Since receiving his SEM Endorsement from AACRAO, Steven McDowell’s career has grown in exciting and gratifying directions.
“The SEM Endorsement program gave me an all-inclusive look at how financial aid is integrated into enrollment management strategy,” said McDowell, Director of Financial Aid Services and Guided Pathways Recruitment Manager at the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. “It brought the whole picture together and gave me new ways to think about old problems.”
Check out the program here.
McDowell, who completed the program in March 2017, found that the theory and background in the course triggered some major insights into the work he was doing for his system.
“Having this endorsement helped me to get a seat at the table because I have something meaningful to contribute to the conversations,” McDowell said. His SEM-EP
capstone project involved formalizing the EM presence across system campuses by building relationships and improving communication to pave the way for further enrollment management implementation.
With his growing competency in SEM, McDowell was tapped as the leader of a campaign to improve the efficiency of financial aid processing. McDowell was also able to leverage his SEM expertise in helping revise the satisfactory academic progress policy in a way that helped more students get the advising help they needed to succeed.
“This endorsement helped springboard me into a new position,” McDowell said. “We’re rolling out a guided pathways initiative and I was fortunate to be named a manager of that recruitment team, dealing with all facets of EM under this initiative.”
Not only did the endorsement help raise McDowell’s profile and multiply his understanding of SEM, but he also made some key professional connections through the
program.
“Working with peers and going on site visits was one of the major benefits of the program,” McDowell added. “Those advantages that have really helped me along the way.”
McDowell will share more about his Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Endorsement Program experience during a live, free webinar on Tuesday, June 19, from 2-3 P.M. EDT. And SEM-EP Director Christopher Tremblay will join him to provide details about eligibility, timelines and the curriculum.
Learn more about the webinar, or stream the archived version at your convenience.