The RAMP cohort was divided into five groups. The goal of the project was to allow people to work with a group they don’t normally work with to and to use the knowledge they gained throughout the seminar to address a current challenge related to enrollment management.
Off-Campus Housing
- Lauryn Christianson, OAR
- Brittany Elandt, RO
- Liz Root, OAR
- C.C. Vang, OSFA
Off-Campus Housing
Affordable housing is a significant challenge for many of our students, directly influencing both attrition and retention rates. As part of the DEM, we should be concerned about the impact that inaccessible or overpriced housing has on our student body. Addressing this issue not only supports student well-being but also aligns with our goals of fostering a supportive and sustainable campus environment.
Key Question:
How can the Division of Enrollment Management help students understand the housing landscape in Madison?
Scope of Work:
- Resource assessment: What is required to create a comprehensive resource for students to navigate housing options near campus? What resources already exist? What requirements would DEM have? This would involve compiling a detailed list of available apartment and housing options, complete with pricing, amenities, and an assessment of each property’s suitability for students.
- Rating System: Create a rating system that provides students with clear guidance such as affordability, quality, and reputation.
Supporting Near-Threshold Pell Recipients
- Mary Brahos, OAR
- Emily Brix-Shepherd, OAR
- Jer Her, OSFA
- Cori Stewart, RO
Supporting Near-Threshold Pell Grant Recipients Through Financial Literacy and Family Engagement
Students who barely qualify (typically those from families earning just above $50,000-$60,000 annually) for the Pell Grant often face significant unmet financial need despite their eligibility. These students may not qualify for substantial institutional aid yet still come from families with limited capacity to contribute to educational expenses. Many can also be new to financial literacy tools and structured support needed to make informed decisions about borrowing, budgeting, and communicating with parents or guardians about funding their education. The hope is that there is an improved understanding of the unmet needs of marginal Pell Grant recipients, tangible, equity-centered tools, or programs that improve financial literacy and empower family financial planning, enhanced retention and success for financially vulnerable students.
Key Question:
How can the Office of Financial Aid better support these near-threshold Pell Grant recipients with targeted financial literacy tools and strategies to engage their families in conversations about paying for college?
This challenge aligns with the Division of Enrollment Management’s (DEM) strategic framework by addressing issues of access, affordability, and student success—particularly for those at the margin of need-based aid. Supporting this population advances equity goals and strengthens student retention and satisfaction.
Scope of Work:
- Best Practices Research: Review institutional models and peer programs that effectively support students in this category through financial literacy programs and parent/family engagement.
- Strategy Development: Propose targeted interventions, tools, or communication strategies to help students and families understand and plan for college costs, including loan literacy and budgeting.
Usability Testing and Tableau
- Sarah Doebereiner, OSFA
- Paul Oshefsky, RO
- MiKayla Scott-Krattiger, OAR
- Steven Tan, OAR
Usability Testing and Tableau
Tableau is utilized across DEM in a variety of ways, with dashboards commonly being created with a specific purpose in mind, but there has not been any testing performed to ensure the implementation and usage of these dashboards is efficient or successful. Implementing a form of usability testing can help DEM determine if the current dashboards are sufficient for our work, if the dashboards need to be adjusted to properly address the needs of the office, or if new dashboards need to be created to address gaps in Tableau’s usability.
Key Question: Identify a method of usability testing that serves as a template for how to approach development and re-development of our dashboards with a primary audience in mind.
Scope of Work:
Usability testing is a well-established practice for all kinds of web development. The benefit of this kind of testing is that it doesn’t require many subjects; about 5 users will be enough to uncover most of the major issues with a tool.
- Choose a dashboard on the Tableau server and actually walk through a simple usability test and make recommendations for changes to the features, layout, and presentation.
Organizing & Storing Process Documentation
- Meg Cerny, OVPEM
- Sean McConnell, RO
- Emily Oehler-Miller, OAR
- Kayla Schween, OAR
Best practices for organizing and storing process documentation.
In various parts of the DEM, how processes are documented, where that documentation is saved, and how it is maintained over time is inconsistent, to say the least. There are several shared network drives (with many, many folders and subfolders), Box, Google, SharePoint, Confluence, etc., along with technical platforms like GitHub.
Key Question:
How can the Division of Enrollment Management create efficiencies to support responsible stewardship of resources and by promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous assessment?
Scope of Work:
- Best Practices: An evaluation and/or recommendation of best practices would advance the DEM Strategic Framework.
- Case studies: Case studies of how other institutions manage documentation.
Breaking Down Silos
- Rebecca Adams, OSFA
- Sami Boynton, OAR
- Andy Gutierrez-Chavez, OAR
Breaking down silos
The work our offices do is often conducted in silos. While there are some spaces to gather such as the all-team day or book club meetings, we don’t often work together. This can impact the student experience by making our services seem disconnected from each other.
Key Question: How might we create a more integrated, collaborative structure within the division?
Scope of Work:
- Best Practices: How are other EM units at other universities organized? Are there any that function in an integrated environment? Are there other examples on campus of units that work in a cohesive, integrated manner?
- Recommendations: What recommendations could DEM consider to break down silos?
View Group 5’s PowerPoint Presentation