While Ad Astra has been ‘monitoring’ registration as a best practices model for some time, the importance of reviewing in progress registration has been heightened by the unprecedented enrollment fluctuations that may occur.  Institutions can use Ad Astra’s application, Monitor, strategically to ensure offerings meet student and institutional needs.  Start by considering your theories of enrollment for the upcoming terms (expected increase, decrease, or flat) and let that guide your behavior as you examine the strategies below.   

1. Utilize the filter functionality to narrow the focus to courses that are most important to you.  This could be based on your theories of enrollment, your role within your institution, or both. 
2. Sort the list of courses by enrollment ratio to review courses on the higher or lower ends of the spectrum. 
3. Select ‘Notify Me’ on courses with expected higher enrollment or if you are concerned that a course may be cancelled later in the registration cycle.  This functionality will allow you to receive an email when the 85 percent enrollment ratio threshold is exceeded or if a course fails to fill to 25 percent enrollment ratio.  You will also be notified if seats or sections change after the start of registration. 
4. Consider where you are in the registration process timeline.  Review the key data including our newest data features – section level details and historical enrollment trends
   Key points for review are: 
   1. After ‘early registration’ ends: Consider priority registration, part-time faculty hiring/review, available seats for incoming student populations, upper level courses with low enrollment especially those that are optional requirements 
   2. Prior to and after each orientation: Consider numbers of students for each orientation, courses available prior to registration, students who did not get a complete schedule, unregistered continuing students, no-show admitted students 
   3. Course review deadline (date before the start of the term where decisions should be made): Consider the timing for this deadline (early enough for students and faculty impacted by cancellations), low-enrollment sections, high enrollment courses (adding seats at this point, if possible, can be better than adding sections) 
   4. Collaborate with key stakeholders by tagging them so you can act as quickly as possible to address situations based on the timeline above.   
   5. Communicate with students and advisors when changes are being made to the schedule. 

Navigating enrollment fluctuations is no easy task, but Monitor and the strategies above can help you confidently make decisions that impact student success for the better.  

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