You and I are sitting in an enrollment office on a gray October morning. The phone rings, your CRM dashboard lights up, and your president is asking for an updated funnel report, again. You smile and think, This is the job. Because being an enrollment manager today isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon that never ends.
In this article, we’ll explore why enrollment management has become one of the most demanding roles in higher education, and what leaders can do to survive the race.
What You’ll Find in This Article
- Why the pressure on enrollment leaders has never been higher
- How the “marathon mindset” defines effective leadership
- The systems and skills enrollment managers need to stay ahead
- What data tells us about burnout, turnover, and strategic resilience
- How to lead with endurance in 2025 and beyond
1. The Pressure Cooker: Life Inside the Fishbowl
Jay Fedje, DegreeSight’s Vice President of Partnerships, describes the enrollment manager’s role as living “inside a fishbowl.” Every data point, every inquiry, application, and deposit, is visible to the board, donors, and alumni. The scrutiny and analysis relentless.
Recent surveys from Inside Higher Ed show that over 70% of enrollment leaders report increased stress and job insecurity compared to five years ago. Why? Because the margin for error has disappeared. Institutions are fighting shrinking pipelines, declining yield rates, and growing skepticism about the value of higher education.
When enrollment misses the target, the blame often lands squarely on the VP’s desk, even though factors like FAFSA delays, demographic decline, or tuition resistance are far beyond their control.
In Jay’s words:
“It’s like running a marathon where the course changes every mile, and you’re being judged at every checkpoint.”
2. The Endless Marathon of Modern Enrollment
Enrollment management isn’t seasonal anymore, it’s perpetual. Decades ago, fall census marked a pause before planning for the next cycle. Today, recruitment, re-engagement, retention, and remarketing run continuously.
Jay likens it to “crossing the finish line and being told the race just doubled.”
The EducationDynamics 2025 Higher Ed Landscape Report backs this up: 54% of institutions now recruit year-round, using micro-campaigns for transfers, adult learners, and certificate seekers. The role of an enrollment manager has expanded beyond admissions, into analytics, communications, financial aid modeling, and even brand positioning.
3. The Mental Load: Balancing Strategy and Survival
Every enrollment manager wears multiple hats: strategist, therapist, data analyst, and motivator. It’s not just about hitting numbers; it’s about holding the institution’s morale together during tough cycles.
A recent CUPA-HR study found that turnover among enrollment leaders has risen 26% since 2020, with burnout cited as the top reason. Many describe the job as “emotionally isolating.” You’re expected to stay upbeat even when applications are down or technology fails.
Jay captures it perfectly:
“When numbers drop, everyone looks to the VP of Enrollment for answers. But sometimes, it’s not a lack of strategy, it’s just headwinds. And you still have to smile and lead through it.”
Survival, therefore, depends on building what Jay calls strategic endurance: the ability to adapt quickly, stay transparent, and maintain composure under constant visibility.
4. The Systems that Keep You Running
Behind every resilient enrollment manager is a system, built for clarity and speed.
Modern leaders are relying on integrated CRMs, analytics dashboards, and predictive modeling to spot issues early. But technology alone isn’t enough. The best leaders use data to tell a story—to communicate progress to presidents and boards with transparency and context.
For instance, at one university Jay advised, a VP of Enrollment began reporting conversion velocity, the time between inquiry and application, alongside volume metrics. That simple change reframed the narrative from “applications are down” to “we’re improving yield efficiency.”
Actionable intel:
- Audit your data flow: Do you have a single source of truth across admissions, financial aid, and marketing?
- Measure what matters: Report metrics that connect to institutional goals, not just numbers.
- Use automation strategically: Free your counselors from repetitive tasks so they can focus on student relationships.
As Jay puts it:
“Technology doesn’t replace intuition, it amplifies it. But you have to know what questions to ask.”
5. Beyond the Numbers: The Emotional Cost of the Job
There’s an unspoken truth in enrollment leadership, beneath every dashboard is a person running on fumes. The constant performance pressure, coupled with public visibility, can take a heavy psychological toll.
According to Chronicle of Higher Education data, 63% of enrollment VPs report considering leaving higher ed entirely in the next five years. Not because they dislike students, but because the system leaves no room for recovery.
That’s why endurance isn’t just about time management, it’s about emotional sustainability. Jay emphasizes that the best enrollment managers invest as much in their mental health as in their marketing plans. Regular resets, peer networks, and leadership coaching aren’t luxuries; they’re survival tools.
“If you burn out, the team burns out,” Jay says. “Your endurance sets the tone for the whole office.”
6. Leading with Endurance: How to Run the Next Mile
So how do today’s enrollment managers keep running without running out? The leaders Jay has coached over the years share three habits that separate endurance from exhaustion:
- Radical Transparency – They share both wins and losses with their teams. No one can support a strategy they don’t understand.
- Operational Alignment – They connect marketing, admissions, and student success workflows into one continuous student experience, removing silos that waste time and trust.
- Strategic Breathing Room – They build pauses into their annual cycle: retrospectives, data reviews, and professional development days. Those breaks aren’t downtime; they’re what sustain the next push.
As Jay reminds us:
“It’s not about running faster, it’s about learning when to pace yourself, when to sprint, and when to rest.”
7. Looking Ahead: A Profession Redefined
Enrollment management in 2025 is no longer about filling seats, it’s about sustaining institutions, driving mission, and balancing human connection with data-driven precision.
The marathon won’t end soon, but those who learn to run it wisely, supported by technology, transparency, and teamwork, will outlast the storm.
The Endurance Mindset
To thrive in the years ahead, enrollment managers must see themselves not as survivors, but as stewards of resilience and perseverance. The work is hard, but the impact is profound: every student enrolled is a life trajectory changed.
The finish line may move every year, but the purpose doesn’t.
If your enrollment strategy feels reactive instead of resilient, our Enrollment Consulting Services can help you build systems, data flows, and team processes that keep you moving forward, no matter how long the race gets.