This week our ongoing series of highlights for AACRAO's 2021 SEM Conference takes a look at Career Planning for the EM professional.
We were able to interview presenter Chuck Knepfle about his upcoming session, "Making the Transition from Financial Aid Director to Enrollment Manager" where he'll be joined by co-presenters Matt Moore, Sinclair Community College,
and Jane Kilgore, University of North Dakota.
"All three of us came up through higher education in a financial aid office. I won't speak for my colleagues, but I doubt enrollment management was in any of our career plans when we were sitting in our respective financial aid offices for all of those years. It certainly wasn't for me. However, we all moved into our institution's EM position from the financial aid director chair,"
Knepfle said when asked what inspired them to present at #SEM2021 and why they had chosen their topic.
Traditionally, the chief enrollment officer at a college or university was filled by an admissions person or even a registrar. However, as we've all been in our jobs for a few years now, we have found that the experiences we've had and the skill sets that we've developed in our financial aid positions are different from those of admissions directors and registrars. We'd argue that in some cases, former financial aid professionals are uniquely qualified.
Are you qualified? Do you have the confidence to succeed?
The essence of the CEMO role requires one to manage the intersection of prestige, revenue, equity, and student progress within an institution. This session covers issues like:
- Imposter Syndrome
- Interview Preparation
- Career Development
Attendees will learn how the presenters navigated their personal career journey to Enrollment Management, their advice for others interested in joining the field, and why financial aid staff members are uniquely suited to the field of strategic enrollment
management.
Have you registered for the 2021 SEM Conference yet? Register today to attend and collaborate with your peers in enrollment management. Take
a look at our Career Planning page to see all of our SEM 2021 sessions
on this subject.