AACRAO Spotlight interviews are published twice weekly before major professional development meetings. They feature our conversations with industry experts, highlighting key issues and promoting sessions and workshops at the upcoming conference.
Many SEM concepts are universal and extend across institutional sectors and national boundaries, but there are unique enrolment dynamics that warrant special attention. All members attending AACRAO’s Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Los Angeles, CA will benefit from these breakout sessions focused on SEM issues at play in Canada and the United States.
This issue of Connect, we talked with presenters on strategic alignment for recruiting and integrated university planning at Canadian colleges and universities. We also talked with a presenter on the impact of statewide articulation policies in the United States.
Strategic Alignment: Recruiting Students in a Highly Decentralized University
The University of Toronto is Canada’s largest university, with over 84,000 students and 700 programs. Undergraduate divisions have their own registrars and student recruitment teams — along with their own publications, websites, priorities and enrolment targets. Richard Levin will present how the central Enrolment Services division provided leadership and coordination so that the university has a coherent and effective recruitment and admissions strategy.
Read our interview with Levin here.
SEM and Integrated University Planning: A Model at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
In 2014, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) launched an integrated university planning process, using SEM as a central force of its efforts. UOIT created the ‘committee of everything,’ comprising of deans and senior administrators that touched upon each and every aspect of business operations at UOIT, to make data-based strategic decisions.
“There are particular drivers from the state or national level that may be different from individual institutional institution to another, but the general drivers for SEM are found everywhere,” said Bill Muirhead of UOIT.
Read our interview with MacIssac and Muirhead here.
The Impact of Statewide Articulation Agreement Policy Implementation through the Lens of University Admissions Counselors
Statewide articulation and transfer policies are a crucial part of student success at 2- and 4-year institutions. However, there is often a gap between the intention of such articulation agreements and the implementation of them. Angela Payne of Jackson State University conducted a study on university admissions counselors to examine their experience in the practical applications of statewide articulation agreement policies in their daily performance of transfer counseling responsibilities.
“I hope a dialogue can be established, where people compare their own experiences with transfer articulation to identify ways to improve the process for the students and the policy implementers,” said Payne.
Read our interview with Payne here.
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