Dear SEM Colleagues, 

As we prepare to come together at our 34th annual Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Boston, we face serious enrollment challenges and accept the paramount role that enrollment management strategy, practice, and initiatives will play in meeting the challenges of today’s higher education landscape. Students are shifting their focus from degrees to experiences. Concerns about learner mental health and wellness are taking central stage. The impact of geopolitics is impacting international student recruitment and success. The intersection of SEM and equity has become central to enrollment planning. We are seeing community college enrollments, which had been gradually sliding since 2011, take a small step upward this year. And the looming “enrollment cliff” has many of us concerned about the future of higher education. We certainly live in challenging times! 

This special edition of SEM Quarterly pulls from the past year’s articles to present conference participants a wide array of topics and issues, touching on research, equity, leadership, recruitment, internationalization, recruitment, retention, and graduate school issues. Many, if not all, of these will be covered in plenaries, workshops, and sessions. As you turn your attention from matters on campus to this opportunity to learn and reflect on the trends, opportunities, and challenges in enrollment, we hope that these articles will be thought-provoking for you, as well, and that you will find yourself starting #SEM2024 with some background and frames of reference to guide you through the conference experience. 

It would be impossible to present this special issue of SEMQ without the talents and hard work of Managing Editor Heather Zimar. Many thanks, Heather, for your insights and dedication. Let me also acknowledge the hard work of our SEMQ Editorial Board members and our many authors whose research and writing skills you will witness in reading their works. 

Best wishes for a successful SEM Conference in Boston! Clayton Smith, Ed.D.

Research:

Organizational Structure, Strategy, and Coupling of Enrollment Management Divisions by Kelley Adams Lips

Equity:

Leveraging Data to Promote Student Success: A Case Study by Lisa Azure, Sheridan McNeil, Leah Woodke, and Monte Schaff

Higher Education Has a Problem: Holistic Disability Inclusion and Belonging by Whitney N. West and Iman

Leadership:

The Future of Data Governance: Bridging Institutional Silos by Jenay Robert, Kathe Pelletier, and Betsy Tippens Reinitz

International:

Effective Implementation of Higher Ed. Internationalization by Shaimaa Nabil Hassanein

Recruitment:

Delivering the Right Message for Maximum Impact in the Student Enrollment Journey by Ashley Miller

Retention:

Influencing Student Persistence of Low Performing, First-Term Students through Academic Enrichment by John Haller and Darby O. Plummer

Graduate Schools:

Exploring Institutional Rationales for Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions by Joseph H. Paris and Jake D. Winfield