WIU's Enrollment and Recruitment Strategic Plan Enhances Current Initiatives, Puts Fresh Incentives, Programs in Place to Attract New Students to WIU
This fall, Western Illinois University rolled out a formal strategic recruitment plan that's built on four core 'levers.' Assistant Vice President of Admissions and Enrollment Support Rich Toomey began working on the plan – and its four-pronged, or levered, approach when he took over admissions and recruitment one year ago today.
The four levers, which have several components, include brand and awareness, programs and services, processes and policies and aid and pricing. According to Toomey, the new strategic plan marks the first time the university has formally documented and widely shared a recruitment strategy across campus. The framework of the plan is built within the university's mission, vision and core values; it has a student-centered approach; it has a continued emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and sets the stage for enrollment-centered goals. It coordinates work among admissions staff, academic departments, student services and university leadership, he explained. It's also a nimble and flexible plan that builds on what is in place, refines initiatives and brings forward new ideas that can change with students' needs and wants, as well as with the trends shaping higher education.
'I would say that part of the design of it was based upon the work that we do, and how we then implement certain tactics and structures to mirror that, or create new plans to further improve our processes,' he explained. 'It also gave us an opportunity to introduce concepts to the wider university audience that is still learning what enrollment management really is, for both recruitment and retention.'
Under the programs and services lever, the plan addresses enrollment gaps that Toomey recognized immediately when he joined Western's staff in Fall 2025: military-affiliated students, but not just veterans, but their spouses and children, as well as active-duty members and their families; international recruitment and underrepresented regions within Illinois. It also reflects a broader reimagining of what enrollment management means at WIU, expanding the admissions office's scope to include graduate and international admissions.
