We recently had the opportunity to engage with #SEM2023 presenter Bethany Bell about her
session "Hold" Up! I Can't? - Holistic & exploratory review of student barriers and institutional engagement" and learned how the University of Texas at Austin identified and reviewed student barriers, such as holds, while fostering an engaged
dialogue with campus partners to understand their interaction with holds impacting students. In the course of their work, they were able to unearth quantitative data and develop strategies to help reduce holds being viewed as a barrier.
When asked "Why did you choose to present on this topic?" Ms Bell stated:
The reason we chose this topic is because it’s timely. Enrollment Management offices and universities as a whole are looking to increase enrollment, increase degree completion, and look for any stop-outs, to be addressed. AACRAO has done a great job presenting how student barriers, such as holds, impact registration therefore impacting degree completion. We’ll share the practical approach we took in identifying and reviewing holds, what we learned, and the immediate impacts of this review.
Next, we discussed the insight and knowledge attendees can hope to gain from attending this session with Ms. Bell saying:
We hope attendees walk away with strategies they can utilize at their institution, along with universal principles that can be applied to a change hold.
Coming out of the COVID/pandemic, we’ve learned to value face-to-face interactions with colleagues across the country, sharing ideas, validation of theories, and benchmarking. In short, it’s a conference to come and leave inspired!
Want to learn more about this session? View the video below to hear from Presenter Bethany Bell herself.
Don't forget, the early bird discount for the 2023 AACRAO SEM Conference ends on September 29, 2023, be sure to register soon to join your colleagues in Seattle, Washington.