Vice President for Enrollment and Cooperative Education at Kettering University

Kettering University is a national leader in experiential STEM and business education, integrating an intense academic curriculum with applied professional experience. We inspire students to realize their potential and advance their ideas by combining theory and practice. Every aspect of our work is guided by our True Kettering values;

Respect, Integrity, Creativity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

Kettering University is pleased to announce a presidential cabinet position, Vice President for Enrollment and Cooperative Education. The university seeks a dynamic, experienced, and strategic leader representing Kettering's mission to prepare students for lives of extraordinary leadership and service by linking transformative experiential learning opportunities to rigorous academic programs in engineering, computer science, and management.

Located in Flint, Michigan, Kettering is a private, nonprofit university with a rich history in experiential cooperative education. Kettering is a nationally-ranked university with programs in engineering, mathematics, science, and business. Its students graduate with an extraordinary ability to link what they learn in the classroom to real-world, paid, corporate experiences. A Kettering degree gives its graduates the knowledge to be globally competitive and the soft skills they need to be truly successful. The vice president will serve an institution with a storied history that is positioned for growth and has a demonstrated commitment to innovation across all facets of the organization.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The essential duties and responsibilities for the Vice President of Enrollment and Cooperative Education include the following:

Strategic Enrollment Leadership

Lead the enrollment management functions of admission, financial aid, and cooperative education with vision, creativity and an entrepreneurial outlook on new opportunities and emerging challenges.
Ensure data integrity throughout the Kettering University enrollment lifecycle; foster a culture of excellence in the best practices of leveraging data and sharing of information, including data collection, analysis and reporting.
Lead the division in using data to inform strategic decisions, establish and monitor key performance indicators, benchmark progress and program outcomes, monitor trends, identify opportunities, and adjust direction and tactics.
Develop and implement annual strategic plans to ensure recruitment and admission objectives, achievement of enrollment goals.
Ensure budgets, policies, practices and actions produce successful student recruitment and admission results, consistent with the overall mission of the university’s goals and objectives.
Provide proactive direction and recommendations on strategic enrollment planning and organizational operations with forethought on innovative strategies; optimize the work of the university community to recruit retain and graduate students in an effective and efficient manner.

Admission

Grow and sustain undergraduate and graduate enrollment through dynamic recruitment and retention strategies.
Recruit and support special populations through establishment of strong relationships as well as internal and external pathway programs and articulation agreements.
Lead diversity, access, and student success initiatives to grow diverse student applicant pools.
Provide direction to the admissions team in evaluating, implementing and leveraging technology to increase operational efficiency and meet the expectations of students and families.
Broaden student recruitment efforts to offset the effects of demographic trends.

Financial Aid and Financial Acumen

Develop and execute merit and aid leveraging strategies which reflect institutional enrollment goals; optimize revenue generation and manage net tuition revenues.
Efficiently manage financial resources, including institutional financial aid and the utilization of all divisional budgets, directing changes as needed to maximize effectiveness.
Work closely with university leadership to demonstrate the complex relationship between value proposition, price point, discount rate, and net tuition revenue.
Ensure the integrity of all financial aid programs; create and update policies on compliance, ensuring accuracy and complete regulatory compliance; and develop workshops and programming focused on financial literacy and college affordability.

Cooperative Education

Strategically design, implement, and assess targeted activities for academic divisions, programs, and special student populations with co-operative education, career services, and/or corporate relations.
Utilize data to manage pipelines and make effective decisions; research, interpret and analyze data to design, produce, and assess co-op placement and enrollment opportunities.
Bring together employers, prospective students, and current students together within the Kettering educational framework, while meeting and exceeding enrollment goals.
Establish relationships and represent the university on and off-campus with key constituents.
Lead the coordination and development of experiential education curriculum and student learning activities including online modules, work reflections, and immersion experiences.
Establish partnerships, which support the cooperative education model, create opportunities for students, and enhance the reputation of the institution.

Partnership, Collaboration and Communication

Engage the campus community in participating in enrollment management strategies and initiatives, through a newly established Enrollment Management Committee and in other ways.
Partner with University Marketing and Communications in developing marketing strategies which reach, influence and compel prospective students and their families as they consider a Kettering education.
Develop relationships with faculty and staff across the university to support the enrollment and retention of students and foster relationships of trust and empowerment within the community.
Partner with academic leadership to understand and address capacity and qualifications specific to individual academic programs.
Collaborate with advancement, alumni, community organizations, and community partners to develop pathways for a diverse community of students, to enhance Kettering’s stature, and best utilize resources.

