Influencing the Mindset of High-Risk Students Early in the College Experience

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Article Abstract

Related Issue:

SEMQ Volume 8, Issue 3 (October 2020)

The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) implemented a plan in 2019 to improve the mindset of at-risk students with the goal to increase their overall success. In developing their plan, BMCC’s Enrollment Management team explored behavioral science research in order to gain a greater understanding of the sociological and emotional challenges that students face as they begin their college journey. Several strategies were successfully implemented to improve communications and relationships with students.

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Topics

Communications, Student Success

Article Type

SEMQ Article

Professional Proficiency

Enrollment Management

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Author(s)

kasper-l--md Lisa Kasper is the Director of Admissions and Outreach at Borough of Manhattan Community College, overseeing the recruitment and processing operations as well as the International Student Services Office. Prior to her time at BMCC, she served as Director of Admissions at Ocean County College (New Jersey), Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Montclair State University (New Jersey), and Manager of Enrollment at the Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY). She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Montclair State University and a master’s degree in English and Comparative Literature from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has worked in college admissions for 26 years and was a college writing instructor for ten years.

walleser-d--md Diane Walleser, Ed.D., is Vice President for Enrollment Management at Borough of Manhattan Community College, which serves 26,000 students as part of the City University of New York system.
Walleser oversees the offices of admissions, financial aid, the registrar, and enrollment services.

Previously, she served as Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services at Columbus State Community College (Ohio) and as Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Madison
Area Technical College (Wisconsin). In 2013, Walleser received AACRAO’s SEM Award of Excellence for her leadership in strategic enrollment management at two-year institutions. Prior to beginning her work in higher education, Walleser spent
fifteen years in private industry in finance and brand management leadership roles.

Walleser has an Ed.D. in higher education leadership from Edgewood College (Wisconsin); an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a bachelor of science in business administration from
Viterbo University (Wisconsin), and an associate of applied science in finance from Western Technical College (Wisconsin).

waters-k--md Kristin Waters, Ed.D., served as the Director of Enrollment Services at Borough of Manhattan Community College from 2017–2020 where she managed the Panther Station, the one stop enrollment center focused on registrar, admissions, and financial aid inquires. She also oversaw the Contact Center that manages enrollment and bursar related calls with the goal of offering wrap around student services to increase satisfaction for BMCC’s 26,000 students. She now serves as the Assistant Dean of Student Services for The Graduate School of Education, Bank Street College. In this role, Kristin is responsible for implementing a one stop service center for financial aid, registrar, and bursar student needs, creating a positive student experience for enrollment needs. Kristin holds a B.A. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Education from Virginia Tech, an M.B.A. from Capitol College, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Frostburg State University. Her dissertation focused on teleworking in higher education.

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