Listening to the Field Through a 2-Way Communication Loop of Enrollment Practitioners and Researchers: What Community College Enrollment Professionals Want from Higher Education Research

Demographic pressures, tuition dependence, and technological change make collaboration between enrollment researchers and practitioners increasingly important. Yet limited mechanisms allow community college enrollment professionals to communicate their experiences and research needs, and academic traditions often privilege abstract scholarship over practice-based knowledge. This study uses results from a short AACRAO survey to identify current enrollment management challenges, develop a practitioner-defined research agenda, and suggest avenues for research that better reflect operational realities. Qualitative analysis examined ninety-one responses from enrollment practitioners representing 82 two-year colleges nationwide. Practitioners most frequently requested research on the effectiveness of retention initiatives, shifting student demographics, curriculum and program development, enrollment management trends, and enrollment technology. The findings indicate that community college professionals need research that is timely, context-sensitive, accessible, and actionable. They also demonstrate the value of a two-way practitioner-researcher communication loop: practitioners identify pressing problems and share contextual knowledge, and researchers investigate those issues and return findings through channels practitioners use. Strengthening this reciprocal relationship can produce scholarship that is both academically rigorous and better aligned with the evolving needs of community college enrollment management, while also supporting more evidence-informed decisions in institutional practice.