Mentorship & Supervision

Provide direction and supervision to support the professional admissions staff including employee relations issues.
Identify and implement training and tools needed to meet/exceed enrollment goals.
Develop and manage a highly effective and motivated team to support and drive strategic enrollment goals across multiple dimensions, performance reviews, disciplinary action, coaching, etc.
Supervise, train, mentor and inspire a professional enrollment management team; support the growth and development of staff and knit together multiple high functioning teams in their shared work through effective communication and appreciation for how each team contributes to the division’s success.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND CHARACTERISTICS
The successful candidate must have a bachelor’s degree. An advanced degree is preferred as is previous experience in STEM recruitment initiatives. Additionally, this role requires a significant number of years of directly related work experience in an enrollment leadership position.

The Vice President must also demonstrate the following qualifications, skills and abilities.

Ability to inspire, coach, and motivate a talented staff; illustrate and relate how tasks and tactics contribute to the greater strategy, and enable the team to articulate the value proposition.
Deep knowledge of cyclical revenue generating processes and successful track record of revenue generation.
Familiarity with private, competitive admission operations and experience managing complex operations.
Ability to manage multiple diverse priorities and projects.
Detailed knowledge of demand generation and pipeline management techniques.
Experience with business process analysis and improvement tools is a plus.
A record of dynamic collaborative, proactive and visionary leadership.
Excellent interpersonal communication, relationship building, management, problem solving and decision-making skills; strong speaking and writing skills with the ability to effectively articulate a vision to all constituencies, including prospective students and their families.
Exemplary professionalism in all aspects of the position.
Broad and deep knowledge of the higher education industry including knowledge of student recruitment and contemporary marketing trends.
Demonstrated ability to use creative and strategic thinking to effect change.
Capacity to work well with a variety of constituents including students, faculty, staff, and other senior leadership.
Mastery in the use and analysis of enrollment data, sharing information and reports regularly, transparently and appropriately with campus partners.

COMPENSATION
The expected compensation range for this position is based on the skills and experience of the selected candidate; reach the NES search consultants to discuss the expected range of compensation. In this important leadership role, the successful candidate will have an active on-campus presence.

KETTERING UNIVERSITY
Kettering University, formerly known as General Motors Institute (GMI), is a Flint, Michigan-based private, nonprofit university recognized as one of the nation’s premier engineering, technology, and business leaders in higher education. The curriculum uniquely integrates classroom learning with experiential cooperative employment opportunities which alternate every other term throughout a student’s 4.5 years at Kettering.

Kettering consistently ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s listing for elite specialty schools. The University has more than 27,000 square feet of lab and research space used by faculty, students and industry collaborators, and houses the first and only FIRST Robotics Community Center on a college campus in the United States. The Kettering/GM Mobility Research Center, a vehicle and mobility systems development proving ground and outdoor research facility, puts the University and Flint at the forefront of autonomous vehicle research, development, safety, and technology. According to a 2019 analysis of federal data ranking 4,500 schools nationwide, Kettering University degree holders have the highest lifetime return on investment (ROI) in the state of Michigan. The University celebrated its centennial year in 2019.

Kettering enrolls approximately 2,000 students in the College of Engineering, the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts, the School of Management, the Graduate School, and Kettering University Online. It offers nine undergraduate degree programs within a cooperative/experiential learning model that incorporates theory and practice in an alternating academic term/work term schedule. Kettering academics focus in areas of advanced mobility, new energy vehicles, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and sustainable manufacturing and materials. Masters’ level programs include seven degrees offered in residence and online. More than 120 full-time faculty; who specialize in fields ranging from cancer research to renewable energy, fuel cells, and entrepreneurship; teach, conduct research, and advise industries.

History
A group of visionaries from Flint founded Kettering University in 1919 as The School of Automobile Trades. It opened under the direction of Major Albert Sobey with the goal of training technical and management talent for the rapidly growing automobile industry. By 1923 the school had grown to offer a full four-year cooperative education program enrolling more than 600 full-time students, and in recognition of this growth Major Sobey rechristened it the Flint Institute of Technology. Three years later and appreciating the importance of cooperative education, the General Motors Corporation acquired the school, renaming it the General Motors Institute (GMI).

For the next 56 years, GM operated the school as GMI, and it became for the company one of its best sources of creative and successful engineering and managerial talent. By 1945 the Institute had added a fifth-year thesis requirement and had evolved into a full degree-granting university with a unique educational model built upon an ongoing and strong commitment to cooperative education.

