Description
The purpose of this assessment is to write a proposal that could be presented in community college struggling with retention that is impacting their funding. Keep in mind that the reader or audience of this assessment is different. In writing your proposal, consider the role of your administrator. Your purpose is to compel the administrator to act. It is important to provide a convincing argument, reaffirm commonly held beliefs in your organization, cite examples with evidence, and be direct. Consider your proposal the 15-minute introduction and a precursor to your future meeting. Therefore, you may draw upon some content from your prior assessments. However, be thoughtful of how the writing style transitions from an academic paper to a work proposal. The intent is to secure a decision, not simply to inform. This assessment does require you to be entirely focused and precise in your writing. Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other. You should complete them in the order in which they are presented. Preparation In pursuing your doctorate, you learn to use research and evidence-based reasoning to address problems of practice. You assess complex organizational situations using the concepts and principles of systems thinking. You actively seek out a diversity of perspectives and collaborate toward improving institutional practices. You apply self-reflection, critical thinking, and creativity in your ideas and leadership. Keep in mind how these expected program outcomes are reflected in your proposal.Preparation activities form components of each assessment in this course. There will be four steps to prepare for completing this assessment. Note that each step may include readings or draft language that will help you prepare for completing the assessment. It is recommended that you complete all preparation activities before beginning the assessment. Assessment 4 Preparation [PDF] Download Assessment 4 Preparation [PDF]. Instructions For this assessment, you will write a proposal that could be presented in an organization to address an issue that affects the organization’s future. Use the Assessment 4 Template [DOCX] Download Assessment 4 Template [DOCX]to complete your work. Your proposal should be 5–7 pages (1,250–1,750 words). The materials you created during the preparation steps will build and form components of this assessment. You must reference at least five current (published within the last five years) sources to support your work. Refer to the EdD Program Library Research Guide for scholarly literature search tips. Remember to write in the third person.Be sure to de-identify your organization and individuals involved. In your proposal: Write an introduction. Be clear in your purpose. (Are you writing to inform or persuade?) Provide sufficient context and an effective thesis statement. (For more details, see the “Draft a Thesis Statement” section of the Plan Your Paper Campus page.) Describe your specific future workplace issue that will impact the future of your organization. Include subsections in which you: Address why the issue is significant to your organization.Provide a statement of why the problem needs to be addressed. Address potential causal and contributing factors that you forecast will perpetuate the issue in the future. Describe the desired future state. Include a subsection in which you: Describe the organization’s current position and where you believe the organization needs to be in the future. What will be the impacts on the organization and people within if the issue is left unaddressed? Describe your proposal and risk assessment (scaled and outcomes described). Include subsections in which you: Anticipate the foreseeable responses by various stakeholders. Describe the outcomes you hope to achieve at specific time intervals. Describe the decisions you are seeking today. Make sure the decision statement is in as few words as possible but specific. Consider financials, any personnel changes, structural reorganizations, et cetera. (While this course does not require the actual implementation of the proposal, the work in this course has been designed to provide learners the outcomes needed to do so.) Write a conclusion. Reiterate the importance of your topic. Compare your thesis statement in the introduction with the restatement of the thesis statement in the conclusion. Typically, not verbatim, but there should be alignment between the two paragraphs. Summarize your key points. Present your call to action or suggest what work is needed next, as appropriate. Additional Requirements Your assessment should also meet the following requirements: Length: 5–7 double-spaced pages (1,250–1,750 words). Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point. De-identification: When writing about your institution or organization in coursework, you need to de-identify (not name) your organization or individuals involved. Use a pseudonym for the name of the institution or organization. Speak broadly when referring to titles and roles of yourself and colleagues within the institution or organization. References: As needed to support your ideas (a minimum of five). Formatting: Use current APA style and formatting. See the Evidence and APA section of the Writing Center for guidance. Writing: Use the Writing Center to learn more about Capella’s Writing Standards and further resources related to each of the five core writing skills assessed.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Proposal
in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
EDD-FPX8524 – The Future of Educational Leadership
Prepared by
(Learner’s Name)
Capella University
(Date)
Faculty:
Assessment 4: Write your proposal to address your workplace issue. This proposal will be
presented to an administrator for feedback. (5–7 pages; 1,250–1,750 words)
Delete all instructions—everything that is italicized—once you have completed the paper. Do
not delete headings.
•
•
Introduction
Be clear in your purpose.
