From emerging enrollment strategies to practical approaches you can bring back to campus, the AACRAO SEM Conference program is built around the challenges and opportunities shaping enrollment management today. Explore the agenda and our featured speakers to find the sessions that will make the most of your time at the conference.
Pre-Conference Workshop: International Enrollment Management (IEM) for SEM Practitioners Preregistration required 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Lunch on Your Own 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Pre-Conference Workshop: The SEM Institute – Advanced Preregistration required 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Pre-Conference Workshop: Building a Campus Ecology for Student Success: Designing an Integrated Student Success Department Through the Lens of Strategic Enrollment Management Preregistration required 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Pre-Conference Workshop: The Registrar’s Role in Enrollment Management Preregistration required 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall 6:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Speaker Ready Room Open 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration Open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open | AACRAO Consulting Booth Open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
SEM-EP Meet and Greet All prospective students, current students, and graduates of SEM-EP are invited. For questions about the SEM Endorsement Program, contact Director Christopher Tremblay at sem-ep@aacrao.org 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Best Practice Sessions 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
AM Refreshment Break & “SEM Shorts!” in the Exhibit Hall 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Best Practice Sessions 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Luncheon Plenary Session: Listening to Students: College Choice, Challenges, and Opportunities Moderated by Cassandra Moore, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Development at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland & Past President of the AACRAO Board of Directors. Cassandra will be joined by students from Delaware County Community College in Pennsylvania. Lunch provided to all session attendees 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
PM Refreshment Break & “SEM Shorts!” in the Exhibit Hall 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Speaker Ready Room Open 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration Open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open | AACRAO Consulting Booth Open 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Continental Breakfast in the Exhibit Hall 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Tuesday Plenary Presentation: Who You Know Matters: Helping Students Build Relationships in the Era of AI Plenary Speaker: Nitzan Pelman, founder and CEO of Climb Together 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
AM Refreshment Break & “SEM Shorts!” in the Exhibit Hall 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Best Practice Sessions 11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Lunch on Your Own 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m
Best Practice Sessions 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
PM Refreshment Break & “SEM Shorts!” in the Exhibit Hall 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Speaker Ready Room Open 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Registration Open 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday Plenary Panel: EM at 50: Past, Present, and Future Panelists: Stan Henderson, AACRAO Consulting; Dr. Christopher Tremblay, University of Michigan and AACRAO SEM-EP Director; Dr. Kimberley Williams, George Washington University and AACRAO SEM-EP Assistant Director, Brian Gann, Wake Technical Community College and incoming SEM Conference Director 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Best Practice Sessions 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Best Practice Sessions 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Best Practice Sessions 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
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Meet our Speakers
Sunday Opening Plenary – Dr. Freeman Hrabowski III
Leading with Resilience: Building Adaptive, Student-Centered Institutions in Times of Change
In an era defined by rapid change, enrollment volatility, and evolving student expectations, higher education leaders must cultivate institutions that are both resilient and responsive. Drawing on real-world leadership experiences and lessons from The Resilient University, this keynote will explore how leaders at every level—presidents to front-line practitioners—can foster cultures of adaptability, shared purpose, and inclusive excellence. Attendees will gain practical strategies for empowering teams, strengthening cross-campus collaboration, and aligning institutional practices with student success goals. With a focus on actionable insights, this session will equip SEM professionals to lead with clarity, courage, and intention—ensuring their institutions not only navigate disruption, but emerge stronger because of it.
Listening to Students: College Choice, Challenges, and Opportunities
What can higher education professionals learn when students themselves take center stage? In this candid panel discussion, current college students will share how they chose their institutions, what shaped their enrollment decisions, and what they wish colleges better understood about the student experience. Panelists will discuss the academic, financial, social, and personal challenges they have encountered, along with the people, programs, and opportunities that have helped them persist and thrive.
Their stories will give enrollment management and student success professionals a firsthand perspective on how institutional practices, resources, and support are experienced by the students they are designed to serve. Moving beyond traditional enrollment data, the session will explore how student perspectives can inform recruitment, yield, transition, retention, and student success strategies. Participants will leave with practical insights into student decision-making, points of friction in the college experience, and ways institutions can strengthen connections between students and the opportunities and support they need.
Who You Know Matters: Helping Students Build Relationships in the Era of AI
Relationships with faculty, peers, alumni, and professionals can help students explore career possibilities, find internships, and move toward meaningful work. Yet many students have never been taught how to start those conversations or sustain the connections that follow.
In this interactive plenary, Nitzan Pelman, founder and CEO of Climb Together, will explore how institutions can make relationship building an intentional part of the student journey. Drawing on research and examples from Austin Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and other institutions, she will share ways to help students build social capital and approach professional conversations with confidence.
Pelman will also show how students can use AI to practice those conversations, including through Climb Together’s Goldi tool. Participants will leave with practical ideas for helping more learners develop the human connections that support their goals.
The panel will explore the evolution of enrollment management—where it came from, where it stands today, and where it may be headed over the next 50 years. The conversation will consider the research and practice that shaped SEM, the challenges and opportunities facing today’s professionals, and the changing public perception of the value of higher education. The panel will also address the importance of transparency and how colleges and universities can work to regain and strengthen public trust.
