The Missing CEMO: Presidential Perspectives and Strategic Enrollment Management in the California Community Colleges

Article Abstract

Related Issue:

SEMQ Volume 14, Issue 3 (October 2026)

Fifty years after enrollment management emerged as an organizing framework, this grounded-theory study examines why California community colleges rarely appoint chief enrollment management officers. Interviews with sixteen presidents identified limited role awareness, entrenched structures, distributed accountability, fiscal and governance concerns, and uncertain return on investment, revealing barriers to SEM’s evolution.

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Article Type

SEMQ Article

Competency

Leadership, Organizational Management, People & Team Management, Student Success & Enrollment Management

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Author(s)

Dan Predoehl, Ed.D., is a higher education leader whose work sits at the intersection of strategic enrollment management, student success, equity, and institutional design. He earned a Doctorate of Education in Community College Educational Leadership from San Diego State University, a Master of Education in College Student Affairs, and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and International Studies. With more than 20 years of experience across public and private higher education, Dr. Predoehl brings a practitioner-scholar perspective to enrollment leadership in community colleges. His current research focuses on how effective SEM leadership can strengthen enrollment performance, improve equity outcomes, and align institutional structures to achieve student and institutional success.

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