NAGAP Perspectives Summer 2014 Final

www.nagap.org

IN THIS ISSUE 2 From the President

3 Secretary's Report

4 Annual Conference

6 Book Review

9 Unveiling Clark Kent: Recognizing the Extraordinary Diversity Leadership of Graduate School Administrators

16 2014 NAGAP Award Winners

18 NAGAP Pre-conference Institute: Perspectives from Fellowship Recipients Nancy Crouch and Melinda Van Hemert

20 2014 Annual Conference Session Summaries

V O L U M E 2 6

N U M B E R 3

S U M M E R 2 0 1 4

A Newsmagazine for Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals

PERSPECTIVES

N A G A PS U M M E R 2 0 1 4 • P E R S P E C T I V E S2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Welcome to the summer issue of Perspectives! As I write to you today, I’m reflecting on the successful NAGAP Annual Conference we enjoyed in San Diego, Calif. We set a record for the most attended conference in NAGAP history and I know that we all enjoyed the beautiful warm weather as well as our offsite event held on the USS Midway! I enjoyed visiting with many of you as we networked and continued the important and relevant conversation of the changing landscape in graduate enrollment management (GEM). The board thanks and congratulates all who volunteered and presented at the conference. Special thanks go out to our volunteer recorders for the educational sessions and we hope you enjoy your “by-lines” in this issue of Perspectives.

A new board was announced for the 2014-2016 term and I look forward to the opportunity to serve with them on your behalf. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the outgoing board for their service and dedication to NAGAP for the last two years. Our association is fortunate to have so many professionals who willingly unite in collaboration efforts to support and improve GEM.

NAGAP sent out a new “call for volunteers” to the membership asking you to register your interest in serving the association. As you know, volunteers are the force that keeps NAGAP moving forward and help us be the vibrant and relevant association we are today. Kudos to all who responded and have chosen to be actively engaged in this effort! I look forward to meeting and working with you over the next two years.

Please join me in recognizing and celebrating the contributions of the NAGAP award recipients who were honored at the Annual Conference. I’m inspired each year as I meet colleagues who are honored in this way, and I enjoy learning more about the contributions they make in GEM and on their campuses.

In this issue you will find select summaries of the presentations and conversations from the Annual Conference. You will also find reports on the Pre-Conference Institute from this year’s Fellows. I invite you to review the presentations in this context and incorporate them as best practices at your institutions. We are also pleased to hear from Sosanya Jones, a recipient of the NAGAP Research Grant, with an article on her research and Dan Bennett favors us with another book review.

In short, this issue has something for everyone and I invite you to read and enjoy it and perhaps consider submitting an article in the future. Remember, the collective strength of our association is comprised of our individual knowledge, our willingness to mentor and be mentored, and in our commitment to improve the services we offer as we provide graduate experiences of real consequence for our students and colleagues.

James N. Crane NAGAP President

P E R S P E C T I V E SA Newsmagazine for Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals

Editor, Jennifer KulbeckAssistant Dean, California School of Professional PsychologyAlliant International University One Beach StreetSan Francisco, CA 94133

[email protected]

NAGAP Perspectives is published three times per year (Fall, Spring, Summer). Articles of particular interest for publication are graduate enrollment management research/study results, how-to articles, success stories, reports of workshops/seminars, book reviews, etc.

Submissions should be sent to the editor via e-mail. Articles should be provided in Microsoft Word, with figures and photos provided separately as high-resolution TIF or EPS files. APA style is preferred for documenting sources. Submission deadlines: August 30, January 6, May 16.

Copyright © 2014 NAGAP

NAGAP is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in all of its activities. This commitment embraces respect for differences including age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, life experiences, race, religion, and sexual orientation. NAGAP champions an open exchange of ideas in a collegial environment that embraces academic freedom, cooperation, mutual respect, and responsibility. NAGAP supports activities that promote and nurture professional development, best practices, research, and collaboration of a diverse and global community of graduate enrollment management professionals, encouraging dialogue that fosters professional growth among all of its constituents, in the US and internationally.

The Leader in Graduate Enrollment Management

P E R S P E C T I V E S • S U M M E R 2 0 1 4N A G A P 3

UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTOPPORTUNITIES

Summer Institute for New Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals July 10-11, 2014 Las Vegas, Nev.

Winter Institute for Advanced Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals January 15-16, 2015 San Juan, Puerto Rico

2015 Annual Conference April 8-11, 2015 New Orleans, La.

Executive CommitteePresident (James Crane)• Worked with all committees on current initiatives.• Held monthly meetings with Executive Committee.• Worked with the 2014-16 Executive Committee to create the 2014-16 board.

Vice President (Julia Deland)• Chaired the NAGAP Awards Committee.

