Advancing Indigenous-Rooted Strategic Enrollment Management at TCUs

Tribal Colleges and Universities engaged in the Cultivating Native Student Success (CNSS) initiative with the American Indian College Fund are advancing strategic enrollment management (SEM) both as individual institutions and collectively as a peer learning network. This work is focused on creating sustainable, generative, and Indigenous-rooted SEM practices for TCUs, with opportunities to build and deepen SEM plans grounded in each institution’s cultural values, mission, and community context. The AACRAO SEM Conference offers a unique opportunity for TCU staff to come together to share learnings, engage in professional development on SEM topics, and strengthen rural and tribal college visibility and credibility as institutions of excellence within the broader AACRAO community.

In partnership with AACRAO, this half-day preconference session will convene TCU staff to share SEM practices and learnings with peers and partners who understand the TCU context. The session will highlight emerging findings from the CNSS evaluation of SEM at TCUs and the CNSS theory of action that informs Indigenous-rooted SEM. Members of TCU SEM committees will have dedicated time to share their current SEM plans in a collaborative workshopping environment, offer feedback to one another, and examine how institutional priorities are reflected in SEM policies at their campuses. As part of this process, participants will consider how enrollment data can inform campus policy decisions, clarify SEM priorities, and support culturally grounded approaches to Native student success. The workshop will also provide space to deepen contextual SEM knowledge while continuing efforts to use the shared SEM language created by TCU staff committed to Indigenous-rooted SEM, connecting foundational SEM concepts with the CNSS theory of action and the lived institutional contexts of TCUs. Participation in this session is limited to TCU enrollment managers and SEM committee members, American Indian College Fund program officers, and the AACRAO consultant supporting this work.