By Autumn Walden, Editor, AACRAO Connect, Content Strategy Manager, AACRAO
Behind every successful professional development program is a team of thoughtful, experienced leaders guiding the process. In the AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program, our SEM-EP Evaluators are volunteer experts who lend their time and expertise to review Field Visit Reports, Webinar Reports, and Capstone Projects. With at least 10 years of experience in enrollment management and advanced academic credentials, these practitioners ensure that each SEM-EP participant receives meaningful, high-quality feedback.
Let’s meet the two outgoing evaluators, Dr. Andrea Lehmacher and Keir McIsaac, who are wrapping up their service, and welcome the two incoming voices, Kay Eilers and Dr. Necia Martins, in a reflective conversation about what they’ve learned, what they expect, and how they see the role continuing to shape the profession.
To mark this moment of transition, I posed a few questions to all four evaluators to reflect on their journeys and aspirations.
But first, I stepped aside for the outgoing team and the incoming team to chat.
Outgoing SEM-EP Evaluators 2025-2026 Ask: What brought you to this program, and what do you hope looks different at your institution when you leave?
Eilers: I was prompted to investigate SEM EP based on some encouragement from leadership at my campus, with the focus on increasing my level of understanding for how to build and leverage a SEM framework to drive our institution’s enrollment. And I’m hoping it will do just that!
Dr. Martins: This program was recommended by a colleague to help enhance my knowledge in the field more broadly. I feel the field visits and SEM foundations provided me with some great exposure to units where I was less familiar with the work. I felt overall more energized and engaged following the completion of the program and was proud to share this accomplishment.
And Now, a Few Questions from the Editor
I was curious about what drew each evaluator to this role and what they hope to give—or take—from the experience. I wanted to know what compelled them to step into this volunteer role after completing the program, and what they felt proudest of contributing so far. I also asked them about the challenges and opportunities they believe enrollment management professionals should be paying closer attention to right now.
Incoming SEM-EP Evaluators 2026-2027
What motivated you to step into the evaluator role after completing the program yourself, and what are you most looking forward to contributing?
Eilers: I learned so much from the SEM-EP program and recommend it to colleagues regularly. Volunteering my time to serve as a SEM-EP evaluator is a great way for me to give back to this fantastic program while staying connected to the community of learners. Every time I engage a fellow SEM-EP graduate or learner, I learn something new. As a program evaluator, I’m excited to continue my own learning alongside the participants.
Dr. Martins: Stepping into the evaluator role felt like it was a great opportunity and natural extension of my own experience in the program. Having benefited from thoughtful, constructive feedback as a participant and through my academic journey, I developed a strong appreciation for how meaningful evaluation can deepen learning and offer a fresh perspective on a topic. I hope I can create this same impact for others navigating the program. Selfishly, I was drawn to the experience of completing peer reviews for colleagues in the program; those opportunities gave me valuable insights into different approaches, which were beneficial for my own learning and growth.
What I’m most looking forward to is bringing both a participant lens and practical experience to the role—offering balanced, actionable feedback, recognizing growth, and helping participants connect their work to broader impact. I’m also excited to continue learning myself by engaging with diverse ideas and approaches across the cohort
What’s one skill, habit, or mindset you gained from SEM-EP that you think every participant should develop or pay attention to?
Eilers: SEM-EP helped reinforce the importance of building an institutional mindset around SEM. SEM doesn’t happen with one person writing a plan and setting it on a shelf. It takes ongoing, intentional collaboration to drive toward an institution’s enrollment goals. The learning within the SEM-EP highlights this throughout the curriculum. SEM-EP learners will benefit from regularly asking the question of “who else should be in this conversation?”
Dr. Martins: I found the program pushed me to think more holistically and develop a deeper appreciation for areas I had limited exposure to. It also highlighted how differently SEM is applied in the American context, offering a new perspective on how institutional positioning shapes priorities and influences which strategies are pursued.
These insights reinforced the importance of considering the full student lifecycle—from initial awareness to engaged alumni—and how decisions, policies, and practices contribute to that journey. Ultimately, these learnings have helped me ask more thoughtful questions and identify more meaningful, cross-functional opportunities for collaboration.
In what ways do you see professional development programs like SEM-EP shaping the future of enrollment leadership across higher education?
Eilers: SEM as a practice is an ever-evolving practice across higher education. Programs like SEM-EP situate practitioners to continue their learning and development by forming a community of practice to support SEM leaders to stay current in the field.
Dr. Martins: Higher education is evolving rapidly, and programs like SEM-EP help build the foundation and skill set to stay nimble, open and curious about re-envisioning our work. It encourages leaders to move beyond siloed thinking and seek more integrated, student-centered approaches based on data, strategy, and collaboration. SEM-EP provides learners the opportunity to learn firsthand from enrollment leaders, highlight the influence of institutional contexts, and demonstrate practical, real-world application. As higher education continues to evolve, programs like this one can support very practical learning opportunities.
Outgoing SEM-EP Evaluators 2025-2026
What’s one challenge or opportunity you think enrollment management professionals need to be paying more attention to right now?
Dr. Lehmacher: SEM is not one more thing on our plates. It is the work. At its core, it’s about alignment, real cross-functional collaboration, breaking down silos, and holding our campus communities accountable for institutional health and student success. Enrollment doesn’t sit in one office. It belongs to all of us.
And when we actually break down those silos, that’s when things shift. We start looking at our systems, policies, and processes differently. We start asking harder questions about the student experience, not just what we offer, but whether it’s working for the students we’re trying to serve. Today’s students expect more from us, and honestly, they should. SEM gives us a framework to meet them where they are and think more strategically about where we’re headed, especially right now, when the stakes have never been higher.
McIsaac: The 2020s have been a challenging decade for enrollment management on many fronts. In my own work in admissions, I’m finding the need to be more open-minded than ever to proposed changes, interrogate the rationale for why we do things the way we do, and find compromises that still align with our core mandate. In some areas, there’s not a lot of institutional memory for that interrogation piece, so it’s critical to engage your team and colleagues in related units to talk through the impacts of a proposed change.
What motivated you to step into the evaluator role after completing the program yourself, and what are you most proud of contributing?
Dr. Lehmacher: For me, this was about giving back. This program had a real impact on me professionally, and becoming an evaluator felt like the right way to contribute to something bigger. Every institution I evaluate teaches me something. Community colleges, four-year universities, professional schools, and international institutions, our environments are different, but the commitment is the same. We are working hard to serve students and keep our institutions strong.
Coming from both admissions and marketing, this role keeps me connected to the work in a way I value. What I appreciate most is seeing people from across an institution step into SEM conversations and recognize that student success isn’t one division’s job; it takes the whole campus.
And I love seeing institutions invest in their people by sending them through this program. Whether a college is just starting its SEM journey or building on work already in motion, that says something. It says SEM matters. Students matter. And the people doing this work matter.
McIsaac: When I started in the SEM Endorsement Program, I was awarded a SEM-EP scholarship. I am so grateful to AACRAO for that support earlier in my career, and volunteering as an evaluator has given me the opportunity to give back to the program and engage with current learners.
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