By Autumn Walden, Editor, AACRAO Connect, Content Strategy Manager, AACRAO
We have just one week to go until our 35th Annual AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Las Vegas. Yes, we’re excited. You can bet that our program committee went "all in" to build a stellar program once again. And we also acknowledge the pressure our member institutions may be facing in the current economic and political climate. But opportunities for impact remain: 42% of Americans report a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, up from 36% last year, according to a Lumina Foundation-Gallup survey.
Here’s another #SEM2025 preview of four more sessions that feature real-life scenarios and problem-solving by your peers:
Two dives into rethinking the enrollment funnel from Gina Macklin of Delaware County Community College and Corey Zink of Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
A focus on tuition grants to deploy financial aid as a strategic lever from Dr. Hannah Berman of the University of Alabama.
An exploration of data-informed advising for learner success and retention from Tamara Baker of South Louisiana Community College.
Whether you’re attending for the first time or returning with a full SEM team of five or more, this event will help you sharpen your playbook and rally your colleagues around a unified strategy.
Enrollment Funnel
In the roundtable session, " Beyond the Funnel: A Just-Cause Culture with Endless Enrollment Success for Community Colleges," Gina Macklin, Vice President, Recruitment & Enrollment Management at DCCC, discusses what lies beyond the funnel where fluid, flexible, and nontraditional enrollment strategies customize enrollment steps and enable community college students to mitigate challenges before they enroll. Learn how a proactive just-cause culture will bring endless enrollment success for your community college.
In the breakout session, " Enrollment Funnel Optimization - Back to the Future," Dr. Corey Zink of MassArt discusses how enrollment managers can reach and exceed the new student recruitment goals being set for institutions across the country. Learn new approaches to analyzing enrollment data to ensure that your funnel is optimized.
Tuition-Grants
In the breakout session, " From Grants to Growth: Leveraging Technology and Leadership to Transform Online Recruitment and Financial Aid Strategy," Dr. Hannah Berman, Manager of UA Online Recruitment, describes how the UA Online Recruitment team has recently rebranded their tuition-grants to improve operations in strategic enrollment management. This session will provide a cohesive framework for other institutions to adopt similar strategies, focusing on the critical interpersonal and technological skills necessary for success.
Intrusive Advising
In the breakout session, " Intrusive Advising as a Strategic Lever: Pathways to Student Success and Retention," Tamara Baker, Director of Academic Advising, Student Success & Retention at SOLACC, explores intrusive academic advising as a data-informed, student-centered approach to boost retention and success. Attendees will engage with models rooted in developmental education theory and practical strategies for embedding intrusive advising in SEM practices to improve student outcomes across diverse populations.
Whether you’re attending the AACRAO SEM Conference for the first time or returning with a SEM team of five or more, this event will help you sharpen your playbook and rally your colleagues around a unified strategy. It's not too late to register for the full conference or a day pass. Registration for the full SEM conference is not required to register for pre-conference workshops.