SEMQ Volume 12, Issue 1 (April 2024)

Understanding the institutional and demographic factors that contribute to
student retention, persistence, and success and applying what we know to
enrollment management is essential if we are to continue enhancing the student
experience and achieving our postsecondary educational objectives. This issue
of SEM Quarterly speaks to how current SEM practitioners are
increasing our understanding of these topics and what we can do to enhance our
practice.

Current research points to academic course failure using two contrasting
narratives, one negative and the other hopeful. Candice Wilson-Stykes, through
the use of descriptive phenomenology and qualitative secondary analysis,
examined students’ perspectives on failing a course and calls on higher
education to increase its understanding of the complex context that surrounds
course failure.

While enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in
postsecondary education have been increasing, AI/AN students have historically
experienced lower persistence and retention rates than other ethnic groups.
Lisa Azure, Sheridan McNeil, Leah Woodke, and Monte Schaff describe how one
tribal college, United Tribes Technical College, leveraged data to address
challenges to student persistence.

Higher education practitioners have long held that first-year student support
programs enhance student success and retention. John Haller and Darby Plummer
share results from a quantitative study at the University of Miami that saw
student retention increase by eight points for first-year students who
participated in GPAid, a holistically-focused, first-year student transition
program that incorporated academic advising sessions, academic workshops, and
counseling center education alignment with financial aid persistence
requirements.

Challenges related to workload, staff morale, conflicting values, staff
turnover, and student satisfaction often impact staff well-being and the
quality of learner services. Lisa Perry and Erin Webb provide a comprehensive
exploration of the transformative journey undertaken by the University of
California, Merced’s enrollment management team to reshape its organizational
culture. Practical steps for developing a centralized service model are
presented.

Tensions often can be observed between central and academic units when
institutions engage in enrollment planning. Angelique Saweczko proposes a new
enrollment planning model that can be used to navigate shared responsibilities
by building and developing relationships. The Enrollment Relationship Model
supports strategic thinking and highlights the importance of campus
relationships and partnerships and how different units can work together to
support enrollment goals and be used to develop action plans.

John Soltice provides us with a look into the new book,
Strategic Enrollment Planning: A Dynamic Collaboration (Third Edition), which expands on the previous two editions. It places SEM planning into a
diversity, equity, and inclusion framework, and speaks to the changing
economic, social, and political realties exacerbated by a multi-year global
pandemic.

Successful enrollment management practitioners need to have a broad knowledge
and skill set and well-developed, cross-campus relationships that support
student retention, persistence, and success.

Happy reading.