Olivia Langdon Clemens ’64. This AI recruiter chats with students across different platforms, including over the phone, and has already reached out to more than 130 prospective students.

When prospective students express a strong interest in EC, the recruitment team is partnering with other offices on campus to turn that into action by offering new and enhanced, immersive experiences. For example, during overnight campus stays students interested in the Pep Band can bring their instrument and play with the group during an event. For athletes and sports enthusiasts, the chance to attend a team competition adds another layer of excitement. These engaging, personalized experiences are designed to deepen students’ connections with the College and expand on the normal overnight stays and class visits.

Working together, Kelly and Hobson are unifying the connection between enrollment efforts and alumni engagement, with alumni an active part of the enrollment process. Already, alumni are speaking at prospective student events and members of the Alumni Board are participating in an outreach program to congratulate newly accepted students.

Another collaboration between Kelly and Hobson has been to strengthen the connection between enrollment success and continued fundraising success. With each gift, the College can offer more scholarships and aid, enhance academic programs, and improve facilities.

That’s why, with the support of the Elmira College Board of Trustees, Hobson added two remote major gift officers who are located where the College has large populations: Florida and the Mid-Atlantic States. She’s seeking a third officer in New England. The new team members will help deepen the College’s engagement with alumni across the country.

In addition to hiring frontline fundraisers, the President and senior leadership have been on the road meeting with alumni and friends at alumni-hosted events across the country to share College updates – ranging from Texas to Colorado, Minnesota to Florida, and Maine to Massachusetts. And Hobson plans to expand those offerings in the coming year.

“Our sincere thanks to those alumni who stepped up to host events this last fiscal year for the College,” Hobson said. “We are truly grateful that you helped us raise additional funds and served as positive ambassadors for EC. We are currently seeking alumni hosts in California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington DC. Please let us know if you can help us in any of these regions.”

Adding to the efforts of the major gift officers, the Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement teams are building initiatives that connect alumni with current EC students in meaningful ways. In a letter in Campus Magazine (page 10), Hobson outlines how alumni time and expertise, particularly through the Under Wing Mentoring Program, will enhance the student experience and guide EC students to continued success after they graduate, which in turn, aids recruitment efforts.

“Alumni play an integral role in continuing EC’s enrollment momentum and ultimate success,” Hobson added. “We are in continuous awe of how passionate and generous everyone has been. Thanks to alumni, friends, employees, and students our traditions can continue to gain new life, ensuring they not only endure but evolve for future generations to enjoy."

As Kelly and Hobson continue to develop and implement holistic strategies, the energy on campus is palpable and with momentum building, the future looks bright. After all, when everyone pulls together, there’s no limit to how high EC can soar.