Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) is an emergent and evolving field in higher education (HE). While the concept has often been researched as a system or process implemented by an institution of HE to optimize enrollment, this study examined the professionals that currently lead or aspire to lead those systems. The HE competencies areas that…

The June 2022 60-Second Survey invited all AACRAO members to provide their perspectives on what the role of the registrar "should" be at their institution. Particular attention was paid to what the role of the registrar "should" be for student engagement and enrollment management. These data will be used to shape a roundtable…

Wichita State University (WSU) began the SEM process in 2015 with a steering committee co-chaired by the university registrar and the chief data officer (CDO). Work leading up to and undertaken throughout that process and the implementation of the SEM plan it produced helped to form an extraordinary partnership between these two professionals.…

In 2013, the convergence of a new Elon University registrar, a fairly new provost, and a need for structure related to summer marketing and registration presented an opportunity to innovate. The university provost conveyed an expectation that summer enrollment should grow under the new registrar, with a promise to free up the resources necessary…

The American Institutes for Research® and rpk GROUP jointly conducted this study to improve understanding of students' experiences and time investment with the college transfer process, and the role of institutional policies, processes, and technologies. Expanding the understanding of the institutional barriers that exist during the transfer…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers' (AACRAO's) Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program, or SEM-EP, is a well-defined, self-paced professional development program and career advancement track for in-service enrollment service professionals. Designed to promote industry competency and readiness, the…

AACRAO Research completed five 60-Second Surveys and four comprehensive reports. Other research-supported work included: supporting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation credit mobility learning portfolio, partnering with NACUBO to create a joint statement on the use of administrative and student success holds, and supporting WICHE in their work…

Registrars and other university offices are integral to students' full life cycle, from prospective students to alumni. In this more encompassing definition of enrollment management, registrars perform a number of duties that overlap with the objectives of enrollment management. This perspective paper analyzes the changes in the historic…

Enrollment Management offices serve a vital role in the recruitment and retention of students. Despite the rapid evolution of the field, little research exists exploring the competencies needed for success. A job advertisement analysis identified a number of similar competencies needed across enrollment management, as well as competencies unique…

2019 was a bit different from previous years for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Research. Since they had six larger-scale research projects (of which several were calendared over the summer months), they did not want to overly burden their members with surveys. This resulted in four 60-Second…

The January 2020 60-Second Survey was designed to serve two purposes: (1) to benchmark institutional-level use of enrollment management and strategic enrollment management (SEM) plans; and (2) gather individual interest in enrollment management research (Appendix A). The survey was open to all American Association of Collegiate Registrars and…

This study evaluated the phenomenon of anti-Black womanism in enrollment management at Historically White Institutions (HWIs) for Black women professionals. The qualitative study was conducted to understand dialectical functions of enrollment management and the dialectical responsibilities that Black women have while working in enrollment…

Jack Maguire proclaimed in his classic article, detailing Boston College's enrollment management (EM) design, that "to the organized go the students." Since the inception of EM in the 1970s, college and university leaders have perpetuated structuralist approaches to EM, which are often reflected in persistent debates about the ideal…

Interest on the part of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Board of Directors in the development of a set of descriptions of the core competencies for AACRAO professions goes back several years, with more active discussion beginning in 2011 under the leadership of AACRAO President Nora McLaughlin. At…

Low student retention and persistence continues to be a major problem within American higher education (Elkins, Braxton, & James, 2000; Kalsbeek & Hossler, 2010; Kezar, 2004; Tinto, 2006-2007). Less is known about the institutional organizational behavior influence on student persistence (Berger, 2001-2002); and while enrollment management…