In 1982, GM divested itself of ownership of the school, and it became the private, non-profit University it is today, however first under the name GMI Engineering & Management Institute (GMI-EMI). Shortly thereafter the institution began offering Master’s-level graduate programs to both on and off campus students. On January 1, 1998, GMI-EMI changed its name a final time to honor Charles Kettering (1876-1958), an inventor, an industrialist, and an early and strong proponent of professional cooperative education.

The decade between 2011 and 2021 marked a remarkable, strategic turning point for both Kettering and the community of Flint, Michigan. During this time the University established the four academic colleges; the College of Engineering, the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts, the School of Management, and the Graduate School. In addition to bolstering its finances, launching Kettering Global, and improving campus facilities and infrastructure, Kettering supported transformation in the surrounding community through its partnership with the University Avenue Corridor Coalition, its ownership of Atwood Stadium, the creation of an attractive new Gateway entrance on Chevrolet Avenue, and in the building of the MRC, a 3.25-acre test pad built to racetrack specifications with, stadium-style lighting, fencing and landscaping for the research and development of autonomous vehicles, vehicle safety standards, hybrid and electric vehicle technologies, and more.

In 2022, Kettering celebrated the culmination of its largest fundraising campaign, Boldly Forward, with the opening of its new Learning Commons. The building, part of Kettering’s master plan, transformed both the campus and the community. The creative, state-of-the-art space provides opportunities for collaboration, learning and socialization for students, faculty, staff, and co-op partners. The Learning Commons has brought vibrancy to both the physical campus, and the student experience offering a 200-seat auditorium; a 15,000-square-foot Maker’s Space; 1,600 square feet of rooftop space with hammocks and additional seating; an art gallery; and a meditation room.

Today as Kettering University, the school continues this historic tradition, and marked its centennial year in 2019. Over that proud 100-year history, Kettering University has become one of the country’s premier STEM institutions and is known around the world for educating great and successful leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, scientists, and business people.

Academics
Kettering University offers bachelor’s degrees, post bachelor’s certificates, and master’s degrees. Through the College of Engineering, the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts, the School of Management, the Graduate School and Kettering Global, the University offers nine undergraduate degree programs and 13 graduate programs at the master’s level. All of Kettering’s undergraduate degree programs are completely integrated with the co-operative education program, beginning in the first year. Each term, whether engaged within a classroom guided by professors, advisers, and fellow students or employed by one of nearly 500 co-op companies, students follow a cyclic process to gain valuable experiences.

Students choose a major from nine degree programs that emphasize our core strengths in advanced mobility, new energy vehicles, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence and sustainability: Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Engineering, Management, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering. Each major is complemented by the core curriculum from Kettering’s Liberal Arts, Natural Science, and Mathematics departments. In addition, a large number of Kettering’s students take business and management courses in Kettering’s School of Management. As the cognitive abilities throughout their four- and-one half years deepen, the benefits from core courses are realized. The Senior Leadership seminar allows seniors to discuss core issues of leadership and ethics, drawing upon both academic and work experiences. Kettering fully prepares its students for their roles as leaders of their professions and their communities.

Leadership
Dr. Robert K. McMahan, the University’s seventh president, has led Kettering since 2011. Under his leadership, the University has experienced extraordinary success by important metrics:

The quality of its student body and faculty.
Record levels of financial support from alumni, foundations, corporations, friends, and grant makers.
New and renovated facilities and state-of-the-art technology that supports teaching, learning, and research.
The impressive success of its graduates.
An array of new academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programs.
Significant contributions to Flint’s transformation.

Outcomes
No other institution in the world offers a cooperative education/experiential learning program that is as robust and intentional as Kettering’s. Every undergraduate spends half of her or his time engaged in experiential learning (either in a co-op setting off-campus or an applied setting on- or off-campus) and the other half of his or her time understanding the theory behind that practice and reflecting—with the guidance of faculty members—on that experiential learning experience.

Every Kettering undergraduate completes a graduate-level senior thesis that combines faculty-led guidance, class and lab work, hands-on working experience, and a focused study topic relevant to the experiential learning experience.
Kettering emphasizes the importance of aesthetic understanding through its Humanities Arts Center, the sculptures exhibited on campus, and the partnership with the Flint Institute of Arts (flintarts.org) and Flint Institute of Music (www.thefim.org). These partnerships provide opportunities for Kettering students to participate in fine arts programs taught by professionals.
Kettering graduates earn advanced degrees from the best graduate and professional programs in the country and across the world.
Kettering’s alumni include over 1,000 individuals who are currently presidents, CEOs, or C-level executives.
Kettering has relationships with more than 400 corporate partners, providing extraordinary opportunities for cooperative and/or applied experiences for current students and an array of opportunities for post-graduate education for the employees of these corporations.
Kettering provides its students with an abundance of opportunities for global experiences.

