Emerging SEM Practices and Perspectives from Beyond the United States

Clayton Smith, Ed.D., is Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor and Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University where he teaches in the Graduate Diploma in SEM program. Dr. Smith previously held senior enrollment management positions at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, Tallahassee Community College in Florida, and the University of Maine at Augusta.

Known for his focus on comparative enrollment management, Dr. Smith has conducted collaborative research on the distinctive qualities of enrollment management in the United States and Canada, enabling educational leaders from both countries to compare and share best practices. Dr Smith has, with colleague Susan Gottheil, co-edited SEM in Canada: Promoting Student and Institutional Success in Canadian Colleges and Universities. (2011) and The Effectiveness of SEM in Canada: Reflections from the Field (2022). His recent research focuses on the faculty role in SEM, how change management impacts successful SEM institutional implementation, and Canadian enrollment leaders’ reflections on the effectiveness of SEM in Canada.

Dr. Smith is a leader in the field of enrollment management, with special emphasis on the areas of institutional SEM readiness, implementing SEM, enrollment planning, change management, international student affairs, and student success and retention. He has worked at a variety of higher education institutions, including residential and commuter, rural and urban, and two-year and four-year schools, and has consulted for AACRAO Consulting at more than thirty colleges and universities.

Dr. Smith holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine, an M.A. in Political Science from Drew University, an M.P.A. in Public Administration from the University of Maine, and an Ed.D. in Higher Education from Florida State University. He is a senior consultant with AACRAO Consulting and Editor-in-Chief of Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly.

Phil Ollenberg is a SEM leader and educator specializing in system, process, and workforce transformations. He serves as Associate Registrar at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and as an Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University. Through his career, he has held roles in finance, marketing, and enrollment management at post-secondary institutions across Western Canada.

Dr. Ollenberg’s work focuses on modernizing and transforming enrollment functions, including system transitions, staff renewal, and institution-wide planning. He has led multiple organizational and operational restructurings, resulting in improved enrollment outcomes and stabilized revenue streams.

An active conference speaker and media contributor, Dr. Ollenberg regularly presents applied, action-oriented research on change management, systems modernization, and the evolving role of enrollment management in Canadian contexts. His leadership and research interests center on how institutions adapt their processes, technologies, and workforce models to meet shifting student and market demands.

Dr. Ollenberg holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership and Management from Taft University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Regina.

Shaimaa Hassanein is a Graduate Enrollment Management and Assessment Senior Manager at the American University in Cairo. Hassanein is responsible for developing assessment models, metrics, and SEM plans and implementation procedures. She also identifies and communicates assessment measures for graduate programs performance and creates data visualizations, mapping, and stories. Moreover, she consults graduate program directors on the best practices to manage students’ enrollment, retention, and satisfaction. In addition, she develops models for the successful graduate students’ study journeys and initiates the integration of new skills and principles such as lifelong learning, design thinking, AI, and data literacy. Furthermore, Hassanein generates the AUC graduate crisis management plan and SEM plan and oversees and follows up on its implementation.

Hassanein has published articles, presented at conferences, and delivered workshops and consultancy services that offer assessment frameworks, digital readiness, and enrollment management strategies and implementation techniques to reimagine higher education.

Nada Al-khaladi, M.A., is a higher education leader at Keyano College in Alberta, Canada, where she provides leadership across Registrar Services and Institutional Research. With experience spanning SEM, institutional research, student affairs, academic administration, and executive leadership, she has held progressively senior roles supporting student success, institutional effectiveness, and organizational transformation.

Al-khaladi has also served in acting academic executive leadership capacities, contributing to strategic planning, governance, enrollment management, and institution-wide decision-making. She holds a M.A. in Higher Education Administration and Leadership and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Enrollment Management from Royal Roads University. Her professional practice and research focus on SEM, leadership development, organizational change, data-informed decision-making, and student success within postsecondary education.

Drawing on experience gained across multiple countries and higher education systems, Al-khaladi brings an international perspective to enrollment management and institutional leadership. Her current scholarly interests explore the application of SEM within the Canadian context, leadership capacity building, and sustainable approaches to institutional transformation in higher education.