Provide sufficient context and an effective thesis statement.
Proposal
Proposal:
Workplace Issue
Desired Future State
Proposal Description
Risks
Scaling
Outcomes
Decisions Needed
Description
•
Describe your specific workplace issue.
o Section on why the issue is significant to your organization.
o Statement of why the problem needs to be addressed.
o Section on potential causal and contributing factors that you forecast will
perpetuate the issue in the future.
Future State
•
Section on organization’s current position and where you believe the organization needs
to be in the future. What will be the impacts felt on the organization and people within if
left unaddressed?
Risk Assessment
•
Describe your proposal and risk assessment (scaled and outcomes described).
o Section on the foreseeable responses by various stakeholders.
o Section on outcomes you hope to achieve at specific time intervals.
Decisions Needed
•
Description of the decisions you are seeking today.
o Statement should be in as few words as possible but must be specific.
o Consider financials, any personnel changes, structural reorganizations, et cetera.
(While this course does not require the actual implementation of the proposal, the
work in this course has been designed to provide learners the outcomes needed to
do so.)
Conclusion
•
•
•
•
Reiterate the importance of your topic.
Compare your thesis statement in the introduction with the restatement of the thesis
statement in the conclusion. Typically, not verbatim, but there should be alignment
between the two paragraphs.
Summarize your key points.
Present your call to action or suggest what work is needed next, as appropriate
Futurist Strategies and Scaling Change
in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
EDD-FPX8524 – The Future of Educational Leadership
Prepared by
Capella University
January 15, 2024
Faculty: Dr. Eric Wellington
Introduction
Over the last five years, XYZ Community College has experienced a shocking twenty-two
percent drop in enrollment rate, which threatens its financial viability and ability to empower
members of society as intended. Multiple reasons may be behind this trend that could result in
the future, such as lack of growth in regional populations, dwindling number of high school
graduates, changes in labor markets making college education unnecessary, and misalignment
between program affordability and contemporary climate. To address this situation, XYZ should
actively coordinate a multi-approach response that includes environmental scanning, scenario
planning, and strategic foresight. The current paper suggests that implementing an integrated
enrollment management plan is among the strategies to create more robust futures using
intensified community associations, optimized media, and renewed experiences.
Recent History/Origins of the Work Issue
In the past half a decade, enrollment at XYZ Community College has fallen by 22%,
significantly affecting the financial flows associated with the students. The problem originates
from the overreliance on population growth to boost enrollment and funding from state and
federal governments. Although recent cuts across the board ensured affordability, policies,
cooperation systems, and success support mechanisms still need to change to address the need to
stabilize and sustain enrollments. Some of the initiatives implemented by the Community
College’s board included sourcing isolated outreach activities and scholarships, which
temporarily mitigated the institution’s woes. The initial initiatives helped slow down year-onyear reductions but were directed differently according to significant sources of applicant
conversion rates and retention. The problem extends into the present state of the Community
College, whereby it continues to grapple with the issue of low enrollment, which extends to the
financial crisis of the institution.
Future Options
Possible Options for the Future
Two options may be integrated to mitigate the problem of declining XYZ Community
College’s admission rates.
The first option is maintaining the status quo, which implies continuing operations
without intervention (McLaren et al., 2022). The choice is not the best for the future of the
Community College, as past and present problems affecting the institution will worsen in the
coming days. The institution may reach unsustainably low levels in the next five years, whereby
enrollment will continue to decline by 30% or above. If the option is implemented, the
Community College will have to make further reductions in offerings and student services,
compromising the institution’s mission and reputation.
The second and recommended option for the future of XYZ Community College is
implementing integrated enrollment management. Developing an integrated enrollment
management plan that aligns programming and student experiences with the needs of current and
prospective learners is the best way for XYZ Community College to reverse alarming enrollment
trajectory patterns (Eyal & Gil, 2020). A CRM-driven department that consolidates outreach
activities will allow personalized communications tailored to specific target segments within and
outside the district. Strengthening dual enrollment and transfer partnerships will also enrich
pipelines. The goal of the approach will be to stabilize and recover enrollments closer to previous
peaks through data-informed alignment with student needs and market conditions. The strategy
will help the Community College have the highest chance of reversing unwanted trajectories and
facilitate regional access and affordability.