Secretary (Kristen Sterba)• Finalized the board activity summaries from the October 2013 and January 2014

meetings and posted on the NAGAP website.• Organized inaugural Fun Run/Walk at the annual conference with Francesca

Reed.

Treasurer (Sarah Petrakos)• Continued to monitor fiscal status of NAGAP. NAGAP is fiscally sound. • Created the 2014-15 budget in collaboration with AMP and the committee chairs.

Immediate Past President (Joanne Canyon-Heller)• Chaired the Elections Committee.• Chaired the International Relations Committee. The committee had a meet-up for

interested members at the annual conference.

Committees2014 Annual Conference (Teisha Johnson, Chair)• Finalized the conference schedule. The exhibit hall was sold out and the

attendance looked to be a record.• Submitted a blog post for the NAGAP website regarding the conference.

Chapters (Cammie Baker Clancy, Chair)• Received notices of interest in starting a Pacific Northwest regional chapter and

education special interest group.• Received applications for the Chapters Grant. • Helped organize schedule of chapter meetings prior to annual conference.

Education (Dave Fletcher, Chair)• Recommended potential speakers for the conference.• Worked with the conference committee on review and selection of conference

proposals.• Developed a proposal for the idea of offering a NAGAP GEM certificate program. • Developed a tool to evaluate NAGAP education programs (ex. PDI, conference).

Marketing and Social Media (Francesca Reed, Chair)• Collaborated with the Membership Committee to promote the new student

membership category.• Created communications plan to update the NAGAP Facebook and Twitter pages/

feeds.

continued on the next page

SECRETARY’S REPORTBy Kristen Sterba, 2012-2014 NAGAP Secretary

Summary of Board and Committee Projects & InitiativesNovember 2013-April 2014


SECRETARY’S REPORT CONTINUED

• Organized inaugural Fun Run/Walk at the annual conference with Kristen Sterba.

Membership (Judith Baker, Chair)• Collaborated with the Marketing

Committee to promote the new student membership category.

• Developed a procedure for verifying retiree status for retired membership.

• Developed a pilot program offering an associate membership category.

• Wrote blog entry for NAGAP website highlighting the new student membership category.

• Updated the spotlight on membership section of the NAGAP website with a feature on Keith Ramsdell.

Online Education (Marcus Hanscom, Chair)• Organized two webinars in February

and March: “Conference Presentation 101: Best Practices to Engage Your Audience” and “Overview of Proposed Changes to the Bylaws.”

Professional Development (Keith Ramsdell, Chair)• The Winter PDI was held January

23-24.• Worked with AMP to identify locations

for future winter institutes. • The Pre-Conference Institute was

held April 30 just prior to the annual conference. The theme was “Avoiding Liability and Legal Pitfalls While Managing Change in Graduate Enrollment Management.”

• Finalized plans for the Summer Institute to be held July 10-11, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nev.

• Identified topics for the Winter Institute 2015.

Publications (Jennifer Kulbeck, Chair)• Sent announcement of digital

publication of the Spring 2014 issue of Perspectives on March 6, 2014.

• Oversaw creation and distribution of monthly eNews.

• Collaborated with the Research and Global Issues Committee to finalize the salary survey results in a new publication called The GEM Research Advocate.

Research and Global Issues (Joshua LaFave, Chair)• Developed an understanding graduate

enrollment management survey that is being sent to members of NAGAP, NASPA and other organizations affiliated with graduate enrollment management functions.

• Understanding GEM session will be presented at 2014 annual conference and the final report of this initial study will be completed by July 1.

• Completed NAGAP 360 Report and sent to Publications Committee for review and design.

• Launching second round of NAGAP 360 to provide in depth support for strategic planning of the board by seeking membership input.

2014-16 Governing Board

Thank you to all the conference attendees who helped make the 27th Annual Conference such a rewarding professional development experience. There were over 900 conference attendees in San Diego and we believe this is a testament both to the value you find in being involved in NAGAP and to your institutions for enabling you to participate and experience everything the annual conference has to offer. Stay involved with NAGAP by participating in local chapters, attending either the summer or winter professional development institute, or consider volunteering for a committee. Spread the word to new colleagues and share what you learned at the conference.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered at the conference. Your efforts were

greatly appreciated. Also, thanks to all of you who donated to our community service beneficiary organization – Reality Changers! NAGAP is going to match your donations up to $500.

With the exception of a short break immediately following our return from San Diego, it’s back to work preparing and planning for next year’s conference – in New Orleans! The feedback and comments you provided in the conference evaluation will be a tremendous resource as we seek to build on all of the positives and try to improve in other areas. Every year we strive to make the conference more rewarding and do everything we can to make the return on your investment worthwhile. We’re confident that you will find next year’s conference to be another

wonderful opportunity for intellectual and social development.