Rankings/Points of Pride

One of the Best 389 Colleges in the country | The Princeton Review | 2023
One of the Best Midwestern colleges | The Princeton Review | 2023
Bronze medal rating as a military-friendly school | Military Friendly® | 2022-23
No. 3 — Best Value Colleges in Michigan | Niche | 2023
No. 11 — Best Small Colleges in Michigan | Niche | 2023
No. 11 — Top Private Universities in Michigan | Niche | 2023
No. 1 — Graduates’ starting salaries in Michigan | SmartAsset | 2022
No. 3 — Best Value Colleges in Michigan | SmartAsset | 2022
No. 3 — Most Innovative Regional Universities Midwest | U.S. News & World Report | 2023
No. 12 — Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs | U.S. News & World Report | 2023
No. 14 — Best Mechanical Engineering Programs | U.S. News & World Report | 2023
No. 13 — Best College for Veterans Among Regional Universities | U.S. News & World Report | 2023
No. 19 — Programs to Look For: Co-ops/Internships | U.S. News & World Report | 2023
No. 11 — Top Entrepreneurship Under 10,000 Students | The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur | 2022
No. 48 — Top 50 Entrepreneurship programs | The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur | 2022

Mission
Kettering University prepares students for lives of extraordinary leadership and service by linking transformative experiential learning opportunities to rigorous academic programs in engineering, science, mathematics, and business.

Pillars of Success
Optimized Growth in Enrollment and Programs - Kettering has an extraordinary ability to attract top talent, whether it's award-winning students or world-class faculty members. We will expand our enrollment intentionally through strategic financial aid packages and fixed-tuition guarantees to attract and retain a more diversified student population. We will aim our efforts at students and families who value private, experiential and applied learning.

Global Leadership in STEM Education - Now is the time to focus the global talent conversation on what Kettering does best - deliver an education that couples theory and practice better than any other institution in the world. We renew our commitment to experiential and applied learning in collaboration with our extraordinary faculty and industry partners to deliver amazing classroom and applied research experiences.

Community Vitality - The City of Flint and the surrounding area are important attributes of the Kettering experience. It is imperative that we actively engage in the economic renewal of our city and region by fueling innovation and entrepreneurship in our graduates and by collaborating with our educational partners in the region.

Engaged Stakeholders - The University is only as strong as our relationships with alumni, corporate partners, educators, neighbors, and friends. We will strengthen a culture of engagement and giving with all our stakeholders to support Kettering's mission.

Vision
Kettering University will be the first choice for students and all our partners seeking to make a better world through technological innovation, leadership and service.

Values
Kettering University’s values take on the form of our North Star, True Kettering.

Respect: for teamwork, honesty, encouragement, diversity, partnerships with students.

Integrity: including accountability, transparency and ethics.

Creativity: fostering flexibility and innovation.

Collaboration: across disciplines and with all partners.

Excellence: in all we do.

Cooperative Education Program
No other institution in the world offers a co-operative program as robust and intentional as Kettering’s. The approach to its entire academic program is grounded in the integration of theory and practice in unprecedented and demonstrably successful strategies. Today, Kettering's Co-op model produces some of the most successful leaders and entrepreneurs in multiple leading industries. Co-op programs are educational models that allow students to work while attending classes and help students apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world contexts, balancing academic theory with practical work experience. At Kettering, the university co-op intensive experience begins in the first year, and from there students alternate terms spent working and in class.

Learning as students, earning as professionals, Kettering’s undergraduates rotate between the classroom and real-life work experiences in 12-week terms throughout their time at Kettering. The co-op program offers students a significant head start over any students from competing schools. Amazingly enough, Kettering student’s lifetime earnings are on average over $814,000 over any other school in the state. With hard work, diligence and access to Kettering’s wide-reaching network of employer partners, students can earn income and test drive a career before graduation.

Facilities
Kettering supports its students with cutting-edge facilities. Kettering's General Motors Mobility Research Center puts them at the forefront of the autonomous vehicle industry. This 21-acre, state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle testing track—the only one of its kind on a college campus in the country—provides students, faculty, and industry partners the opportunity to conduct research and development on autonomous vehicles, vehicle safety standards, and hybrid and electric vehicle technologies. The just-opened Learning Commons at Kettering represents a new model for university buildings and has already gained national attention for enhancing and inspiring learning through collaboration, ideation, socialization, and fun. This technology-rich building, with no classrooms or offices, has transformed the learning experience of students and the teaching experience of faculty, through open spaces that encourage spontaneous interactions among students and faculty.

