Enrollment Continuum
Enrollment is still job one.
In 2022 we launched an ambitious effort to increase enrollment at Chico State throughout this decade and beyond. We called this the Enrollment Continuum, acknowledging a holistic approach to enrollment that goes beyond just recruiting and admissions to also examine barriers to persistence and graduation.
Our continued campus-wide collective efforts supporting the initial Enrollment Continuum 1.0 in 2022 has led us to the Enrollment Continuum 4.0 in 2025-2026, an evolution of our efforts to not only stop the decline in enrollment, but to grow and maintain a student body population that will meet the challenges and opportunities we face in sustaining a healthy budget environment for our campus now and in the future.
Understanding the Enrollment Continuum
The Enrollment Continuum committee is oriented around a framework of action to develop and implement immediate, mid-term, and long-term strategies and tactics in conjunction with our Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan to positively impact enrollment in order to meet our institutional and state-mandated objectives and goals. As part of this work, the committee continues to engage stakeholders and champions across all campus divisions, as well as the larger campus community as a whole, to solicit ideas, feedback, and input.
Frequently Asked Questions
The goal is to grow enrollment by 500 full-time equivalent students (FTES) per year for the next three years to achieve financial stability. Strategies include refining working groups, improving coordination, using data-informed planning, revising policies that create barriers, leveraging technology, and promoting collaboration across divisions.
After five consecutive years of enrollment drops totaling a 27.7% reduction, Chico State reversed the trend through coordinated campus-wide efforts—targeted marketing campaigns (including Spanish-language outreach), expanded digital presence, personalized communication, and strong community engagement that emphasized human connection with prospective students.
- Associate Vice President, Enrollment Management – Serge W Desir, Jr.
- Faculty Fellow, Accreditation Liaison Office, Academic Affairs – Kate McCarthy
- Associate Vice President, International Education & Global Engagement – Jennifer Gruber
- Associate Vice President, Student Engagement and Retention Programs – Cirilo Cortez
- Chair of Chairs’ Council – Christopher Nichols
- Chair of Enrollment Management Advisory Committee – Michael Coons
- Dean, Graduate Studies – Sharon Barrios
- Dean, Professional & Continuing Education – Clare Van Ness
- Director of Strategic Marketing – Kate Post
- Director, Office of Admissions – Mayra Escobar
- Executive Director of University Advising – Kylee Sharp
- Interim Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education and Academic Success – Ellie Clifford Ertle
- Provost’s Dean Appointment – Ryan Patten
- Senior Associate Vice President, Financial Services – Stacie Corona
- Senior Director of Enterprise Applications – Scott Kodai
- Sr. Director of Institutional Research and Strategic Analysis – Tricia Douthit
- University Diversity Officer – Joseph Morales
The framework emphasizes holistic, inclusive, and data-informed planning that strengthens Chico State’s identity as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. It focuses on removing roadblocks, improving access and support, and fostering success for socioeconomically and culturally diverse students, many of whom are first-generation.
How’d we do in 2022-2025?
In a word, we did great. After five consecutive years of enrollment drops, leading to a 27.7% reduction in full-time equivalent students (FTES) overall, we are thrilled to share that not only did we stop the decline in enrollment, we actually managed to grow it! This has had a real and measurable impact on our financial outlook, allowing us to save many millions in our reserves that we thought we would have to spend.
We know our collective efforts as a campus worked. We spent real marketing dollars in telling our story and communicating our value propositions to prospective students and families. We invested in Spanish-language marketing to reach our fastest growing group of students. We made phone calls, sent emails, sent text messages, made YouTube and TikTok videos, and ramped up our digital presence to record levels.