Integrating Strategy Creation and Technology Transformation for Successful Execution with Huron

Strong enrollment strategies and the right technology go hand in hand. When institutions align their people, processes, and policies, they can better integrate these essential pieces and drive real results. Huron has worked alongside several California community colleges to help connect strategy and technology for long-term success. 

Palomar College is a strong example of an institution navigating complex challenges with the right support. Following significant turnover in key roles, slowed enrollments after the pandemic, and increasing regional competition, Palomar College needed a partner to support designing both short and long-term recruitment strategies—along with a roadmap for successful execution. Huron supported these goals through a two-part approach. 

First, Huron focused on Palomar College’s immediate need to grow its inquiry pool and boost applications and enrollments. To drive student engagement for Palomar College, Huron designed and launched a recruitment email campaign that ultimately delivered more than 650,000 emails.

At the same time, to support Palomar College’s immediate staffing needs, Huron placed a team member on campus for nine months. In addition to working directly with prospective students, they helped hire and train a new recruitment team—rebuilding the department to align with Palomar’s long-term strategy and goals.

Second, Huron helped design Palomar College’s long-term enrollment strategy through a current-state holistic assessment of the recruitment function. The assessment resulted in a set of prioritized initiatives, including the selection and implementation of its first Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, aligning its strategy with the technological infrastructure to successfully execute the plan. 

Peralta Community College District (Peralta CCD) is another example, which began with a technology challenge. Huron initially focused on better alignment of Peralta CCD’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions system with the needs of the financial aid office. However, due to staffing constraints and regulatory updates, the project ultimately expanded to address these underlying strategic needs. 

In this expanded partnership, Huron not only focused on optimizing technology but also updated individual business processes, hosted staff training sessions, restructured meeting cadences, cataloged documentation, and improved communication regarding the current ticketing system. As a result of the success of the project, Peralta CCD has now engaged Huron for ongoing managed services to continue to support the refinement and implementation of this strategy. 

Where Palomar College started with strategy creation and moved into technology transformation, and Peralta CCD began with technology transformation and moved into strategy creation, the outcome was the same: the seamless integration of both strategy and technology to achieve successful enrollment outcomes. The current enrollment landscape, especially for community colleges, is more complex and dynamic than ever before. Institutions need a modern approach to this integration of enrollment strategy and technology, and an expert thought partner to help them achieve success. 

For more information on Huron’s offerings, please reach out to Kaitlin Dumont (kdumont@hcg.com) or Jackie Grupe (jgrupe@hcg.com). To learn more about how to access FoundationCCC’s agreement with Huron, please contact cbcontracts@foundationccc.org.