Facing the headwinds of several current disruptions, many institutions are looking to reduce costs by moving to leaner operations. In fact, according MARKETview’s recent Partner Survey Report, more than 75% of enrollment teams will not see an increase in their budget this year. This was the reality that Brian Troyer faced as he came into a new Vice President for Enrollment Management role at Marquette University.
Moving Beyond Regional Enrollment
In December of 2023, Marquette unveiled their strategic plan with simultaneous goals of increasing the geographic diversity of their first-year students while reducing the school’s operating budget. When Troyer began his new position in July of 2024, he quickly began working on his multi-year enrollment plan.
While Marquette is a household name and a Top 100 ranked university, they are reliant on recruiting students in their own backyard, with three quarters of first-year students arriving from Wisconsin or neighboring Illinois. For long-term sustainability, Marquette aspires to expand its geographic footprint and generate a greater proportion of enrollment from outside of those two core markets.
This was necessary for a few reasons—first to recognize the reality of the shifting demographics in the Midwest and second, to orient the school toward better long-term outcomes and to maintain and grow its national profile.
“The geographic diversity of the student body is important in that it shields an institution from fluctuations in local demographic and economic conditions. The demonstrated ability to attract out-of-state students from a variety of locations is considered credit positive.”
-Moody’s
Reaching new markets requires new investments. To get the buy-in from a leadership team that was charged with making budget cuts, Troyer needed to demonstrate a strong ROI for any new proposal.
Level Up Leadership Conversations: Resonating With Stakeholders in Times of Change
With disruption and uncertainty clouding the higher ed landscape, making the case for new investments with key decision makers is no easy feat.
Learn how Brian Troyer, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Marquette University used comparative, real-time data to acquire funding from campus leadership for market expansion in support of the growth goals outlined in their strategic plan.
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Identifying New Markets
To demonstrate ROI Troyer launched a pilot initiative to test investments in three new markets (Colorado, Washington, and Arizona). Marquette recognized immediate results including a 26% increase in applications from students in non-primary states in the first year. With a clear indication that Marquette can effectively break into new markets, Troyer was ready to expand beyond the pilot, though he needed support from leadership along with additional funding to bring the vision to life.
“We thought we were making the right moves, but we didn’t have the comparative context to validate our assumptions. That’s where MARKETview changed everything.”
– Brian Troyer
Enter MARKETview.
Once Troyer got access to the MARKETview platform, he quickly realized not just how Marquette stacked up to their peers, but more importantly, how much other schools were investing to reach the students that he wanted to recruit.
“When we started looking at MARKETview’s comparative data, it was like turning on the lights. We suddenly saw where we were falling behind and where we had opportunities.”
– Brian Troyer
Troyer was able to see that other Midwest private institutions were producing nearly 35% of enrollment from outside the region. It was also evident based on inquiry-to-deposit ratios that Marquette was underspending on inquiry generation in comparison to other Midwest Private institutions, specifically in the regions targeted for expansion.
“Because of MARKETview, we didn’t just ask for money—we made a business case for it.”
– Brian Troyer
Armed with objective market context, Troyer was able to successfully make the case for additional annual funding for the next six years to support Marquette’s bold enrollment goals and address these critical elements of success. Plus, he could now benefit from MARKETview’s daily enrollment performance tracking so he could measure these new investments and adapt to market changes in real time.
Looking Forward with Confidence
Marquette is well on the way to reaching its enrollment goals and it’s because they’re no longer making decisions based on hunches or looking at historical data trends—they’re now tracking progress every day with real-time, comparative data. Troyer can follow his long-term enrollment roadmap, informed by actionable, data-driven insights to shape his decisions every step of the way.
“We’ve gone from reactive decision-making to proactive, market-informed strategy. That’s the difference MARKETview has made.”
– Brian Troyer
Want to learn more about how MARKETview can help your school reach its ambitious enrollment and financial aid goals? Speak with us today.