Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
More students are deciding to attend Creighton than ever before, and Mary Chase is often asked why.
Chase, EdD’14, is Creighton’s Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. She’s been contributing to the University’s admissions strategy for more than 20 years. And she joined From the Mall just after Creighton announced that it had enrolled a school-record 8,948 students.
Whether she’s chatting with colleagues on campus, or speaking with prospective students and their families, or hearing from peers at other institutions, she’s often asked about Creighton’s on-the-rise status. What’s led to this moment, where this campus is experiencing enrollment success amidst a growing list of challenges facing higher education?
Chase’s response:
“It didn't happen overnight, and it's not one single attribute or variable that factors into this. It's strong leadership and having a vision. It's a community that's committed to enrolling students who are mission-focused, who are going to be successful here, who are thriving. The authentic approach that we take to sharing our story has just really caught the momentum of the market.”
We asked Chase about why Creighton’s story is resonating, the ways she and her team connect with students, and how a farm kid from Iowa ended up shaping two decades of admissions strategy at Creighton.
Below is a snippet of the conversation. The questions and answers have been edited for space and clarity.
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Can you give us a little peek behind the enrollment management curtain? How many conversations are involved? How many people are involved? What does this apparatus look like behind the scenes?
“It is so huge. It starts with Fr. Hendrickson and his transparency and willingness to share his vision and the campus embracing it. We could talk about our CRM and the support that Vice President Scott Taylor and his (IT) team provide us. We can talk about AI and the constant, continuous improvement that we're working toward. We can talk about the personalization and our efforts to make sure that every individual is treated uniquely in their own way in which God created them.
“But when you bring it all together, that's when you think, ‘Wow, it is bigger than any one person, any one idea.’”
While you certainly do care and look at the numbers reporting how many students are enrolled, it seems like the process matters more and the people matter more. Is that what drives the decision-making and the process?
“We hear it all the time. Students who come and visit or students who experience one of our interview days at the professional school level — they talk about the way in which we do things. You can't learn or teach that. That is just who we are.
“When I think about what makes Creighton special and what makes me so proud to be able to be in front of others to talk about the experience, it's real. I don't have to make it up. The authentic approach that we take in personalizing the experience is what they experience when they get here. So, it’s not a show. It’s who we are.”
Give us a little bit of background on your history. How did you end up at Creighton working in enrollment?
“I don't think anybody goes to college and says, ‘Oh yes, that's what I'm going to do is enrollment.’
“I was a first-generation farm kid from Iowa. And so, work, hard work, early mornings, late nights, that is nothing new. The work didn't scare me. People will ask me, ‘Do you ever sleep?’ I mean, I get that question all the time, even from people I work with. But to me, if you love what you do, it's not hard.”
Did you love the farm?
“Oh, I loved it.”
Those were probably some early mornings.
“I loved growing up on a farm, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. It taught me a ton and shaped who I am today. But I was first generation. I went to college not realizing I was going to go to class. I went to play golf, and I thought that would be fun. I had a great coach who shaped and formed me.
“I went to apply for a job, and they had a golf coach gig for me. I quickly realized I'm not going to be able to afford to eat on that coaching salary. So, I took an admissions job. The person who hired me was my first professional mentor. He took me under his wing. I never made a professional decision without him until he passed just a few years ago. I just continued to want to learn more and was curious about the evolution of enrollment management.
“Back in the day when I came to Creighton, we had paper, paper, paper. Paper everything. We were running off the dot matrix printers — for those of you who are old enough to remember those. So, it’s been a love affair for me to be able to take data-driven approaches and implement technology. Yet at the root of what we're doing is developing relationships. It’s a great combination. Once I got into it, I never wanted to quit.”
Lots of printing and lots of paper. It’s remarkable to think about how much things have changed during your career, especially from a technology standpoint. Have those changes dramatically influenced your approach? Or are we always talking about incremental shifts and moves to adjust?
“I would say it's been more incremental. At the same time, back in 2005, Creighton was the first institution to text message admission decisions. And so that was kind of the big change or shift. We were the first institution to do that.”
Did we all even have phones in ’05?
“We did. It was a flip phone.”
Ha! That’s right.
“It was a maternity leave moment for me in which I was working with some folks here back on campus. I was at my house, and I said, ‘Well, why couldn't we just get these decisions to students faster?’ We tried it, tested it, and it worked. And now every institution in the country is doing it.
“Fast forward, and you think about the evolution of portals and how students are finding information. There’s the website and the evolution of how students consume information. And the phone — students who are younger have a tendency not to pick up the phone anymore, yet parents want to talk to us. But then you think about professional school students and how they consume information and want information, especially in the more selective programs.
“So, you just have to adapt. You have to be willing to manage through change, and we've been willing to do that. I would tell you right now, cumulatively, we have probably one of the best enrollment management operations in the country, and it's because of the people.”
One student might receive a piece of mail and decide to come to campus. Others see an advertisement, or see something on their phone, or talk to somebody. You just never quite know what moment will be the key trigger for the students to say, "Okay, yes, I'll go take a visit."
“I will tell you that one of the things that this campus does — and I just think it's really one of the things that's special — is that we have folks across campus that volunteer to either write personalized, handwritten notes or pick up the phone and call kids who are admitted to the University. They tell them that we actually want them to enroll. That kind of action taken by our campus community saying, ‘We want you. We admitted you, so we actually want you.’
“There are certain things that have evolved and changed, but at the end of the day, kids, students, parents and families still want to be wanted. Creighton is in a unique position. When we make an admission decision, we want the student. We're able to make sure that students feel that, understand that, and know that it's genuine.”
At the end of the academic year, you will step away from your current position and transition into a new, yet-to-named role. Can you say what is next for you?
“The time has never been better for me to step away because Creighton is so well-positioned as an institution. We have an amazing team in enrollment management that collectively will not miss a beat when I step away. It just felt right for me. My husband and I, we feel like we've built a great life and now we want to go live it a little bit more. And so, what's next is in God's hands. And that's probably the best answer I can give right now.”