Student life
Kettering students make the most of their time outside of their studies and cooperative employment. With Kettering’s relatively small student body, combined with its wide selection of clubs and organizations, students readily forge new friendships and find a community on campus. Whether they are looking to broaden skills, deepen passions, or expand social horizons – or even fulfill all three – they can find the experience they are looking for at Kettering University. At Kettering, extracurricular life can be as rewarding as a field of study.

Students can choose from more than 40 on campus organizations that enable them to socialize, make friends and develop additional technical and leadership skills. They can join a competition team such as Formula SAE, Auto Drive, Esports or intramural sports – or get involved in groups with a cause, such as the Society of Women Engineers, the Black Student Union or Pride/Rainbow Alliance. Involvement in Greek life is popular with students; other student activities offered include student government, campus ministries, choral groups, concert band, dance, international student organization, Model UN, radio station, and student newspaper.

In addition to the many clubs and organizations that will help students dive into their interests and develop leadership and even technical skills while making friends, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs advances Kettering University’s commitment to diversity by providing support services to enable multicultural students to make a smooth transition to campus life and engage in meaningful activities to promote their intellectual, social, emotional and professional development. The office promotes success for multicultural students through pre-college programs, academic services and support, collaboration with faculty, staff and leadership and various other services at the University.

Learn more about Kettering University by visiting www.kettering.edu.

Location
Flint, the largest city and county seat of Genesee County, Michigan, is located about 66 miles northwest of Detroit. The state's 12th largest city, Flint was founded as a village by fur trader Jacob Smith in 1819 and grew into a major lumbering area during the nineteenth century. From the late 1800s to the mid-twentieth century, the city was a leading manufacturer of carriages and, later, automobiles, earning it the moniker “Vehicle City.” General Motors (GM) was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for GM’s Buick and Chevrolet divisions. Since then, Flint & Genesee county have been known for its connection to the automobile industry. Back to the Bricks, a week-long classic car show, is one of its most popular annual events.

Around the area, residents can look forward to the Alley Fest, the Flint Jazz Festival, 80s in the Hole, and Flint Drop Fest for live entertainment and highlighting local and national talent. Professional and semi-professional sporting events bring together fans of ice hockey, soccer, and golf. The HAP Crim Festival of Races offers walkers and runners a one-of-a-kind opportunity to tour historic Flint neighborhoods and race down Saginaw Street. Vintage cars proudly drive down Saginaw Street’s bricks during the annual Back to the Bricks event. Community events like Montrose’s Blueberry Festival, Davison’s Festival of Flags, or Flushing’s Candlewalk showcase each town and welcome all to join in the fun. Fall and winter continue to bring an abundance of events, from the Fall Harvest Festival at Applewood to the Flint Cultural Center’s Holiday Walk and Christmas at Crossroads Holiday Magic.

A storied past and an innovative approach to the future drives Flint forward and Kettering University is an important partner in the renaissance of Flint. Although the economy of Flint has historically been tied to the automobile industry, it has seen significant diversification over the decades and Flint entrepreneurs have provided new life and energy to the city. No other city of Flint’s size can boast similar cultural and social resources; the Flint Institute of Art, Flint Symphony Orchestra, the Flint Institute of Music, the Sloan Museum, the Flint Farmers’ Market, and several colleges and universities contribute to a rich social fabric. A vibrant array of dining, entertainment, and lodging options now enliven the walkable Flint city center.

For more information about Flint, Michigan, visit https://www.cityofflint.com/

TO APPLY
NES, a higher education search firm specializing in enrollment management searches, is assisting Kettering University in their search for a Vice President of Enrollment & Cooperative Education. To arrange for a confidential conversation or to nominate someone for this position, please contact Catherine Capolupo (catherine.capolupo@nessearches.com), Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com) or Mary Napier (mary.napier@nessearches.com). To apply, send 1) a resume, 2) a detailed letter regarding your interest in the Vice President position at Kettering University, and 3) contact information for five professional references by email to: kettering@nessearches.com. For best consideration, submit materials by September 29, 2023; the search will remain open until the position is filled. The expected start date will be in the late fall of 2023. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted.

Kettering University, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action.

Kettering University is deeply committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation including gender identity or expression, disability, religion, height, weight, genetic information, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions except where religion, sex, or age are bona fide job related employment requirements.

Discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sex, including marital status, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran, special disabled veteran, recently separated veteran or other protected veteran is prohibited by federal and state statutes as amended, including Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1978, the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

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