by AACRAO · July 1, 2021
We spoke with Seth Marc Kamen, graduate student and educational consultant, and Katie Schwienteck, Associate Registrar for Transfer Articulation at York College Pennsylvania about their thoughts on the upcoming AACRAO Transfer Summit.
by AACRAO · June 11, 2021
Despite the challenges facing learners today, higher education shows its resiliency. The evolving landscape of teaching and learning calls for an explicit connection of coursework and co-curricular activities to skills and employability.
by AACRAO · March 15, 2021
This article seeks to make the case for how relationships are essential to meeting the tapestry of student needs by examining experiences and challenges of several student threads in that tapestry, using both two-year and four-year institutional perspectives.
by AACRAO · March 11, 2021
Parchment, the industry leader in academic credentials management, is launching Parchment Award - CLR Services. This service will enable higher education institutions to design, implement, and issue Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs).
by AACRAO · February 25, 2021
Many researchers have written about strategic enrollment management in the institutional academic context, emphasizing the importance of faculty and staff partnerships in meeting enrollment goals. In a new study, researchers Clayton Smith and Lisa Harris interviewed faculty members and chief enrollment managers at 19 postsecondary institutions about the most effective ways for faculty to be involved in SEM.
by AACRAO · December 18, 2020
Holistic Admissions: Predicting the Likelihood of Student Success combines holistic theories with case studies to illustrate the complete picture of holistic admissions. It provides solid examples of how to implement consistent, legal, and manageable assessments to help in selecting successful students.
by AACRAO · October 21, 2020
AACRAO Consultant Dr. Laura Wankel and Susan A. Ambrose’s book, Higher Education’s Road to Relevance was released in summer 2020.
by AACRAO · October 16, 2020
Getting students to follow through isn’t easy. Whether applying for financial aid, registering for classes, or paying bills, they can seem frustratingly indifferent to requirements and deadlines. And this truism is only exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic.
So, how can you encourage students to take steps toward their academic goals?
by AACRAO · October 5, 2020
Deploying the expertise and experience of AACRAO Consulting, the AACRAO Board is in the final stages of a year-long process of developing a new strategic plan.
Most recently, consultants Stan Henderson and Tomikia LeGrande spent the summer gathering feedback via focus groups with various AACRAO stakeholders, including AACRAO staff and leadership (i.e. PAC Chairs, Program Committee, task force and committee chairs, caucus chairs, and state & regional leaders), and will report their findings to the Board next week.
by AACRAO · October 1, 2020
As higher education professionals, our chief mission is to provide an optimal educational environment. We are enabled to do that if our institution is healthy, a state usually reached when our enrollment meets our expectations. Thanks to the pandemic, our status and our expectations are now a matter of new and uneasy speculation.
by AACRAO · September 29, 2020
Dear Somebody…please let it be you!
Everyone is aware of the recent racial and social injustice events that have taken place in our nation. If you have never heard the names George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, use a simple google search or go back through history to other notable civil rights activists such as Representative John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Martin Luther King, Jr to determine what we are fighting for. Racial inequality tensions escalated this past May with the death of George Floyd and the involvement of four police officers in Minneapolis. Various industries began issuing response statements, and Institutions of Higher Education were not an exception.
by AACRAO · September 14, 2020
Higher education is in the midst of a “test-optional revolution,” according to Michele Sandlin, Managing Consultant, AACRAO Consulting.
“With the College Board and ACT unable to do college entrance exams due to the pandemic, a huge volume of schools are going test-optional,” Sandlin said. “Some are saying that change will be temporary, but a lot of predictions are that test-optional is here to stay.”
by AACRAO · September 3, 2020
Join AACRAO Consultant James Miller, Director of Admissions at Seattle University, on Friday, September 18th from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT as he hosts an AACRAO Coffee Break about how you and your colleagues are meeting recruitment challenges this fall.
by AACRAO · August 31, 2020
In unpredictable times, institutions must be able to plan and respond nimbly. A well-developed Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan can be enormously helpful in this undertaking.
by AACRAO · August 17, 2020
When engaging in Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) planning, we strive for 20/20 vision by utilizing an assessment-rich approach.
by AACRAO · August 11, 2020
Effective change management is essential to successfully implementing Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM). In the latest SEM Quarterly, authors Clayton Smith, Janet Hyde, Tina Falkner, and Christine Kerlin provide an overview of change management in higher education, identifying levels of change management and how to manifest change in institutions.
by AACRAO · August 6, 2020
Higher education’s response to the pandemic and rising social movements is likely to shape institutions for years, even decades, to come. Decisions at this time may have lasting, and sometimes unintended, consequences.
by AACRAO · August 3, 2020
Admit It, the AACRAO admissions podcast, is back with Season 2.