Factors Used to Arrive at the Decision
There are several reasons for an Integrated Enrollment Management approach. A case in
point is that environmental scanning points out the intersection of demographic, economic, and
perception changes, which have led to a decrease in XYZ enrolment and can only be reversed
with a deliberate resituating of XYZ’s offerings and students’ market realities. Complex forces
render the expansion of outreach futile. Expanding the recruitment pool carries the danger of
stretching resources to breaking point and detracting from the institution’s mission. On the other
hand, ongoing minor cuts may result in death by a thousand paper cuts as capacity is slowly
eroded over time due to cumulative constraints.
Futurist Strategies
Appropriate Futurist Strategies
As described below, the innovation planning will utilize two futurist strategies: scenario
planning and environmental scanning and monitoring.
Scenario planning is a futurist strategy that involves developing elaborate, believable
visions of the future based on present trends and possible events (Cordova-Pozo & Rouwette,
2023). In the context of XYZ Community College, the strategy may be crucial in analyzing
various enrollment scenarios under different funding models and multiple programs, among
other variations. Visualizing the various scenarios can be essential in creating strategic plans
incorporating envisioned factors.
Environmental scanning and monitoring is a futuristic strategy that utilizes a systematic
observation and comprehensive appraisal of one’s environment to identify opportunities or
threats (Borges & Janissek-Muniz, 2018). The plan can enable XYZ Community College to
know when educational trends change and when state or federal funding policies shift,
demographics change, and new rivals emerge. For example, knowledge of demographic changes
might lead to targeted programs for specific parts of a community. At the same time, awareness
of trends in education preferences could trigger new online or hybrid course development.
Integration of the Two Futurist approach of the integrated Enrollment Management Plan
The integrated enrollment management plan will incorporate ongoing environmental
scanning to develop qualitative and quantitative data concerning key drivers of enrollment.
These numbers will comprise metrics such as regional statistics, graduates, the health of local
economies, changes in competitive landscapes, and student perception surveys. Techniques
should maintain those offerings, messaging, and experiences that offer recruitment and retention
rate indicators, which are essential for pipelines and completion rates. As a result, annual
scenario planning exercises will be used to test strategic plans under different futures based on
the input derived from environmental scanning. For instance, if healthcare industry growth slows
unexpectedly, programming shifts could expand allied health careers to model enrollment,
revenue, and job placement impacts.
A strategic foresight mindset can support innovation planning after identifying vulnerable
assumptions. Pilot programs such as those involving career counselors in pathway intro courses
before the scaling of innovative practices that show value allow for controlled trials. For
example, monitoring the early adoption of best practices, such as straighterline.com’s unbundled
course subscriptions, could inform the development of new credentialing models aligned with
environmental trends. Rather than fearing uncertainty, the community college should consider it
an asset, exposing choices.
Process Analysis
Strategy: Build integrated student recruitment, retention, and completion infrastructure
Step: Conduct environmental scanning
Description
Compile enrollment data trends, research factors driving declines,
forecast scenarios
Process
Planning
Timeline
1-3 months
Stakeholder Involvement
IR; administrators; faculty from critical programs
Outcomes
Enrollment driver insights
Data to Evaluate
Historical enrollments; demographics; graduate pipelines;
competitors; surveys
Communication
Board reports; all-stakeholder presentations; website dashboards
Strategy: Build integrated student recruitment, retention, and completion infrastructure
Step: Develop an infrastructure plan
Description
Centralized recruitment operations; CRM adoption; retention alert
systems; career pathways visibility
Process
Development
Timeline
3-6 months
Stakeholder Involvement
Administrators; student services staff; IT experts; faculty
department chairs
Outcomes
Documented objectives, systems, stakeholders, policies
Data to Evaluate
Enrollment playbooks from peer institutions
Communication
All-hands meetings; targeted working groups; monthly newsletters
Strategy: Build integrated student recruitment, retention, and completion infrastructure
Step: Phase Plan rollout
Description
Pilot centralized outreach team; launch CRM modules; scale early
alert networks; expand program pathways guides
Process
Rollout
Timeline
6-18 months
Stakeholder Involvement
Multi-departmental implementation committee
Outcomes
Bolstered enrollment funnels; improved persistence rates nearterm; institutionalized retention processes
Data to Evaluate
Recruitment funnel conversion rates; term-over-term retention
percentages
Communication
Monthly committee reports, user experience surveys, and real-time
data glimpses.
