Serving Higher Ed Since 1987

I have been fortunate to serve Higher Education Admissions and Enrollment since 1987. I began the journey as an Admissions Counselor and in the end became a Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid. In 2016, I joined Value Based, Inc. because I saw the opportunity to intentionally and strategically empower and enhance enrollment teams to dynamically present, promote and produce their ideal incoming class to become devoted alumni!  What I discovered with the first college with whom I worked was that to serve enrollment teams through training and coaching them in our Value Based Enrollment Methodology re-centered my focus on what I care most about and why I started an Admissions a career years ago!

Admissions work is Admissions’ responsibility, but enrollment is everyone’s responsibility! - Vance Pascua

As expected, one particular question (or posture) asked of enrollment leadership has remained constant over the years—and my colleagues will resonate with this: “What have you done for me lately?!” In both thriving and tumultuous times in enrollment, a similar question resurfaces: "What are you going to do differently this year to bring in more students?" The seemingly insatiable need for more students is draining and agitating on a team and can lead to a breakdown in team adhesion.

Vice Presidents and Directors with whom we work assure us they continue to answer these two questions all while doing their best to build and retain good teams. The Groundhog Day Effect of repeatedly starting from scratch with fledgling teams drains time and resources as leaders ramp-up to inspire team members with vision about “why we do what we do”.

Similarly, the Marketing Teams we work with tell us they try to be supportive, but they suffer constant tension for their services across campus, spending money and valuable time with no alignment or accountability to bringing in new students.

Critically, the insatiable need for “butts in seats” results in worsening retention rates, rising student life complications, and a greater need for adding costly resources to academic support. All of which can be avoided if a school attracts enough of the right students.

Now, as part of the Value Based team, I find myself holding more of the innovative information, principles, and training I wish I had available to me during my tenure in Higher Education. I'm helping Vice Presidents and Directors progress from million-dollar deficits to million-dollar surpluses. Most recently, I have enjoyed energizing schools like Westmont College and Dordt University towards experiencing ground-breaking incoming classes.

Through a well-fashioned enrollment methodology, we offer thorough, hands-on, high-touch training to help institutions:

  1. Define their value, values, and differentiators
  2. Practice ways an enrollment team can match those values to the needs of prospective students and their constituents
  3. How to message those properly and align marketing with those messages
  4. How to drive home those value messages so that everyone on campus GETS ON BOARD.

It’s exciting to be at the forefront of a movement to adapt consultative selling practices so Enrollment and Admissions teams meet and exceed their goals. Ours is not the stereotypical, infamous, rah-rah, hyped-up sales and marketing seminar; rather, it’s an ethics-based, personalized coaching and consulting approach moving admissions and marketing teams from knowing to doing and accountable to results. After all, admissions work is Admissions’ responsibility, but enrollment is everyone’s responsibility!