The Financial Aid Office as an Essential Strategic Partner in SEM

Strategic enrollment management (SEM) initiatives benefit when SEM committees are inclusive and collaborative. When financial aid professionals are excluded, the risk that certain initiatives will fail increases, especially if those initiatives involve academic changes. Here, the authors explore the reasons financial aid offices and academic affairs, including other college personnel who contribute to academic program development, may struggle to collaborate and identify some of the essential contributions financial aid leaders can make to SEM. Finally, ideas for increased collaboration between academic affairs and financial aid are provided.