The call for proposals for the 2015 conference will go out shortly, so as you read through this issue of Perspectives, think about submitting a proposal to lead an education session for next year’s conference! We know our membership has vast expertise and we want to capitalize on those strengths. Consider presenting on any topic that would contribute to any level of professional or personal development.

Mark your calendars now – April 8-11, 2015 at the

Hyatt Regency New Orleans!

ANNUAL CONFERENCEBy Teisha Johnson, 2014 Conference Chair/2015 Conference Chair


April 8-11, 2015

Hyatt Regency New Orleans

New Orleans, LA 28TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

GEM Defined: A New Kind of Rhythm

28TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SAVE THE DATE

Most of the recent books on the current state of the American university that I have reviewed for Perspectives were written by insiders (faculty and administrators) or outsiders (journalists) who focused primarily on administrative or academic policy trends from theoretical, political, economic or historical perspectives. This book, written by two sociologists, Elizabeth Armstrong from University of Michigan and Laura Hamilton from University of California, Merced, offers a different view. Armstrong and Hamilton use an ethnographic and longitudinal approach to research based on a cohort of 53 female students who enter “Midwestern University – MU” in Fall 2004 and are tracked over the course of five years. The students were selected based on their living in a “party dorm” (in part by choice) on the same residence floor during their first year at one of the more highly recognized “party schools” in the U.S. The authors state, “This is a case study of a flagship public research university in the Midwest ranked in the top 100 schools in the nation.”

A quick Google search reveals Midwest University (MU), Fairview, to be Indiana University (IU), Bloomington. IU happens to be my undergraduate alma mater and last September a close friend and I were walking across the IU campus, reminiscing about our days there in the 1970’s. As I fondly remembered both the quality of our academic and

social lives (and we most decidedly did not live in a “party dorm” but rather in one the authors describe as supporting “alternative subcultures”) and the economic and professional mobility provided by our experience and degrees from this fine public university, my friend cautioned me that things had changed. Since our baccalaureate graduation, my friend received a Ph.D. from IU and taught there; hence, he is aware of the current campus environment. Nevertheless, in my nostalgic look at the campus, I was resistant to his explanation that IU is now characterized as a party school, the Greeks have more prominence and academics play a lesser role for undergraduates. Now that I’ve read this book, I understand his concerns. To honor research protocol and the authors’ insistence that IU is far from unique among public universities, many of which are pursuing the same enrollment management policies, I now revert to referring to the case study university as MU.

Armstrong and Hamilton “argue that how Midwest University and many other large state schools organize the college experience systematically disadvantages all but the most affluent and even some of these students.” This study posits that MU has made conscious and strategic enrollment management decisions to recruit, indulge and reward a particular group of students based on financial considerations. Citing the work of other scholars in this area, the authors indicate “For many public universities, the ‘typical student’ who provides the ‘sustenance that the college relie[s] upon most heavily to maintain its financial prosperity’ is affluent, socially oriented and academically unexceptional.”

The reviewer on campus

Working hand in hand with the administration in recruiting and socializing these students is the Greek system: “We show that university-controlled resources are unevenly distributed in favor of the Greek system – the organizational heart of MU’s party scene. We discuss ways that Greek life is ‘greedy,’ making it hard for members to focus on studies or employment or to form ties with non-Greeks. We describe the organization of the residence hall system, which funnels socially oriented freshmen into sororities and fraternities. In terms of academics, we show that the university enables student social lives through the provision of ‘easy’ majors.” Caitlin Flanagan notes, in a recent article on fraternities in The Atlantic, that universities cater to the Greeks because, in addition to their supplying a social scene for party schools to market in the never-ending quest for more undergraduates, they are a major source of student housing, hence relieving universities of these costs and allowing more admissions, and because fraternity alumni are among the universities’ most important donors who continue to


BOOK REVIEWReviewed by Daniel J. Bennett, Assistant Dean Emeritus, UCLA, Senior Consultant, World Education Services (WES)

Paying for the Party: How College Maintains InequalityElizabeth A. Armstrong and Laura T. Hamilton, Cambridge/London, Harvard University Press, 2013

“Armstrong and Hamilton use an

ethnographic and longitudinal

approach to research based on a

cohort of 53 female students who

enter “Midwestern University – MU”

in Fall 2004 and are tracked over

the course of five years.”

exercise considerable clout long after graduation.

The steady withdrawal of state and federal financial support for the public university has led to constant budget crises for these schools. In order to secure new sources of revenue, student fees have increased and increased as a percentage of overall university support, and enrollment management, primarily at the undergraduate level but also at the graduate-professional level, has increasingly focused on non-resident domestic and international students who can pay higher non-resident and professional school fees.