The first episode features Dr. William (Bill) E. Sedlacek and focuses on "noncognitive assessments," a term that is not without controversy. These are non-traditional measures of students' potential to succeed that move away from solely defining "best students" by known scales such as GPA, test scores, leadership, involvement, and accomplishments and instead attempt to assess who students are as people. Many campuses already use a holistic admissions process, which may include gauging a student's positive sense of self, realistic self-appraisal, and more.
by AACRAO · July 27, 2020
AACRAO's Associate Executive Director, Consulting and SEM, Dr. Tom Green was quoted in EdSurge's recent article, "As Colleges Move Away from the SAT, Will Admissions Algorithms Step In?"
by AACRAO · July 20, 2020
In the latest episode of AACRAO's Admit It podcast, host James Miller interviews Dr. William Sedlacek on noncognitive assessment and how it can be used to predict success in higher education. Many institutions have successfully implemented noncognitive assessment as a part of their admissions process. Referred to as holistic or broad-based admissions, this process is a method of identifying and admitting students, beyond evaluation of GPA and test scores, who can thrive at an institution.
by AACRAO · July 14, 2020
Whether one calls it transfer, swirl, mobility, or some new, yet-to-be-seen nomenclature, the concept of students attending multiple institutions, whether simultaneously or for different periods, is no longer new. John Gardner referred to collegiate student transfer as “the new normal” in 2012 and AACRAO held its first transfer conference four years before that. Moreover, with 33% of all undergraduates transferring at least one time during their academic career (NSC 2012), why do institutions still struggle to court, let alone support, this population?
by AACRAO · June 17, 2020
As the world is coping and trying to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities are expanding their current admissions approach by adding holistic measures that present a more “whole” view of who a student is and their ability to succeed. “Holistic admissions” as a term has been around for 20 years, with various definitions as to what additional aspects are being considered in order to provide a more “whole” view of a student.
by AACRAO · June 9, 2020
Registrars are often called the “hub” or “heart” of campus, and for good reason. The registrar’s office is a central, essential component of the institutional ecosystem, touching students at every phase of the academic journey from applicant to alumni.
by AACRAO · June 8, 2020
This month AACRAO's College & University Journal features an interview with Luisa Havens Gerardo, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech, who has served AACRAO as president, vice president for access and equity, chair of the international admissions committee, and member of the nominations committee and the program committee for the Annual Meeting.
by AACRAO · June 2, 2020
Today AACRAO leadership sent out the following message, inviting members to join in an important conversation.
by AACRAO · May 27, 2020
On Tuesday, May 26th, AACRAO Managing Consultant Michele Sandlin contributed to a discussion with three other co-presenters on non-cognitive variables in the holistic admissions process hosted by Common App.
by AACRAO · May 15, 2020
Dr. Tom Green, AACRAO's Associate Executive Director, Consulting and SEM, was recently interviewed by ABC News about colleges' and universities' options for holding classes in the fall while navigating the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
by AACRAO · May 12, 2020
AACRAO staff members are just heading into week four of mandatory telework—most of us haven’t been in the D.C. office since March 16—and, like many of you, we’ve learned a lot about coping with new demands from both work and home life amidst an incredibly stressful and uncertain time.
by AACRAO · April 27, 2020
As higher education institutions scramble to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment for the fall 2020 term and beyond is of great concern. While the shift to online instruction and services went at a breakneck pace, recruiting units, especially those working with high school and transfer populations, are still working to adapt events and interactions that are more personal at this time of the year than at any other. Also, with millions of people now out of work, institutions need to welcome and respond to requests from applicants looking to reskill or retrain for new jobs that may be possible under new social distancing requirements.
by AACRAO · March 23, 2020
In this article, which appears in Volume 7 No. 4 of AACRAO’s SEMQ journal, AACRAO’s Director of Research and consultant Wendy Kilgore, Ph.D., and co-author Gary Orosy, an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Southern Methodist University, explore the ways in which higher education institutions can better attract the students they seek. The authors identify the practices that lead to the highest rates of enrolled students. Universities that utilized a brand-management practice, such establishing a “brand” and being active on social media, are ultimately the most successful, Kilgore found. Click here to explore the entirety of their research.
by AACRAO · March 3, 2020
In SEMQ's Issue 3 from fall 2019, in the article "Starting a New Job in SEM: How to Be Wildly Successful," AACRAO Senior Consultant Dr. Alicia Moore explores the many ways you can start yourself off on the right foot at your new job in Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM).
by AACRAO · March 3, 2020
In this article, Louise Lonabocker, former president of AACRAO, interviews AACRAO Senior Consultant Brad Myers on his lifelong dedication registrar services.
by AACRAO · December 11, 2019
Numerous practitioners and researchers have dedicated time to key concepts supporting successful retention strategies. Certainly Vincent Tinto’s early work on the theory on student departure and Alexander Astin’s (1986) focus on how to best integrate a student within the institution grounds much of this work.
by AACRAO · September 30, 2019
Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost, Alexander Taylor, Assistant Registrar for Communications, and Hannah Schulz, a third-year student at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, co-authored an article in AACRAO’s summer 2019 College & University Journal.
by AACRAO · September 25, 2019
The Operation Varsity Blues criminal conspiracy, as nicknamed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), has overwhelmed higher education admissions offices for the past seven months since it broke in March of 2019. This scandal has been frustrating for the admissions offices because even though the transgressions were not perpetrated by their offices or staff, it has been labeled an admissions scandal.
