Joel P. Speiss

Joel P. Spiess, MS, serves as Chief Enrollment Operations Officer and Executive Director of Student Financial Services at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). In this role, he provides strategic, visionary leadership and oversees the leaders of five key departments: Student Financial Service Center, Office of Financial Aid Administration, Office of Student Scholarships, Registrar’s Office, and Systems & Data Analysis.

Spiess drives campus-wide efforts to align and optimize UWM’s core enrollment
operations-including student financial aid, enrollment systems, and advising services to advance student access, registration, retention, and success. He oversees federal, state, institutional, philanthropic, and private aid funds with an entrepreneurial approach, stewarding approximately $200 million annually in student financial aid.

Spiess previously served as Director of Student Scholarships at UWM, where he
spearheaded transformative growth, including increasing scholarship dollars disbursed by 50%, expanding the number of students receiving scholarships by 33%, and supporting consecutive first-year enrollment gains of 3.0% (2023), 9.8% (2024), and 13.5% (2025). His innovative strategies and results have been featured in invited presentations for the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) and higher education consulting firm EAB, among others. He currently serves on the NSPA Board of Directors, where he is a frequent conference presenter, webinar panelist, and mentor.

As Chief Enrollment Operations Officer, Spiess also serves as principal advisor and
divisional strategist to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success (SEMSS). The SEMSS division encompasses 11 departments and 160 full-time employees. His responsibilities include shaping divisional strategy, preparing leadership communications, advancing strategic initiatives, coordinating assessment, and contributing to UWM’s strategic enrollment management planning process.

Spiess brings a broad background in higher education, with experience spanning
admissions, student affairs, curricular affairs, academic advising, and residence life.