We're excited to highlight a #SEM2022 session presented by Dr. Heather Murchison, Vice-Provost (Institutional Planning & Analysis) and Strategic Advisor to the President, as well as Andrea Warywoda, Senior Research Analyst (Business Intelligence), from Lakehead University. Their session "Building a Data-Informed SEM Culture on a Shoestring" is a great case study for other institutions that are implementing SEM while facing financial and resource constraints and external disruption in the sector.
Session attendees can expect to learn how Lakehead University created a data-driven culture to support strategic enrollment management activities with limited financial and human resourcing. Additionally, attendees will see how Lakehead’s
SEM implementation focused on faculty engagement while creating a culture of data-informed decision-making.
Motivation
When asked what motivated their team to present at this year's 2022 AACRAO SEM Conference, the Lakehead presenters responded, saying:
Regardless of their size, institutions both big and small face numerous challenges related to SEM including financial and human resourcing constraints as well as external environmental factors which has caused disruption to the sector.
In 2017, Lakehead embarked on its SEM journey with limited resources, initiating the development of a data-informed culture with manual analysis in Microsoft Excel and labor-intensive distribution of information to stakeholders. Over the past five years, Lakehead has expanded its data analytics capabilities and has developed a self-service platform available to stakeholders throughout its university community to help inform timely data-driven decision-making to inform SEM planning.
Lakehead University will discuss its strategy, engagement approach and governance evolution to demonstrate how institutions can be innovative in their SEM data practices despite budget constraints. By leveraging Lakehead University’s experience as a case study, other institutions will benefit from an improved understanding of SEM implementation and ongoing SEM planning.
The presenters also shared a little about why they feel attendance and engagement at the SEM Conference is valuable for higher ed professionals, saying:
SEM planning continues to evolve as a strategic component of institutional planning and student success. Higher education professions will benefit from the learnings of other institutions from various jurisdictions that are also on a SEM implementation journey. With a broad range of topics, this conference offers various topics suitable for all higher education professionals from any operational unit at their institution including finance, talent management, information technology, recruitment, admissions, planning, equity and inclusion, philanthropy, and more.
About the Presenters
Dr. Heather Murchison
Dr. Heather Murchison is an experienced leader in public service strategy and organizational change. In her current role as Vice-Provost (Institutional Planning and Analysis) and Strategic Advisor to the President, she advises and supports strategic initiatives, institutional planning, decision-making, policy formation, and the development and tracking of key performance indicators and institutional metrics.
Throughout her career, Heather has led numerous strategic initiatives focused on long-term planning, forecasting, and modeling at national, provincial, regional, and local levels to better enable public sector agencies to respond to evolving demands and societal change. Through these initiatives, Heather has worked with varied stakeholder groups to develop informed solutions for lasting change.
Andrea Warywoda
Andrea Warywoda has extensive experience in data analytics and business intelligence. Building on her background as a professional engineer, combined with experience in public sector planning, design, analytics, and performance management strategy, Andrea leads the development and scaling of Lakehead University's interactive SEM data platform. Through this work, Andrea leads the analysis and synthesis of big data sets to develop insights that can help inform evidence-based decision-making across the University community.
Each of these presenters brings with them a wealth of knowledge in SEM and practical experience in planning, developing, and implementing a SEM plan in real-world circumstances. Attendees to their session can expect to return to their institutions with practical advice that can help them in their own SEM planning processes.
Have you registered for the 2022 SEM Conference yet? Register today to attend and collaborate with your peers in enrollment management. Take
a look at our Data Strategies page to see more of our SEM 2022 sessions on this subject.