by AACRAO · September 16, 2019
Most of the American and Canadian higher education infrastructure is based upon the completion of discrete courses in pursuit of an overall credential (certificate or degree). Curriculum is divided into courses, each carrying specific credits, and courses can be combined into any number of possible credentials.
by AACRAO · September 11, 2019
Over the last three years, AACRAO Research has published updated career profiles of three of the most common professions of our members -- Registrars (2018), Chief Enrollment Management Officers (CEMO) (2017), and Chief Admissions Officers (CAO) (2019).
by AACRAO · September 4, 2019
Robust transfer articulation tables save academic advisors and registrar staff an immense amount of time annually. Consider how often we are asked annually how credit will transfer to our institutions. As stackable credentials become mainstream, institutions will begin looking for ways to recruit students with non-traditional education and award academic credit in the hopes the student will matriculate and complete a degree.
by AACRAO · September 4, 2019
As a member of a team, you understand the value of working together and sharing ideas, thoughts, and processes to accomplish a common goal. This collaborative effort is integral to implementing SEM strategies on your campus.
by AACRAO · August 13, 2019
Oftentimes, the relationship between the Registrar and Institutional Research may be nonexistent -- or possibly even adversarial. But collaboration between the two can yield amazing results, as exemplified by the experience at Wichita State University (WSU)
by AACRAO · August 5, 2019
In the July 2019 issue of Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, we authored an article titled “Developing the Two-Way Practitioner-Researcher Loop for Enrollment Management.” In this article, we asserted that enrollment management (EM) officers should continue their efforts to use empirical research findings to guide their professional practice as it prevents EM officers from “shooting from the hip” or trial-and-error forms of professional action.
by AACRAO · August 2, 2019
A state institution serving almost 40,000 students, Utah Valley University enrolls a significant number of new students each year. However, some of their processes were “clunky,” said Andrew Stone, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, and there was a clear need to improve the onboarding experience.
by AACRAO · July 31, 2019
Bontrager and Green (2012) have delineated a structure for Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) planning that has been used successfully on hundreds of campuses. The importance of tying the SEM plan to the institutional strategic plan, building the plan’s foundation on data, focusing on the strategic rather than the shiny are all carefully explained.
by AACRAO · July 30, 2019
In The Gazette’s article, University of Iowa VP warns of 'profound' drop-in student numbers over next decade, the University of Iowa’s Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and AACRAO Senior Consultant, Dr. Brent Gage, discusses the long-term outlook for higher education, which predicts that there will be a large drop in high school graduates nationally by 2029.
by AACRAO · July 26, 2019
SEM Quarterly provides knowledge and insight into the ongoing evolution of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) by bridging the gap between theory and practice.
by AACRAO · July 24, 2019
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s article, ‘Better, Not Bigger’: As Private Colleges Hunger for Students, One University Slims Down focuses on private colleges and their goal to increase enrollment in a time when enrollment numbers are starting to dwindle
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
In November 2018 AACRAO began work on the development of a multi-pronged approach to identify and prepare a diverse group of enrollment leaders to take on leadership roles in Enrollment Management in North America and across the globe. Appropriately named, Leaders in Enrollment Advancing Diversity (LEAD)
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
Inside Higher Ed features an article that includes AACRAO Consultant and Vice President for Enrollment Management at Frostburg State University, Arlene Cash entitled Admissions Push: After May 1. Cash, along with Kristen Bowers, Associate Dean of Admissions at Cazenovia College,
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost, and Alexander Taylor, Assistant Registrar for Communications at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, co-authored an article in AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal. The article titled: The Emerging Role of the Registrar in Enrollment Management
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
AACRAO Senior Consultant Dr. Wendy Kilgore has written an article in AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal titled: AACRAO Research: A Year in Review 2018.
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
In AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal, Special Advisor to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Enrollment Management at New Jersey City University, Jeffrey P. Levine, writes an article titled: Leading Internal Communication from Enrollment Management throughout New Academic Program Implementation.
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
Author and Associate Vice President, Enrollment & Campus Operating Officer for York Technical College, Monique Perry writes an article in AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal titled: Don't Let Your Calling Catch Up with You: The Importance of Self-Care.
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
In AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal, AACRAO Senior Consultant Dr. Jeff von Munkwitz-Smith sits down with the University of Minnesota’s Director of the Office of Student Finance for Academic Resources and AACRAO Past President, Tina Falkner,
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
In AACRAO’s spring 2019 College & University Journal, AACRAO Managing Consultant Michele Sandlin writes an article titled: An Admissions/Enrollment Imperative for Predicting Student Success,
by AACRAO · July 22, 2019
Over the course of the last 14 years, I have both served as a Registrar and conducted several dozen registrar’s office reviews as an AACRAO consultant. It is with this perspective that I offer the following. An external review provides another set of eyes on the complex and far-reaching practice wheelhouse associated with the registrar’s office.
by AACRAO · May 31, 2019
Increasingly our campuses are looking to their enrollment managers to assist with, or lead, their long-term campus enrollment planning, address budgetary challenges, and meet the demands and expectations of your students, Board members, legislature, and the public.