Yet, as the authors warn, “All large public universities are trying to recruit from the same small pool of students: Only 20% of college-goers attend college out of state and more than half of these students attend private colleges. At some point in the near future MU – like other universities – will exhaust the share of the out-of-state students for which it can compete. In fact, the finite nature of the domestic market has led to increasing efforts to secure international tuition dollars.” Indeed, MU is following the lead of many other U.S. universities by opening a China Office in Beijing in spring 2014.

The authors’ research shows the costs, to students and parents of more modest means, of university support for the party pathway, at the expense of pathways that foster mobility (requiring remedial courses, counseling and advising, financial support) or prepare students for graduate and professional training (also requiring additional counseling and advising). While students from affluent families benefit from the financial and advising infrastructure inherent in having parents with degrees and networks from their university and professional

backgrounds, those who lack these resources often make bad decisions about their majors and course of study. Choosing an easy major may not have disadvantaged a socialite whose parents networked to find her a job following graduation but it could be devastating for those with lower grades, more student debt and a lack of networks when they applied for jobs or attempted to pursue professional degree programs. These young women often ended up in low-paying jobs that did not require a degree or offer any kind of mobility or improvement in socio-economic status. Some of these students were rescued by their decision to leave MU early and to attend one of its regional campuses where they could be part of a cohort of working class students more like themselves, where Greek/party life was absent, where part-time and working students were supported and where resources were more focused on mobility (e.g., career counseling and degree programs designed for specific outcomes).

The university’s enrollment management strategy has other negative implications. The majority of students in this cohort had little interaction with those from different races or socio-economic status during their baccalaureate study, hence reinforcing rather than breaking down the stratifications in American life. Overall, efforts at achieving diversity at the university did not appear to be as successful as the effort to recruit non-resident students. For example, in 2010, at the end of this study, 40% of all of MU’s students (36% of its undergraduates) were from out of state but only 4% were African American (the state’s African American population was around 9% at the time).

Armstrong and Hamilton find that MU’s enrollment management strategy might not work for very much longer: “Though perhaps efficacious in the short-term, hiking tuition, recruiting affluent out-of-state socialites, and provisioning the party pathway generate a host of long-term problems. It pulls the university away from its mission, which risks further loss of support by legislatures. It

reduces access to a four-year residential college experience, contributing to the polarization of higher education. It places the university in the precarious position of relying on a shrinking, highly mobile proportion of the population. Critically, it also neglects the biggest market in need of the postsecondary schooling – the new majority.”

The authors note that the new majority is more likely to include older students who attend part-time, live off campus and are parents or caregivers for family members. They are also likely to be non-white, need remedial coursework, perhaps be non-native speakers of English and be first-generation college. The new majority wants affordability, convenience and quality from their university experience. While online course delivery is one option, the authors are reluctant to endorse it fully due to current quality and what may be lost without the classroom and residential campus experience. Nonetheless they do question whether the residential campus will survive and whether the decision of MU to build a new resort-style residence center for the young and affluent socialites is strategically smart.

Indeed, in a story in Inside Higher Education, Brian Alexander notes the recent decline in enrollment growth in colleges and universities and the indication that the tuition-dependent among them “are suffering a decline in their main income stream. The majority of campus chief financial officers see serious sustainability issues unfolding.” Student debt and under- and unemployment are looming over this situation, as well as “the demographic decline of American children and teens.”



“The authors of this study

recommend an approach for

change that includes dismantling

the party pathway, building a

mobility pathway and broadening

access to the professional

pathway.”

“The steady withdrawal of state

and federal financial support for

the public university has led to

constant budget crises for these

schools.”

These changes will put more pressure on enrollment managers and recruitment officers and increase the impetus for international recruitment.

The authors of this study recommend an approach for change that includes dismantling the party pathway, building a mobility pathway and broadening access to the professional pathway. This would involve eliminating or weakening the stronghold of the Greeks on campus, eliminating or strengthening easy majors, increasing counseling and advising resources, and requiring and rewarding research faculty to teach more. They acknowledge that, “By taking the fun out of college and increasing the work required of both students and faculty, the above policies risk alienating affluent families and research faculty – two groups critical to the solvency and prestige of the university.” As Flanagan insists, the current American college system, with its high costs, low graduation rates and questionable educational and career outcomes, could not attract hundreds of thousands of fee-paying undergraduates “if the experience were not accurately marketed as a blast.”

