“College and University trustees and presidents share an important responsibility … the health and integrity – financial, academic, and institutional – of the institutions they serve,” writes Susan Resnick Pierce, the author of On Being Presidential: A Guide for University College and Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2011). The task before campus leaders today is arguably more challenging than ever. There is rising anxiety over the cost of college education and the resulting student debt burden. Publications and articles openly question the value of traditional four-year programs. Competition is growing and threats are looming from international institutions, MOOCs, digital badges, and hybrid programs. Some have likened this confluence of factors to a perfect storm.
Despite these factors, enrollments in higher education are at record levels. Moreover, in a recent Pew survey, 84 percent of those with two- and four-year degrees have a favorable view of their college investment. Some pundits have speculated that the negative publicity could be diffused with better communication to the public, students and parents that rising tuition reflects the costs required to cover faculty salaries, health care, student services, and all the amenities of a world class campus.
How higher education executives can navigate these challenges
Leading a higher education institution in the current economic environment requires significant planning. Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) should be a major part of this plan. SEM provides a thoughtful paradigm to focus institutional efforts on how to best meet student needs and support their educational attainment, while at the same time promoting financial, academic, and institutional health and integrity. The resulting alignment of institutional mission, enrollment goals and targeted investments enables planning that is more strategic, in turn leading to improved outcomes for students, campus departments and the institution as a whole.
AACRAO's 8th Annual Executive Symposium
on November 10, 2013, at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue will provide participants with an overview of key SEM concepts and how they relate to today's challenges. The Executive Symposium is the premiere venue for senior-level administrators (presidents, chancellors, board members, provosts, vice presidents of enrollment and their respective team members) to discuss ideas and develop action plans to address their various enrollment challenges. As detailed in a white paper describing the highlights from last year's SEM conference, SEM is a process that enables senior executives to achieve their institutions' missions while ensuring that students attain their educational goals. This year's symposium theme is SEM as a Driver for Academic Planning. To view the full Executive Symposium program, please visit our AACRAO Symposium Website.
Afterwards, Symposium attendees are encouraged to register for the full SEM Conference, the leading meeting of higher education professionals focused on achieving student, enrollment, and financial success. AACRAO's SEM Conference will provide actionable ideas for addressing issues such as recruitment and retention, leading campus strategic planning efforts, and improving collaboration among enrollment service departments and other campus units.
Josh Jarrett, the Deputy Director of Education and Post Secondary Success at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be a keynote speaker at AACRAO SEM. He leads the foundation's Next Generation Models portfolio, which supports learning innovations and technologies with the potential to dramatically increase low-income student success and improve affordability. Investment areas include interactive courseware and tools, diagnostic assessments, integrated planning and advising systems, and breakthrough delivery models. Titled Extending SEM Into Integrated Planning and Advising Services: Helping Students Get On “ And Stay On “ Track,┬" his session will examine the latest trends in integrated planning and advising services, highlight a handful of early successes, and share initial findings from a Gates Foundation initiative to accelerate the development of vendor solutions and institutional implementations. To read a more detailed excerpt of Josh Jarrett's session and for more information about AACRAO's SEM Conference, please visit the conference website.