AACRAO SEM-EP is proud to introduce four new adjunct faculty members. They will join SEM-EP Director Christopher Tremblay and Assistant Director Kimberley Buster-Williams in volunteer faculty positions, evaluating assignments submitted by learners enrolled in the SEM Endorsement Program. Learn more about SEM-EP.
"We are thrilled to have the talent of these four new adjunct faculty members join SEM-EP," Tremblay said. "As SEM-EP continues to grow and evolve, this was the perfect time to tap into the experience and expertise of these enrollment professionals. We look forward to their contributions."
Melissa M. Cruz, Ph.D., Director of Admissions – Penfield College, Mercer University
Dr. Cruz has worked for both ïenrollment management and campus administration at Mercer University. "The combination of both perspectives has made me more of an effective leader in enrollment management," she said. "As a private university, we rely on the execution of strategic enrollment plans to maintain the health of the university, so SEM is very important."
Furthermore, SEM-EP is an excellent path to gaining knowledge of best practices from other institutions. "Nothing is more detrimental to EM than the phrase 'that is the way we have always done it here,'" she said.
A. Joanne Landers, Ph.D., Vice President for Admissions, Tennessee Wesleyan University
With 16 years of enrollment management experience, Dr. Landers brings perspectives from a range of institutions, including large public and small private institutions. "My passion is helping students not only realize their potential but to also achieve it," she said. "I also believe in lifelong learning and helping others who are new in this field become more confident and educated in this role."
According to Landers, SEM training and professional development is essential for enrollment managers. "Having this training will help to not only learn best practices but to see how they are implemented at other institutions," Landers said. Enrollment managers roles are constantly changing, and sufficient training can help professionals adapt to the needs of their institutions.
Tomikia P. LeGrande, Ed.D., Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, University of Houston-Downtown
"'Culture will eat strategy for lunch' if it is not viewed as an important factor in university planning," said Dr. LeGrande. A good SEM plan provides the opportunity for a culture shift at a university, which can move the institution closer to its vision.
LeGrande's experiences have largely focused on regional state universities that are historically less funded than other state peer institutions, with cultural factors that impact enrollment. So her focus is on SEM that influences the recruitment and retention of significant populations of underrepresented, low-income, first generation, and/or adult students in regional state universities.
"Individuals seeking to advance in enrollment management need to develop the expertise and readiness in the field of enrollment management" LeGrande said. "Pursuing SEM training and professional development will not only provide some clarity regarding the path to leadership and the essential competencies required for the position, it will also provide you access to a network of professionals committed to sharing best practices, institutional models and learning lessons that can assist in your professional growth."
Steven J. McDowell, Director of Financial Aid Services, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, SEM-EP Graduate
As Director of Financial Aid Services for the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system, McDowell offers a unique “system” perspective to financial aid as a function of SEM. As a recent SEM-EP graduate, McDowell says: "With the expertise of this program as a guiding pathway, I am working to bring a SEM environment directly into our system in an effort to help reshape the services we offer to students and increase the way we collaborate and communicate with each other as administrators."
The SEM-EP helped McDowell determine an understanding of how all the pieces can fit together within an organization. "Not only that, but getting a perspective that wasn’t of my own organization was key in determining what I could get out of the SEM-EP," he added. "So far, it is paying dividends for me professionally."
SEM-EP Curriculum and Requirements
Attending a national, regional or state "ACRAO" conference is an optional component of the program. Doing so will satisfy one of the field visit requirements. Register now for the AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference in New Orleans, July 9-11.
And save the date for the 2017 AACRAO SEM Conference, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2017, in Phoenix.
Read more about the SEM-EP curriculum.