Working as an enrollment executive in Catholic higher education, I regularly encounter a sentiment of skepticism around numeric goals, particularly those associated with recruitment and enrollment. This is true, for example, with newly hired admissions counselors, who enter Catholic education with zeal and are surprised to discover that recruitment goals and activity metrics are part of their daily work. Often, the skepticism is positioned as a mission-based objection: “These admissions goals, all this talk about the numbers! That may work in the corporate world, yet we are not in sales! We serve at a Christian organization, where we value people and not just the bottom line. I took this job to help people and serve the Church.”
This perspective assumes a false dichotomy between mission and measurable goals. Of course, an unmitigated pursuit of recruitment targets, or any other numeric goal pursued “at all costs,” is contrary to the mission of any Catholic school. Yet the implication that we should eliminate recruitment goals to focus on mission is false.
Done well, a commitment to clear recruitment goals and reliable tracking of data advances mission, rather than impedes it.
Since my start as an admissions counselor, I have held positions at every level of the college recruitment operation, including stints as the chief enrollment officer at three Catholic colleges/universities. Through these experiences, utilizing data to assess trends and performance has allowed our teams to clarify the goals that would demonstrate we were fulfilling our mission well and the activities we believed would bring about that goal.
In Catholic schools, we can and should set clear, measurable targets that help our staff know their performance expectations. Recruitment staff, for example, should be accountable to meaningful metrics to ensure they are fulfilling their contribution to the mission effectively.
Over the years, one particularly valuable framework for cultivating a data-driven culture rooted in mission is “lag” and “lead” measures. A lag measure represents the ultimate goal, such as enrollment growth or increased student retention. A lead measure, by contrast, consists of the high-leverage actions or activities that we can accomplish to get the lag measure to move.
A friend of mine, Gene, told me a story that illustrates this principle clearly. Now, a remarkably successful business owner, Gene got his start selling small aircraft. When asked about his success early in his career, he shared, “I tried to talk to 100 people a day about buying an airplane, and you’d be surprised how many days I hit that goal.”
Early in his career, Gene’s goal was clear: sell airplanes. That was his “lag measure.” Yet Gene tracked the daily actions within his control (a lead measure) that he believed gave him the best leverage to reach his final goal. This approach is directly relevant to Catholic education—especially in the work of recruitment and retention: tracking actionable steps drives results.
When colleagues express hesitation about numeric goals, asking them to articulate how they would measure success in their role can help bridge the gap. For professionals engaged in recruitment and retention efforts, the question, “What does success look like in this role?” often generates discussion that leads naturally to measurable lag measures like enrollment numbers. Identifying the high-leverage actions that influence those outcomes helps reframe numerical goals as confirmation and tracking of mission-critical work.
Another key practice to developing a data culture is refining how data is presented. A “5-second scoreboard” allows stakeholders to quickly assess whether they’re on track to hit key goals. All parties benefit from visual displays that highlight trends without overwhelming detail. Taking the time to design an intuitive scoreboard will empower teams and confirm you have the underlying data structures from the outset. If you can sketch on a piece of paper the visual chart you’re seeking, then a good database administrator can use that to confirm what data you need to store consistently.
The sharing of charts and visual displays of data provide one opportunity for open collaboration with other Catholic schools. In my career, I have become a collector of visual displays of data, learning from examples from higher education and other industries. If you want to see some of our most successful efforts, send me an email, especially if you’re willing to refine it and share with others in the future.
Additionally, consider sharing recruitment and retention data with other Catholic schools in your diocese. In Minnesota, our private colleges and universities share this data, allowing institutions to compare trends and refine strategies.
Renowned leadership author Brené Brown writes, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Those skeptical of numeric goals argue that they are “unkind,” a cold measure contrary to the true Christian mission. Often, they are fixated on a lag measure, which they have not recognized as a way to track their contribution to the mission. Clearly defined expectations—such as mission-aligned lag and lead measures—enhance clarity and help us fulfill mission.
With colleagues, define missionaligned lag measures
Identify actionable lead measures
Develop simple scoreboards to track progress
Establish data sharing among Catholic schools
Frame data as a tool for mission fulfillment, not a hindrance
Through these steps, a Catholic school can advance in developing a data-informed culture, rooted in mission.
Michael McMahonis the vice president for enrollment management at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.mmcmahon@smumn.edu