There is another compelling reason for eliminating the hegemony of Greeks and the party life at MU and other colleges: the physical danger to students. As Flanagan notes, not only are students being injured, assaulted and raped, some are dying as a result of the drinking and partying. And due to the manner in which fraternities have indemnified themselves from risk at the national level, many parents and their insurers are footing the bill from the resulting lawsuits. Indeed, following the publication of this book, a 19-year-old freshman at MU died as a result of an injury sustained in a fall at an off-campus party where alcohol was in use. While it is not clear that her death was directly related to the use of alcohol, it is known that fellow students failed to call for help until many hours later thinking that she had passed out from drinking rather than from a serious injury (for details on the incident and the impact of drinking on

the culture at MU, see reference below for “After the Fall”).

Armstrong and Hamilton consistently zero in on university accountability. In our profession, strategic enrollment management (SEM) for undergraduates and graduate enrollment management (GEM) are becoming increasingly similar in a variety of ways, including the use of technology and social media, demographic and financial concerns, and political pressures for accountability. The overarching theme of the March 2014 annual conference of the Western Association of Graduate Schools was accountability in graduate education and there was discussion of rising student debt, skills sets needed by academic master’s and doctoral degree holders for non-academic careers, and career outcomes tracking. Council of Graduate Schools President Debra Stewart cautioned that the accountability demands being placed on undergraduate education by states and the Obama administration would be coming to graduate schools soon and these would include more emphasis on preparation for career outcomes, among the same issues studied by these authors. As state and federal governments continue to demand more data on affordability, student debt and educational and career outcomes, MU and other universities may be forced to change their current strategies of serving what the authors call “more privileged students” at the expense of all students, and to facilitate better educational and career outcomes for the less privileged who may well become the new majority.

In the final analysis, this book should be read as a cautionary tale in terms

of university policies on enrollment management and social and academic infrastructure. The cohort studied is small, but the pervasive university culture revealed and its impact on the students interviewed is large. Regardless of how much we may agree with the authors’ recommendations for change, we also have to acknowledge there are no easy answers. Government officials may demand accountability but they also must find ways to provide more financial support so that university leaders can focus their attention more strongly on the promotion of academic values and less on supporting social organizations that reinforce the status quo in terms of class and socioeconomic status, and perpetuate a lack of diversity among the student body. The rush to online education to save costs for instruction may not generate the outcomes educational and political leaders anticipate. Armstrong and Hamilton aver, “The formation of social skills, physical styles, cultural tastes, and social relationships requires shared residence, which generates skepticism about whether even high-quality online education will translate into employment. . . .We found that the ability to translate a degree into a job rested on a host of factors beyond the skills themselves.”

Beyond the solid research and serious discussion of university fiscal, social and academic policy, Paying for the Party, based on hundreds of interviews with students over a five-year period, is a highly readable book with profound implications for the profession of enrollment management.

ReferencesAlexander, B., “Has Higher Ed Peaked?,”

Insider Higher Education, April 7, 2014Contrera, J., “After the Fall,” Indiana Daily

Student at http://idsafterthefall.com/Flanagan, C, “The Fraternity Problem: It’s

Worse Than You Think,” The Atlantic, March, 2014

Supiano, B., Interview with the authors: “College and Class: 2 Researchers Study Inequality, Starting With One Freshman Floor,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 1, 2013

“In the final analysis, this book

should be read as a cautionary

tale in terms of university policies

on enrollment management

and social and academic

infrastructure.”


BOOK REVIEW CONTINUED


UNVEILING CLARK KENT: RECOGNIZING THE EXTRAORDINARY DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP OF GRADUATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORSBy Sosanya Jones, Ed.D., Southern Illinois University

Diversity is a hot topic in higher education, especially in the graduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Nearly everyone seems to be interested in increasing the number of historically underrepresented students of color in STEM fields. If there is any doubt, one only has to look at the number of organizations and funders who have invested money into programs, initiatives and studies about how to improve diversity within graduate STEM education (BEST, 2004; Myers, 2003; Pender et al., 2010; Tierney, Corwin, Auerbach & Venegas, 2003; Walker et al, 2010). As racial and ethnic demographics continue to shift and more Blacks and Latinos pursue higher education, colleges and universities must find ways to create more inclusive and supportive environments that will help attract and retain these students, especially in graduate STEM education where underrepresented populations are the least visible in academia (Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, 2010; Dowd, 2010). It is no wonder there have been calls for more and better leadership to advance the issue of diversity (Aguirre & Martinez, 2007; Betts, Urias & Betts, 2009; Fullan & Scott, 2009).

In light of this great demand, I have some shocking news—we already have dynamic and transformational diversity leaders in graduate STEM education! These diversity leaders are making great strides in the areas of diverse student recruitment and retention and are affecting systematic change in graduate STEM education. I know it may be hard to believe because if you search the literature on graduate STEM education, leadership or even diversity in higher education, you will find little empirical evidence that these people exist. Oh sure, we’ve all heard

anecdotal tales of the lone campus hero working tirelessly on behalf of students to provide financial, academic and social support while championing the virtues of diversity in graduate education in the face of old-guard resistance and dwindling institutional support. Yet, according to the literature, these heroes are a fairytale in graduate education; they simply do not exist.