by AACRAO · May 28, 2019
One of the ongoing considerations with FERPA on campus is training. With new staff, faculty and students arriving on a regular basis, people changing roles that might impact their use of or access to student data, and the desire to stay current, training seems to be never-ending. And, to some extent, that’s true. However, that doesn’t mean that it needs to be a daunting task. Taking a planful approach can make all the difference.
by AACRAO · May 24, 2019
The Eighth Annual Groningen Declaration Network (GDN) Meeting was held in the city of Puebla, Mexico, April 24-26, 2019, at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), located in the iconic UNESCO world heritage city of Puebla. It was a bilingual event, with simultaneous interpretation being offered in English and Spanish, for the first time since its establishment.
by AACRAO · May 17, 2019
In “Being Strategic with Multicultural Recruitment,” a session at AACRAO 2019, Monze Stark-Magana, University of Idaho; Alphonso Garrett, Virginia Tech; and Michael Sanders, Missouri Southern State University, shared ways they’ve helped their schools increase multicultural student enrollment.
by AACRAO · May 10, 2019
In the latest SEMQ, a team of researchers at Wayne State University (WSU) shared the results of a pilot program in which academic programs developed portfolio review processes and made admissions decisions using these protocols.
by AACRAO · May 8, 2019
In AACRAO’s April 2019 issue of SEM Quarterly, AACRAO Senior Consultant Janet Ward writes an article titled: “Building Blocks for a Successful Career: My Journey”. Ward talks about her many experience within the higher education community and the lessons that she has learned.
by AACRAO · May 1, 2019
Sometimes when I’ve been on a campus for a consulting engagement, someone, usually the Provost, will ask me if the institution is using its SIS effectively, if there are system functions that aren’t being employed, or if there are software tools they should consider.
by AACRAO · April 24, 2019
In this well-attended session at the 2019 AACRAO Annual Meeting, Karen Jarrell & Jennifer Wondracek from the University of North Texas College of Law began with an overview of the U.S. Department of Education’s role in protecting student privacy with their oversight of the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act commonly known as FERPA.
by AACRAO · April 17, 2019
The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) are joining forces on a new study that builds on a decade of ground-breaking research on prior learning assessment (PLA).
by AACRAO · April 1, 2019
Tina DeNeen, former University Registrar at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will join AACRAO’s executive staff on May 1, upon the retirement of long-time Associate Executive Director Janie Barnett.
by AACRAO · March 29, 2019
When first introduced, dual enrollment and early-middle college programs were often implemented as a strategy to increase the availability of post-secondary education to under-represented and underserved populations (i.e. students of color and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds). However, in fact, those taking greatest advantage of these programs are overwhelmingly white and from more economically privileged households.
by AACRAO · March 26, 2019
“Many of the dimensions we focus on in GEM are exactly the same as in SEM: how do you identify and connect with students; how do you walk them through the funnel so they apply and yield; once they’re on campus, how do you retain them through graduation; and how do you maintain a connection with them as alumni, as well?” said Dennis Livesay, Dean and Professor in the College of Engineering at Wichita State University (WSU).
by AACRAO · March 25, 2019
The LEAD initiative, launched at the 2018 Strategic Enrollment Management Conference, will take a multi-pronged approach to identifying and preparing a diverse group of senior enrollment management officers (SEMO) to take on leadership roles in Enrollment Management in North America and across the globe.
by AACRAO · March 20, 2019
Colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada are increasingly becoming ethno-culturally and linguistically diverse which is partially due to increasing enrollment of international students. Currently 1.4 million international students choose to study at U.S. and Canadian postsecondary educational institutions, which increased by 7.1 percent between 2015 and 2016 (Canadian Bureau of International Education, 2016; Institute of International Education, 2016).
by AACRAO · March 5, 2019
An evidence-rich environment is critical to sound decision making and is the foundation upon which all Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plans ought to be built. According to Harrington, Hoffhehr, and Reid (1998): "Numbers help you answer the three basic questions concerning every decision: (1) Am I getting the results I want? (2) Is there too much variation in the results I get? and (3) Are the results I get stable over time."
by AACRAO · March 1, 2019
The new guide on holistic admissions, Understanding Holistic Review in Higher Education Admissions, Guiding Principles and Model Illustration (College Board/Education Counsel), cites AACRAO Consulting’s Michele Sandlin and William Sedlacek on issues around intersectionality of multiple factors, such as character, perseverance, and other noncognitive variables.
by AACRAO · February 18, 2019
AACRAO is seeking volunteers for the Editorial Board of SEM Quarterly Journal.
by AACRAO · February 15, 2019
In the most recent episode of AACRAO's Admit It podcast, James Miller interviews Michael Benitez, University of Puget Sound Chief Diversity Officer and nationally recognized diversity and inclusion expert, on how admissions offices and diversity offices on college campuses can work more closely and effectively together. They discussed such intriguing and intractable questions as:
by AACRAO · February 11, 2019
AACRAO and the National Student Clearinghouse have long been important partners in helping institutions comply with federal regulations and on other significant higher education initiatives.
