BUSINESS OPERATIONS xxxxx Parmelee Hall is home to 580 students including the Arts and Creative Expression Community and Global Village International Experience Communities. PHOTO COURTESY OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY Legos Anyone? How to collaborate with enrollment management to maximize occupancy Occupancy management on a college or university campus can best be described as putting together a 3-D puzzle annually. Managers of this task are stretched to assemble a thousand pieces, see the big picture, and be nimble all at the same time. They ask tough questions like how do we increase and maintain our occupancy in lean years, and how do we prioritize who gets housing in years when we are over capacity? Whatever the case may be, a critical component 30 KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS STICK TALKING in this article By Carolynn Komanski and Kathryn Magura to effective occupancy management is the relationship between staff in housing and staff in the enrollment management office. This office is responsible for predicting the rates of enrollment for each incoming class. Factors including high school graduation rates and retention from first year to second year at an institution are critical to ensure having a bed for each student. Residential overflow is defined as a housing department's addition of more housing for additional students after achieving its standard budgeted capacity. The additional revenue from the overflow does not come without a cost. Additional students require more resources (space, furniture, utilities, food, etc). Making an adjustment such as this is a department-wide effort that requires support from furniture Occupancy Interpret and apply data pertaining to occupancy to decision making. Develop partnerships with other institutional personnel for access to information and collaborating on plans.