And if diversity leaders in graduate STEM education do not exist in the literature, then they must not be real, right? Well, allow me to present some evidence to the contrary. Let’s look to the literature to confirm what we do know. First, there is a global economic shift taking place which is based on scientific and technological innovation. As a result, there is increased pressure to advance the STEM fields. By 2018, it is expected that there will be an increase of 2.7 million jobs in the STEM fields (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). As a result, there is increasing national emphasis on producing and developing innovation in these fields (Weber & Jentleson, 2010). The United States has always had difficulty recruiting and training persons in the STEM fields; this new shift in priorities makes the country’s continuing struggle to produce a workforce in the STEM fields even more problematic.

Second, there is a demographic shift that revolves around the growing demographic of people of color and the declining population of the White majority. Persons of color, particularly Latinos, are quickly becoming the majority. By 2050, it is expected that, nationally, Blacks, Asians and especially Latinos, will help push the total persons of color population into the majority, representing over 54% of the population (CNN, 2008; Frey, 2011). However, while this shift is occurring, certain groups of persons of color are being left behind. The disparity among Blacks, Latinos and Whites in both STEM higher education and STEM employment continues to widen making the scarcity of qualified workers within the STEM fields even more pronounced (Chen & Weko, 2009; Ginn, 2010; Lederman, 2009; National Science Foundation [NSF], 2011).

Third, it is clear from the sheer volume of case studies that have proliferated over the past 10 years that there has been a surge in the number of graduate initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the STEM fields (Border & von Hoene, 2010; Neufeld, Woodward & MacLeod, 1989; Reyes, Powell, Aronson & Goldberg, 2007). We also know that many of the diversity programs that have cropped up on our campuses are funded by major league hitters like the National Science Foundation

“First, there is a global economic

shift taking place which is based

on scientific and technological

innovation.”

“Second, there is a demographic

shift that revolves around the

growing demographic of people

of color and the declining

population of the White majority.”

“Third, it is clear from the sheer

volume of case studies that have

proliferated over the past 10 years

that there has been a surge in

the number of graduate initiatives

aimed at increasing diversity in the

STEM fields.”



and the National Institutes of Health. While evaluation of these programs is still young, we know that graduate diversity programs help to increase interest in graduate school among underrepresented students of color and these programs have an impact on students selecting graduate programs, applying to graduate school, gaining admission to graduate school and conducting research at the graduate level (Foertsch, Alexander & Penberthy, 2000; Frierson, Hargrove & Lewis, 1994; Lewis, 2007; Stamps & Tribble, 1995).

Studies that examine the ability of diversity programs to promote the aspirational goals of becoming a STEM professional, conducting STEM research and ensuring outcomes in student retention, academic performance and graduation rates dominate this segment of graduate education and STEM literature (BEST, 2004; Lewis, 2007; Pender, Marcotte, Sto. Domingo & Maton, 2010; Stassun, Burger & Lange, 2010). Curiously, as popular as these programs have become, scholars usually examine them for the sum of their parts, not for their inner workings (Building Engineering and Science Talent [BEST], 2004; Lewis, 2007; Myers, 2003; NSF, 2011). There is very little information about how they operate and sustain themselves, nor is there any inquiry about their leadership. However, it is highly unlikely that these successful programs just dropped down from the heavens like a UFO and we know they cannot be self-autonomous. This begs the question: Who is running these graduate diversity programs in STEM?

Contrary to what the literature would have you believe, there are actual people at the helm of these successful

programs. Graduate diversity programs in STEM operate under the management and leadership of graduate school administrators and, sometimes, faculty. Regardless of their primary professional role at an institution, these leaders share the common responsibility of planning and overseeing the continued development, operation and sustainability of these diversity programs. To accomplish these successes, they regularly engage in strategic planning, program development and implementation, personnel recruitment and management, student recruitment and coordinating services to support the academic and social development of students (Quintanar, 2007; Walker et al., 2010).

The current literature consistently calls for more and better leadership in the area of diversity (Bensimon, Neumann & Birnbaum, 1989; Kezar, Carducci & Contreras-McGavin, 2006; Mumford, 2011) and is severely limited in its ability to inform practitioners and institutional policymakers who seek to support and expand these programs. However, I emphatically point to diversity leaders of graduate STEM programs as living, breathing examples of the type of diversity leaders the literature says is lacking in higher education. Not only do they possess tacit knowledge about what resources, strategies and approaches are necessary to sustain the operation of their programs, but they also possess a deep understanding of the socio-political environment of their institutions and the larger communities from which

they recruit underrepresented students of color. These diversity leaders have practical knowledge that can teach us how we can increase diversity in graduate STEM education.