by AACRAO · February 8, 2019
In AACRAO’s January 2019 issue of SEM Quarterly, Executive vice president of Access, Learning and Success of Cuyahoga Community College, Karen Miller writes an article titled: “Leading through Change to Increase Success and Completion”.
by AACRAO · February 4, 2019
AACRAO’s January 2019 SEM Quarterly features the article “Excess Credit Accumulation: An Examination of Contributing Factors for First-Time Bachelor’s Degree Earner”, which discusses how AACRAO partnered with a large public university in the southwestern United States to observe a multi-year data set and to complete a student survey in an effort to gain an understanding into variables that contribute to excess credit accumulation at graduation. To access the full study and results, click here.
by AACRAO · January 28, 2019
AACRAO’s College & University and SEM Quarterly Journals are seeking manuscript submissions for 2019. SEM Quarterly, published by AACRAO, addresses the emerging dynamics of strategic enrollment management, including: executive-level leadership, leading strategies, internationalization, research, academic orientation and current trends.
by AACRAO · January 25, 2019
In the second episode of AACRAO's Admit It podcast, host James Miller talks with Dr. Genny Beemyn, Director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts, about the needs of Trans students on campus and in the admissions process.
by AACRAO · January 23, 2019
"3-Minute Mentor" is an occasional Connect column delivering bite-size career advice from higher education leaders, writers, and researchers. If you or someone you know can offer insightful professional development tips, please contact the Connect editor.
by AACRAO · January 9, 2019
Presenters Stephen Hundley and Boyd Bradshaw propose a GREAT organizing framework to ensure colleges are following an Enrollment Management model as opposed to an enrollment services model. GREAT, which stands for Graduate, Retain, Engage, Admit, and Tell - helps shift the SEM focus away from solely admissions/recruitment to involve the entire campus as stakeholders.
by AACRAO · January 2, 2019
“If you’re anything like me, you start your day by reading the very latest news in the higher education world: Inside Higher Ed," said James Miller, the host of AACRAO's first podcast, Admit It, in his introduction to the inaugural episode with his first guest, editor and co-founder of that publication, Scott Jaschik.
by AACRAO · December 21, 2018
Before this inaugural session at the AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference, I had never participated in any type of “speed dating” activity. I had heard of speed dating and understood the basic concept: You have a certain amount of time (3-5 minutes) to meet several prospective “dates.” The Ten Minute Mentoring session at the conference was modeled on this concept.
by AACRAO · December 17, 2018
AACRAO’s November 2018 College & University Journal features the article "Innovation to Inquiry: Creating Additional Value from Credential Expansions”, which discusses the importance of innovation in the work of the registrar and how sometimes incremental innovation may inadvertently amount to disruption, as was the case with Elon University’s implementation of the Visual Experiential Transcript (Visual EXP).
by AACRAO · December 12, 2018
Karen Miller, Provost and Executive Vice President of Access, Learning and Success at Cuyahoga Community College, and Dr. Brent Gage, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at The University of Iowa, led attendees in discussing how to take SEM home and make a difference - how to apply principles learned to make changes for our students, colleagues, and community.
by AACRAO · December 4, 2018
Montgomery County Community College (MC3) is a two-year college located in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania -- and there are about 75 other colleges and universities in the area.
by AACRAO · November 28, 2018
SEM attendees were fully engaged at the Tuesday morning plenary session presented by Janet Hyde, President of Academic Strategies and former faculty at a number of Canadian institutions. Her topic, Post-Secondary Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, generated thinking and conversation about planning for the academy of 2030.
by AACRAO · November 19, 2018
With a warmly enthusiastic crowd of over 120 SEM professionals in attendance, AACRAO launched the LEAD Initiative at a Monday night reception at the 2018 SEM Conference. The reception was hosted by AACRAO Vice President for Access and Equity Tiffany Robinson, Assistant Vice Provost/University Registrar at the University of Kansas and AACRAO SEM Advisory Board Member Dr. Tomikia LaGrande, Vice Provost of SEM at Virginia Commonwealth University, along with a diverse set of enrollment leaders.
by AACRAO · November 16, 2018
Lone Star College (LSC) is a public community college located in Houston, Texas. LSC has six campuses with an enrollment over 90,000 students, 16,000 students enrolled at the Lone Star College Montgomery (LSC-M) campus.
by AACRAO · November 9, 2018
The ability to manage change amidst complex cultures is key to successful SEM efforts, writes Diane K. Walleser, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Borough of Manhattan Community College.
by AACRAO · November 5, 2018
Five days. Six cities. Two countries. Eight educational institutions. Travel by taxi, bus, ferry, train, and on foot (50,000+ steps). Five AACRAO members and ten NAFSA members received a whirlwind introduction to the German educational system sponsored by the Baden-Württemberg government and hosted by the University of Konstanz.
by AACRAO · October 31, 2018
Have you discovered the joy of listening to a great podcast, maybe while you’re cleaning, or driving, or exercising? Like books and films, podcasts come in many flavors -- nonfiction, fiction, educational, history, self-help, professional development, and more. And as with other media, it’s nice to have a handful of reliably excellent titles to choose from depending on your mood and listening context.
