After 25 years in admissions roles at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., Chris Belcher began working Oct. 20 as vice president for enrollment management at Evangel University. He succeeds Andy Denton, who left to work for Bethel University. Belcher’s responsibilities include the offices of admissions, student financial aid and retention. Evangel’s fall enrollment is down over 10 percent compared to last year – due largely to a big graduating class from Central Bible College that was folded into Evangel in 2013 – and Belcher is staring down the challenge.
Taking the Helm “I was the senior manager of admissions and recruitment at ORU. … (Evangel) used a search firm, and I found out about the position through that firm. It was in March when I heard about the position. We had some initial discussions (and) reconnected in August. … I had been desiring to take that next move into a lead role in enrollment management for a couple of years. … I was immediately intrigued because I knew (Evangel) had just gone through a period of consolidation, that there was new leadership and they had a new vision for taking the university into the future.”
Ups and Downs “There was a significant change in leadership [at ORU] in 2007. That was when Richard Roberts stepped down as president, and there were some major events taking place that affected enrollment. The university went through a couple of challenging years (and enrollment) was around 3,400. … (Evangel) is just over 2,300. ... I know (ORU’s) retention rate has been above 80 percent for each of the past four years. There were a lot of improvements made in both attracting students and retaining students, which is something we’ll focus on here, as well. (Evangel) did have a really good retention year last year – our freshmen to sophomore retention. We’d love to see that over 80 percent, and so that will be a goal at Evangel. … It was around 77 to 78 percent last year. That’s up from about 68 percent two or three years ago.”
Plan of Attack “I think the challenge is to look at the students you’re attracting, no matter what socioeconomic background they have, and make sure you have an aid strategy in place that is going to serve them well. … We just need to make sure our message is out there and that we are connecting with students who would be a good fit. We need to focus on marketing, getting the word out and getting students to visit the campus. The facilities here are phenomenal. I’ve been very impressed with the classroom facilities and the learning environment. I haven’t met all of the faculty, but I’ve been in several meetings, and the people that I’ve met have been extremely engaged with their students. They care deeply about them and their success. We just need (students) to visit and connect with us.”
Career Path “I think this is a field that kind of finds you. I started as a financial aid counselor in 1990. … I’ve gotten to work with some great consultants – enrollment management consultants – who have opened my eyes to the larger world of enrollment management on the larger scale and what’s happening in the industry. I eventually went on to pursue a master’s degree in management. That opened my eyes more to strategic planning and marketing. … There were strategic discussions with me coming here regarding the dollars needed for marketing and recruitment. The university is committed to putting the resources together that are needed to attract students here.”
3,000 Students “I’m not going to go on record and say our goal is 3,000 students in five years, but I think everybody here would be really happy if we got to 3,000 students sooner rather than later. … Thirty-five percent come from Missouri. That is a strong population from Missouri. Evangel is a national draw. …
It is a significant challenge because if you are going to send a recruiter to the East Coast, for instance, we are drawing from all over the East Coast. There is really no cell or large area we are drawing from, so I have to get a handle on that and figure out what our best strategies are for reaching those individuals.”[[In-content Ad]]