For the organizations and senior administrators who support and fund these programs, learning more about graduate diversity leaders is a vital step toward developing appropriate and attainable goals and expectations. It is also important for funders and senior administrators to understand how different institutional deficits and support mechanisms can promote and limit goals. This type of understanding can inform the development and evaluation of expectations about what the program can and will accomplish. At an institutional level, understanding how campuses manage and sustain graduate diversity programs in STEM can be valuable toward cultivating a better understanding of those occupying diversity and inclusion leadership roles. Institutions can learn from these leaders and provide better support to help them meet not only programmatic goals but also institutional goals. Such support also contributes to improving long-term operation, also known as sustainability, and expanding opportunities for participation, also known as greater scalability.

My recent research, supported by a grant from NAGAP, sought to gain insight about the leadership practice of these unique and often invisible diversity leaders and how their particular institutional contexts shape and constrain the strategies they use to recruit and retain graduate underrepresented students of color for the STEM fields through diversity programs. My inquiry focused on gathering new knowledge about diversity leadership within higher education, how institutional context supported and constrained diversity leaders, and the process of developing and sustaining a STEM graduate diversity program. Understanding the work of these graduate diversity leaders is critical

UNVEILING CLARK KENT CONTINUED

“Regardless of their primary

professional role at an institution,

these leaders share the common

responsibility of planning and

overseeing the continued

development, operation and

sustainability of these diversity

programs.”

“Contrary to what the literature

would have you believe, there are

actual people at the helm of these

successful programs.”

P E R S P E C T I V E S • S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 11


N A G A P

if we are to learn more about practical and replicable diversity leadership and if graduate diversity programs, in and outside of STEM, are to be better supported and “scaled up” so that they can accommodate more underrepresented students of color.

MethodologyFor my study, I selected diversity leaders who managed diversity programs funded by the NSF’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program (AGEP). Graduate programs within AGEP concentrate on significantly increasing the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from underrepresented groups (i.e., Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, persons with disabilities, women) enrolling in STEM, as well as social, behavioral and economic sciences (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011; NSF, 2013). I triangulated my data collection by using interviews, archival data (e.g., reports, news articles), and anecdotal feedback about each program.

After identifying three initial diversity leaders, I used snowball sampling to identify additional participants including AGEP staff members, senior administrators, faculty mentors and other non-AGEP diversity program administrators. I conducted a total of 20 interviews across three sites. Through this rich collection of data, I discovered that we have extraordinary diversity leaders among us.

FindingsWhy do I feel confident in making the claim that we have extraordinary heroes hiding among us in plain sight? For starters, my analysis uncovered some significant findings about these diversity leaders. First, graduate diversity leaders within STEM held

many responsibilities not listed in their primary job descriptions. Not only were they responsible for carrying out tasks related to their primary graduate administrator roles, but they were also responsible for carrying out several tasks in order to manage, support, sustain and expand their programs. Generally, I found that these diversity leaders were so involved in their work that they all struggled with unpacking their role and discussing specific responsibilities. Table 1 includes a listing of the most common responsibilities that emerged from my research participants. To be sure, this list is by no means exhaustive of all of the responsibilities that emerged during my data collection.

Second, and most importantly, by nearly all accounts given by their supervisors, colleagues and staff, these leaders made a major impact on the way their institutions embraced and engaged in diversity and inclusion overall, not just in graduate STEM education. I found evidence that these leaders had the capability, with the right support, to act as transformative leaders for their institutions. In the literature, transformative leaders are charismatic and inspirational and possess the ability to motivate people to dramatically change their perception and behavior toward diversity and inclusion, thus transforming the organization (Bass, 1985; Shields, 2010). The literature on transformative leadership is rich with

accounts of seemingly magical and mystical charismatic leaders who were able to turn institutions around in ways that escaped their predecessors (Bass, 1985). While I did see characteristics typically associated with transformative leaders in each of the diversity leaders in my study, there was nothing particularly mysterious or mystical about what they did. Rather, their leadership developed from real challenges and practical necessities that required them to adopt particular strategies in order to sustain their programs and promote diversity for the greater campus community. This was evident through the examples and language their staff and colleagues used to describe their work and their impact on the campuses in which they worked. Although these graduate diversity leaders did not necessarily have the power to change the entire organization, these leaders were consistently referred to as change agents. All three of the graduate diversity leaders in my study were described as charismatic and inspirational and able to motivate others to think and behave differently about diversity and inclusion. They were viewed as affecting real change in the institutional culture. Incidentally, these are traits commonly used to describe transformative leaders (Bass, 1985; Shields, 2010).