by AACRAO · October 24, 2018
In less than a month, hundreds of your professional colleagues will be gathering to collaborate and learn about all aspects of strategic enrollment at AACRAO's annual SEM Conference.
by AACRAO · October 22, 2018
"Institutions typically invest heavily in the first-year experience to promote persistence, yet colleges are also experiencing a pattern of attrition in the second year," observed Althea J. Sterling, Assistant Dean for Student Services at Touro Law Center. "The second year is viewed as a period in which students encounter increasing academic, developmental, and social demands, yet the institution tends to provide less support relative to the first year."
by AACRAO · October 19, 2018
The University of Victoria is in the process of finalizing their strategic enrollment management (SEM) plan, and Jim Dunsdon, Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs, is excited about the way the process has developed and brought the campus together.
by AACRAO · October 15, 2018
To achieve organization-wide strategic enrollment management (SEM) plan buy-in, two- and four-year institutions are deploying campus-wide SEM teams. A well-functioning team can greatly increase the chances of your plan’s success.
by AACRAO · September 11, 2018
Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost and Alexander Taylor, a Student Information Systems technician, at Elon University, along with Jesse Parrish, Financial Manager in the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University co-authored an article in the August 2018 issue of AACRAO’s College & University Journal. The piece, titled "Want to Expand Global Education? Ask the Registrar!”,
by AACRAO · September 6, 2018
Traditionally, the campus tour is a powerful recruitment tool -- especially for institutions with unique and beautiful campuses, such as the University of Oregon in the scenic Willamette Valley in Eugene, OR.
by AACRAO · May 16, 2018
Too often, higher education professionals look to Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) simply as a recruitment plan. While this perspective overlooks the planning and organizational framework supporting effective SEM work, it also overlooks SEM’s role with successful retention planning.
by AACRAO · May 4, 2018
Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program (SEM-EP) director Christopher Tremblay chatted with AACRAO Annual Meeting attendees at his session covering AACRAO’s SEM-EP program. The program is a self-paced professional development program which promotes industry competency and readiness.
by AACRAO · May 3, 2018
All too often institutions focus efforts, strategies, and resources on the front end of the admissions funnel, thinking that the recruitment and marketing emphasis is the greatest factor in yield and although these areas are crucially important, the same attention and allocation of resources must also be applied to the operational and follow-up emphasis, otherwise spending on recruitment and marketing may be for naught.
by AACRAO · May 2, 2018
There are several opportunities to become more involved in the profession, AACRAO staff shared at an Annual Meeting session on Monday afternoon.
by AACRAO · April 30, 2018
Online degree programs bring unique challenges for faculty, staff and students. In a recent article in College & University, Rich Simpson, Registrar for the Online and Professional Studies Division at California Baptist University, calls on colleges and universities to do more to support online students’ success by rethinking advising.
by AACRAO · April 24, 2018
As colleges and universities entered into the first year of the new filing timeline for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), there were a number of questions and concerns swirling in the minds of enrollment managers as they headed into the 2017 admission cycle.
by AACRAO · March 30, 2018
Dr. Rodney Parks, Registrar and Assistant to the Provost at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, and Jesse Parrish, Financial Manager in the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario and previously the Assistant Registrar for Communications at Elon University co-authored an article in AACRAO’s March 2018 College & University Journal.
by AACRAO · March 19, 2018
Today's admissions officers need to have mastery over a wide variety of knowledge and techniques in order to help form the entering student populations at colleges and universities.
by AACRAO · March 9, 2018
Stepping into her role as Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at Buffalo State in 2014, Erin Alonzo wanted to deepen her understanding of SEM. First, she signed up for the 2015 AACRAO SEM Conference, as well as preconference workshops.
by AACRAO · March 2, 2018
The how, who, what and why of transfer credit practices are making an increasing mark in the higher education arena. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, nearly 10 percent of college students attended more than one institution within the 2014-15 academic year, and 37 percent transferred to another institution within a six-year period
by AACRAO · February 28, 2018
AACRAO and NASPA invite colleges, universities, and systems interested in developing and implementing Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs) to apply for participation in the CLR project.
by AACRAO · February 23, 2018
Members make work groups work
Through its work groups, AACRAO has provided guidance to its membership on transfer initiatives, disciplinary notations on transcripts, and gender identity (coming soon). These reports are invaluable to maintaining the integrity of our members’ day-to-day work and keeping them up to date on best practices.
by AACRAO · February 14, 2018
The first UARRM (University Alliance for Refugee and at Risk Migrants) convening was held February 2, 2018, at Rutgers University. UARRM is a group of researchers, practitioners and policymakers seeking to harness the potential of university communities for the empowerment and protection of refugees and at-risk migrants in the United States.
by AACRAO · February 2, 2018
Given the rapidly-changing landscape of higher education over the last decade, many registrars are looking to the future to try to anticipate and understand our profession direction in order to gracefully and efficiently influence and adapt to those changes when they occur.
