In any profession, the more specialized you get, the harder it can be to see the forest for the trees.
“You can get tunnel vision being at your institution, focused on your goals and grappling with your challenges,” said Cié Gee, Associate Vice Provost at University of Texas at San Antonio, and 2018 graduate of AACRAO’s SEM Endorsement Program (SEM-EP).
The SEM-EP curriculum includes field visits,
which gives participants the opportunity to widen their field of vision, ask the right questions, and make decisions in the broader context of serving student recruitment, retention and success.
“Getting different perspectives from a variety of institutions is so critical to reflecting on your own,” Gee said. “It takes you out of your context and to visit with other schools’ enrollment staff and see first-hand what else
is possible. I would love to do more field visits [than the two required for the endorsement]. I learned so much more through this process than I could by reading a book.”
Gee is excited to join the SEM-EP team as faculty, and continue learning what is happening at other institutions while also supporting colleagues expanding their understanding of SEM.
“SEM-EP offers a deep dive into all of the areas of enrollment management, helping people to see that it’s a university-wide effort, including areas like faculty and curriculum support, not just admissions,” Gee said. “It’s
everyone’s job to recruit and retain students.”
For that reason, Gee noted, the endorsement is helpful even for those who are not enrollment management professionals
“Having this endorsement helps me to offer a broader perspective at my school,” Gee said. “Even though I’m not in enrollment management directly — I’m assistant Vice Provost of Career Engaged Learning — the EM
knowledge has been invaluable. This knowledge is applicable across the university, helping me formulate operations supporting enrollment, retention, admissions. It all goes hand in hand.”
Check out Gee's article "A Project Management Tool for SEM," based on the capstone project she completed while in the SEM Endorsement Program.
Learn more about SEM-EP.