UHCL appoints Matt Aschenbrener as vice president of Strategic Enrollment Management
University of Houston-Clear Lake President Richard Walker announced the appointment of Matt Aschenbrener as its vice president of Strategic Enrollment Management, effective May 1. Aschenbrener will oversee the university’s enrollment management efforts to recruit, enroll and a student body reflective of the community.
“Dr. Aschenbrener brings over 25 years of experience and has demonstrated record success in admissions, academic advising, campus tutorial services, financial aid, and other areas,” Walker said. “His extensive experience in higher education, combined with his success in leading strategic enrollment initiatives make him an excellent fit for this role.”
Previous to his arrival at UH-Clear Lake, Aschenbrener was associate vice chancellor for Enrollment Retention at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for 12 years.
“I came to UHCL because I saw that the university has a lot to offer in terms of the academic programs and growth potential for first-time-in-college students, first-generation students and transfer students,” he said. “I’ve been working to develop markets for first-time-in-college students by bringing together high schools, community college leaders, and academic departments who want to recruit students.”
He said he intended to visit the high schools in the region, UHCL’s transfer community college partners, and continue cultivating community partnerships. “It’s important to me that they all see what amazing academic opportunities UHCL has to offer,” he said. “We want to communicate to students and families why this institution is the right place in terms of academic programs, success initiatives, campus life, and affordability.”
In the short term, Aschenbrener said his goal was to continue building out the new Student Enrollment Center, continue communicating effectively to all incoming students, and work with each college and academic departments to grow graduate student enrollment.
“My long-term initiatives include ensuring that our marketing and communications reflects all student populations that we’re recruiting, keep increasing enrollment for first-time-in-college students and transfer students, as well as grow our amazing graduate programs” he said. “There are great academic programs and faculty at UHCL, and we need to connect more with students in the region so we become a first-choice university.”
Aschenbrener will work closely with the Division of Student Affairs, the Division of Academic Affairs, and other stakeholders to align enrollment strategies with the university’s academic mission, goals, and student success initiatives. For more information, visit www.uhcl.edu/president/leadership/vp-strategic-enrollment-management