by AACRAO · January 26, 2018
What began as a series of articles in AACRAO’s journal, College and University, has become a collection of insights and reflections on a variety of mentoring styles and programs. Mentorship in Higher Education: Practical Advice and Leadership Theories features a multitude of wisdom and anecdotes offering multiple perspectives on and experiences with mentorship.
by AACRAO · January 22, 2018
"Field Notes" is an occasional Connect column covering practical and philosophical issues facing admissions and registrar professionals. The columns are authored by various AACRAO members. If you have an idea for a column and would like to contribute, please send an email to the editor at connect@aacrao.org.
by AACRAO · January 19, 2018
AACRAO Managing Consultant Michele Sandlin will be speaking at IMS Global Learning Consortium’s annual Summit on Digital Credentials, at Arizona State University in Scottsdale, Arizona, February 27 – 28, 2018.
by AACRAO · January 5, 2018
The members of Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars (PACRAO) gathered on November 5-8 in Spokane, Washington, for their Annual Meeting. The meeting themed “Shining a Light on Innovation” was PACRAO’s 91st annual meeting. Our meeting is always a highlight of the year for the PACRAO membership.
by AACRAO · January 2, 2018
It was the summer of 1978, and I was preparing to teach my first semester. I was just hired as a full-time psychology faculty member at Jordan College, a small Wesleyan Methodist, private college in Cedar Springs, Michigan. The main campus at that time included earth-brimmed buildings operating off of wind power, solar energy.
by AACRAO · December 22, 2017
"Field Notes" is an occasional Connect column covering practical and philosophical issues facing admissions and registrar professionals. The columns are authored by various AACRAO members. If you have an idea for a column and would like to contribute, please send an email to the editor at connect@aacrao.org.
by AACRAO · December 18, 2017
Post-secondary institutions who are highly engaged in Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) planning understand the value of participation by both Student Affairs (i.e., Student Life, Residence, Advising, Career Centre, Counselling, Athletics, Judicial Affairs, and Accessibility Services) and Enrollment Services (i.e., Recruitment, Admissions, Financial Aid, Scheduling, Timetabling, Registration, Records and Graduation).
by AACRAO · December 15, 2017
In a SEM Conference session titled “Working Smarter, Not Harder,” Medicine Hat College representatives shared one foundational element of SEM planning: understanding institutional culture. Upon taking her position at Associate Vice President of Student Development, Irlanda Price was tasked with creating a SEM plan -- but realized she first needed to evaluate the history of the institution.
by AACRAO · December 11, 2017
Complete College America (CCA) has announced the recipients of the organization’s 2017 Seal of Approval. The award, established in 2016, recognizes software tools that most effectively promote college completion and student success through alignment with CCA’s Game Changer strategies. This year’s winners are EAB Navigate and Starfish by Hobsons.
by AACRAO · December 8, 2017
After 48 years in our current location of One Dupont Circle, AACRAO will be transitioning to a new location in June 2018. At the direction of the Board of Directors, AACRAO has entered into a contract to purchase an office in Washington, DC.
by AACRAO · December 4, 2017
As a profession, enrollment management is approximately 30-35 years old. As the domain of an enrollment manager grows in size and complexity, a new role on campus has emerged: the Chief Enrollment Management Officer (CEMO).
by AACRAO · December 1, 2017
AACRAO Senior Consultant Howard Shanken and David Sauter, University Registrar at Miami University, have written an article in AACRAO’s November 2017 College & University Journal titled: " Office of the Registrar: Mission and Vision".
by AACRAO · November 28, 2017
According to surveys, the top reason that AACRAO members cannot get the professional development they deserve is a lack of institutional financial support. As budgets tighten and the supply to encourage career and institutional development diminishes, AACRAO wants to step in and keep the tools for success available to all.
by AACRAO · November 27, 2017
Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost, Jess Parrish, Assistant Registrar for Communications and Jack Fryer, a third year undergraduate collaborating with the Office of Registrar at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, co-authored a study in AACRAO’s November 2017 College & University Journal.
by AACRAO · November 22, 2017
In an article published in The Atlantic, titled: “How Campus Racism Could Affect Black Students' College Enrollment” AACRAO’s Associate Executive Director for Consulting and SEM, Dr. Tom Green, is quoted warning against concluding that the declining yield rates of black students applying to UVA means they are less interested.
by AACRAO · November 20, 2017
At the 2017 SEM conference, presenter Dr. Liz Gross of the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation offered insights about how to leverage social listening for the benefit of branding, enrollment, and awareness. The session was entitled, "Beyond Likes and Shares: How Social Listening Can Impact Enrollment Management Outcomes."
by AACRAO · November 17, 2017
At the AACRAO SEM Conference on Monday, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Vice Provost of Enrollment Management Diane Walleser, along with colleagues from the admissions, registration and financial aid departments, presented a session on “Managing the Messy Middle of Change.”
by AACRAO · November 13, 2017
At the 2017 SEM Conference in Phoenix, the SEM Conference advisory board met to discuss this year’s content and look ahead to 2018 planning. At their meeting, the group was riveted by a recently-released AACRAO study on the the career path of the Chief Enrollment Officer. That study indicates that there will be almost 750 upcoming vacancies in the field of enrollment management.