Implementation
How the Implementation of the Work involves Ongoing Collaboration with Stakeholders
To align efforts, implementing integrated enrollment management requires continued
partnership between administrators, faculty from key divisions, student services staff,
institutional researchers, and technology experts. Cross-functional teams will meet regularly,
providing updates through reports to governance committees, all-hands meetings, and monthly
newsletters (Dei et al., 2023). A shared dashboard will display real-time progress on recruitment,
retention, and completion benchmarks, allowing any stakeholder to monitor indicators. Periodic
surveys and focus groups will check qualitative perceptions of changes. Maintaining open
channels, transparency, and camaraderie built through early strategic planning stages will smooth
innovation adoption.
Outcomes to be Achieved and the Evaluation of the Performance Outcomes
Over the 18-month rollout, the goal is stabilizing recruitment funnel rates and term-overterm retention by the first year, with completion outputs and enrollment recovery targets on pace
by year two. Regular assessments will aggregate admissions pipeline conversion percentages,
registration headcounts by focus demographics, fall-to-spring persistence rates, and on-time
graduation numbers compared to baseline benchmarks (Cohen & Kisker, 2017). Survey and
focus group feedback will supplement quantitative checks and be conducted monthly (Gehlbach
et al., 2017). Environmental scanning insights will help validate metrics’ alignment with external
forces. Sustained gains into the second year suggest resonation of reconfigured systems and
offerings with student needs even amidst volatility.
Story on the Trajectory of the Issue after Futurist Mindset Integration
Once fearful of looming declines, the Community College now sees uncertainty as an
asset revealing possibilities. Leaders understand complex challenges and have rigid,
collaborative solutions. Previously siloed stakeholders connected enrollments to environments
they mutually shape. Scanning the horizon helps them respond preemptively, not reactively like
before. Faculty overload the latest industry skills into classes before even being asked. Advisers
reveal careers students still need to consider. Teams share data transparently, continually
enhancing experiences. Students feel individually valued from first contact through graduation.
If patterns shift, XYZ listens, reflects, and adapts. Though the future remains nonlinear, XYZ
confronts it with camaraderie. This collective responsibility empowers them to guide change, not
just endure it. XYZ now writes its own evolving history. And that story of progress through
partnership can uplift higher education for decades ahead. What once seemed the college’s fate is
now its choice.
Conclusion
The current paper strived to address the enrollment decline problem facing XYZ
Community College through futuristic strategies. The drop in enrollment rates is not merely a
statistical decline but a reflection of broader demographic, economic, and perception changes
that demand a strategic response. Comparing the thesis statement in the introduction with the
restatement in the conclusion, it is evident that both emphasize the urgency of addressing the
enrollment decline through a multi-approach response, including environmental scanning,
scenario planning, and strategic foresight. The alignment between these paragraphs underscores
the continuity of the argument throughout the paper. Future implications for the Community
College are that they should be considerate of their enrollment management and adaptive as the
institution will face prevalent uncertainties and evolving challenges.
References
Borges, N. M., & Janissek-Muniz, R. (2018). Informal and individual practices of the
environmental scanning in organizations. Handbook of Research on Strategic Innovation
Management for Improved Competitive Advantage, 55–67. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-15225-3012-1.ch004
Cohen, A. M., & Kisker, C. B. (2017). Functions, organization, and contemporary challenges of
the American Community College. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, 1–20.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38909-7_44-1
Cordova-Pozo, K., & Rouwette, E. A. J. A. (2023). Types of scenario planning and their
effectiveness: A review of reviews. Futures, 149, 103153.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2023.103153
Dei, D.-G. J., Kankam, P., Anane-Donkor, L., Peasah, T. E., & Puttick, C. P. (2023). Strategies
for enrolment management in private universities in Ghana during the COVID-19
pandemic. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 5, 100294.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100294
Eyal, L., & Gil, E. (2020). Design patterns for teaching in academic settings in future learning
spaces. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(4), 1061–1077.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12923
Gehlbach, H., Robinson, C. D., Finefter-Rosenbluh, I., Benshoof, C., & Schneider, J. (2017).
Questionnaires as interventions: Can taking a survey increase teachers’ openness to
student feedback surveys? Educational Psychology, 38(3), 350–367.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2017.1349876
McLaren, T. A., van der Hoorn, B., & Fein, E. C. (2022). Why vilifying the status quo can derail
a change effort: Kotter’s contradiction and theory adaptation. Journal of Change
Management, 23(1), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2022.2137835
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
