Featured Speakers
Sunday, November 8
Pre-conference Workshops
8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 8
Pre-conference Workshops
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 8
Pre-conference Workshops
1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Plenary Speakers
Thomas G. Mortenson
Tuesday Breakfast Presentation
Tom Mortenson is Senior Scholar at The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education http://www.pellinstitute.org/ in Washington, D.C. and an independent higher education policy analyst living in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Mortenson's policy research focuses on opportunity for postsecondary education and training and the ways public policy fosters or impedes access to that opportunity. He has special concern for populations that are under-represented in higher education. His studies have addressed academic and financial preparation for college, access, choice, persistence, attainment, and labor force entry of college graduates. He is particularly interested in public and private finance of higher education opportunity and the enrollment consequences of the cost-shift from taxpayers to students that has been underway since 1980. He has been employed in policy research and budget analysis roles for the University of Minnesota, Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois State Scholarship Commission, and the American College Testing Program.
Currently, Mortenson is editor and publisher of Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY, a monthly research letter devoted to analysis and reporting on the demographics, sociology, history, politics and economics of educational opportunity after high school. He provides consulting services on higher educational opportunity policy to state and national organizations, and makes presentations on opportunity throughout the country.
Jamie P. Merisotis
Tuesday Luncheon Presentation
Jamie P. Merisotis is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lumina Foundation for Education, one of the nation's 45 largest private foundations. L umina employs a strategic, outcomes-based approach in pursuing its mission of expanding college access and success, particularly among low-income, minority, and other historically underrepresented populations. Before joining Lumina in January 2008, Merisotis founded and served 15 years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy, one of the world's premier education research and policy centers. He previously served as executive director of the National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education, a bipartisan commission appointed by the U.S. president and congressional leaders. Merisotis also helped create the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps), and has served on numerous national and international boards of directors, including Scholarship America, the European Access Network in London, and Bates College in Maine.
Cynthia Board Schmeiser
Closing Plenary Presentation
As President of the Education Division at ACT, Cynthia B. Schmeiser is responsible for leading and coordinating the research, development, marketing, sales, and client support of all assessment instruments associated with ACT's educational programs. Her duties include supervising research, development, and marketing staff; planning, evaluating, and advancing new and existing programs; designing and implementing applications of technology in assessment; and planning and overseeing the implementation of the corporate strategic plan. Schmeiser is responsible for the coordination of the activities of all staff members and resources of Research, Development, and Educational Services to assure the timely and efficient delivery of ACT's educational programs and services.
Prior to her present position, Schmeiser served as Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Vice President of Development, and Assistant Vice President of the Research and Development Division at ACT. Schmeiser has served as President of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME); as a member of the Board of Directors of NCME; as chair of such NCME committees as Testing and Test Use, Membership, 2002 Career Award, Annual Award, and Brenda Loyd Dissertation Award; and as chair of the NCME committee that developed the NCME Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement. She has served on the editorial boards for numerous publications and has published on such topics as: standard setting, ethics in testing, educational policy, test development, classroom assessment, and large-scale assessment. She has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Education, the Board of Directors for the Diversity Pipeline Alliance, NCCEP/GEAR UP Evaluation Council, NGA-Gates National Advisory Committee, among other committees focused on P-20 improvement. She received her master's and doctorate degrees in Educational Measurement and Statistics from the University of Iowa.
Director, SEM Conference and AACRAO Consulting
Bob Bontrager
Bob Bontrager has 25 years of experience in enrollment management at all types of institutions. His areas of expertise include creating successful enrollment management organizations, strategic planning, recruitment and communications, financial aid, and net revenue strategies. In addition to directing the SEM Conference, Bontrager is Director of AACRAO Consulting, providing leadership to a cadre of 35 consultants as they help colleges and universities achieve leading-edge improvements in strategic enrollment management, student services, and institutional effectiveness.
Coordinator, Four-Year Institutions
Jay Goff
Jay W. Goff is the Vice-Provost and Dean of Enrollment Management at Missouri University of Science and Tech nology. With over 15 years of experience in university enrollment, strategic planning, and communication programs, Goff believes in building a team-oriented and data-driven workplace that stresses service-focused student success plans. His mission-centric approach has achieved record enrollments, retention, and graduation rates.
Goff has been active in helping higher education professionals and students develop leadership skills and engage in strategic planning. He has written articles and presented workshops at many regional and national programs, mostly focusing on the values of team building and training, quality student-service systems, and data-driven planning. He has worked with over 30 public and private institutions throughout the United States, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, China, Sri Lanka, Oman, and Malaysia. Goff's consulting has focused on the use of operational audits and benchmarking data to assist institutions in improving student success and recruitment rates.
Coordinator, Two-Year Institutions
William Serrata
William Serrata currently serves as the Vice-President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management for South Texas College. He is responsible for leading all areas within the Division of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, which include Admissions & Records, Counseling & Advising, Student Retention Services, Financial Aid, Student Information Centers, Student Welcome Centers, Student Outreach Services, Student Assessment Centers, Career Services, Job Placement, Special Programs, Student Judicial Affairs, Student Life & Wellness, and ADA Services.
The Commissioner of Texas Higher Education has appointed Serrata to serve on the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee. He currently serves on the Workforce Education Leadership Committee and has served on the Executive Committee for the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. He has presented at numerous national conferences as well as state conferences on subjects including strategic enrollment management and student development. Serrata was awarded the South Texas College Presidential Jaguar Excellence Award in 2006, the Pecan Campus Employee of the Year Award in 2005, and most recently was inducted as an honorary member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. His expertise includes strategic enrollment management, Hispanic student access and success within higher education, and student services' role in facilitating student success.
Mr. Serrata holds a Bachelor's Degree from Texas A&M University – College Station, a Master's Degree from The University of Texas at Brownsville, and is currently completing the requirements for a Doctorate of Philosophy in Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University – College Station.