by AACRAO · November 10, 2017
Since President Obama introduced the 2020 goal to increase the percentage of citizens with college degrees, completion rates and how to improve them have been at the forefront of higher education institutional agendas. AACRAO researchers Wendy Kilgore, Ph.D., Director of Research at AACRAO and Jacob I. Wilson, Research Intern, set out to understand how certain completion initiatives are impacting student completion rates.
by AACRAO · November 6, 2017
At the AACRAO SEM meeting on Monday, Tara Sprehe*, of Clackamas Community College in Portland, Oregon, facilitated a discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing SEM professionals in community colleges.
by AACRAO · November 3, 2017
AACRAO Senior Consultant Wendy Kilgore and Vice President of Research at Hobsons, Ellen Wagner, have written an article in AACRAO’s September 2017 College & University Journal titled: "Dual Enrollment from two points of view: Higher Education and K-12".
by AACRAO · October 27, 2017
Dr. Rodney Parks, University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost, Jess Parrish, Assistant Registrar for Communications and Blake Whitesell, a former undergraduate research assistant in the Office of Registrar at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, co-authored an article in AACRAO’s September 2017 College & University Journal.
by AACRAO · October 20, 2017
In preparation for its 27th Annual SEM Conference, AACRAO has released a special edition of Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. Over the past five years, SEMQ has highlighted the work of enrollment management practitioners, from distinguished thought leaders, as well as young, emerging researchers in the field. This special issue includes selected articles from the past five years of the peer-reviewed journal, presenting core SEM concepts including:
by AACRAO · October 16, 2017
AACRAO strives to facilitate the move towards more data driven decision making models by providing a venue for content experts to share their findings with the higher education community. At the 2017 Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Phoenix, see how cutting-edge research is changing the SEM landscape.
by AACRAO · October 13, 2017
Randall Langston, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), is a big believer in the effectiveness of well-utilized data.
“Our success at Brockport-SUNY [Langston’s previous institution] helped us increase enrollment,” he said. “We ended up with record enrollment, a record number of first-time students, and record number of transfer students -- all achieved in an environment where students were leaving the state.”
by AACRAO · October 9, 2017
Pre-Conference Workshops
SEM Institute (Additional Fee) – Sunday, October 29 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Writing a SEM Plan (No Fee) – Sunday, October 29 – 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Afternoon Half-Day Workshops (Additional Fee) – Sunday, October 29 – 2:00 – 4:45 p.m.
by AACRAO · October 6, 2017
The pressure to find new students keeps ratcheting up and our enrollment marketing strategies have been evolving quickly to keep pace. With demographic shifts, declines in domestic high school graduation rates, budgetary pressures, and—more positively—the growing importance of internationalization to prepare our students for careers in the global economy it is not surprising that international enrollment on almost every college and university campus in the United States and Canada has been rising (in many cases quite dramatically) over the past decade.
by AACRAO · October 6, 2017
In a statement issued on October 6, three higher education associations set forth guidelines on student transfer and the awarding of college credits.
AACRAO, together with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the American Council on Education, base their guidelines on the “essential principle” that every college and university determines its own approach to the transfer of credit.
by AACRAO · September 26, 2017
Starting a new job can lead to excitement, nervousness, and every emotion in between. For many, it’s an easy transition, but what if you find yourself in over your head?
by AACRAO · September 18, 2017
Since Tennessee first began “Tennessee Promise” in 2015, a two-year program that provides free tuition at a Tennessee community or technical college, five other states along with two California cities have passed and implemented similar free tuition programs to encourage and facilitate college attendance and success.
by AACRAO · September 12, 2017
According to Inside Higher Ed, the University of Rochester is raising questions about transcript oversight for homeschooled students after revoking an admissions offer. Associate Executive Director of AACRAO Consulting and SEM, Dr. Tom Green is quoted in the article, offering possible solutions for a more broad review homeschoolers’ admissions information, including curriculum, transcripts, GPA and test scores.
by AACRAO · September 11, 2017
What is your enrollment goal? That number is one you likely have at your fingertips. But if that’s as deep as your data goes, you’re missing key decision-making information.
“Many institutions focus on the big macro number, like ‘we need 2,000 new students,’” observed Janet Ward, senior consultant with AACRAO Consulting.
by AACRAO · September 8, 2017
Invest in your team’s potential
Strategic enrollment management professionals understand that targeted enrollment goals and student support initiatives require teamwork across all levels of an institution. At AACRAO's Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference, we invite you to participate in the Team Experience and bring key SEM concepts back to share on your campus
by AACRAO · September 1, 2017
Every campus is different, but there are still essential strategies that can be applied to building an incoming class.
According to Dr. Brent Gage, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, University of Iowa, building a class requires both science, such as quantitative analytics, and the art of relationship-building.
by AACRAO · August 28, 2017
In an article published in Inside Higher Ed, SUNY Fredonia speaks about the difficulty it previously had with enrollment and how this year’s enrollment of the freshman class has increased by 25 percent. Among the factors that SUNY Fredonia attributes to this increase is the role that AACRAO Consulting played through our Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) planning services.