However, leadership that aims to change attitudes and behavior about diversity

“Through this rich collection of

data, I discovered that we have

extraordinary diversity leaders

among us.”

Table 1. Responsibilities of Graduate Diversity Leaders in STEM

Responsibility Description

Advocate Speaking on behalf of the student or program

Manage program Delegating responsibilities and supervising overall program operations

Evaluation Assessing outcomes or engaging in reflection

Mentor/advise Offering advice and counsel on career, academic or personal matters

Support Providing aid or assistance

Coordinate Arranging an event, service or meeting to further the goals of the program

Fundraise Raising money for the program and students

Recruit Networking and soliciting students or faculty for the program

Teach Delivering instruction in the form of workshops and lectures


is about more than just personality and leadership traits—there must be action and observable results. Others judge a transformational leader by the amount of change the leader can affect in an organization (Nash, 2012). This affected change can occur in perceptions, persons, departments, services, behaviors and language that previously did not fully embrace diversity and inclusion (Shields, 2010). In other words, transformative leadership creates a shift from static or resistant attitudes and behaviors to ones more accepting and supportive of greater diversity and inclusion. My data showed that these graduate diversity leaders were affecting real change in their institutional context.

In my interviews across all three campuses, I discovered a perception that the graduate diversity leader had raised awareness about the importance of diversity and inclusion for faculty and administrators not affiliated with AGEP program or other diversity initiatives. This increased awareness of the importance of diversity also led faculty and administrators in each institution to be more supportive and engaged in diversity related programming. As one AGEP staff member explained:

I think [she] helped the institution to make a paradigm shift from what tended to be sort of more standard ways of dealing with under-rep programs to underrepresented students. If you were to ask me what was the greatest accomplishment, it’s along those terms or lines, okay. (Senior Administrator, Blossom State University)

A faculty member at a different institution described this phenomenon this way:

One of the things that [she] was good at—or I should say “is good at”—and in the graduate school is their programs. And their outreach permitted the campus in many, many different ways. And so often [the] campus would be affected by those programs, and they wouldn’t recognize it was that program. (Program Coordinator, Eastwood State University)

As demonstrated in the quote above, the graduate diversity leaders in my study recognized the need to diffuse the services they offered to increase engagement and support for their programs. They also believed that sharing their program services with the entire campus community advanced their goal to promote not only diversity, but inclusion and building community. As one diversity program leader said:

Basically the goals that the program was designed for by NSF coincide with the goals of this institution … we want students to be able, we want to get them into our program, we want to make sure they succeed. And we want to have a community, which is what we have actually established, the community of scholars interested in sciences, across the campuses, across the discipline. (Program Coordinator, Gilbert University)

As wonderful and ideal as increasing diversity and inclusion may sound, the actual steps leaders take to build

a more inclusive campus community and diffuse the value of diversity throughout an entire organization are much more elusive. I found that the graduate diversity leaders in my study used specific strategies to enact change, and these strategies depended not only on their context, but the situation and specific need. While I do not have the space to elaborate on these strategies in detail (the article is forthcoming, in case you’re interested!), they include: bargaining and negotiation networking and collaboration both within and outside of the institution; persistence; reaching out to the greater campus; persuasion; mediation; mapping the political terrain and coalition building developing allies.

The dearth of empirical inquiry on these professionals, what they do, and how they do it is certainly troubling, since it is evident from my research that these leaders hold a wealth of information about how to actualize higher education’s goals of increasing diversity and inclusion, especially within graduate STEM education. Most of the research within the diversity leadership area focuses on college presidents and chief diversity officers (Aguirre & Martinez, 2007; Leon, 2011; Schmidt, 2009). One of the reasons why there may be so little attention given to the role of diversity leaders in graduate STEM education is the undefined nature of their position. Many times, they self-select to assume the responsibility of running a graduate STEM diversity program in addition to their formal work responsibilities as a dean, provost or department chair. There are many explicit, and even more implicit, expectations tied to their roles. There was no outlined recognition of their role or of their responsibilities in the NSF AGEP grant or in the institutions in which they worked. The literature describes how a person’s work can become invisible due to a lack of acknowledgement (Hampson & Junor, 2005; Moore, Acosta, Perry & Edwards, 2010). The lack of, or even desire for, knowledge about what graduate diversity leaders do suggests that they are not viewed as “real leaders” by

“In my interviews across all

three campuses, I discovered a

perception that the graduate

diversity leader had raised

awareness about the importance

of diversity and inclusion for

faculty and administrators not

affiliated with AGEP program or

other diversity initiatives.”

“As wonderful and ideal as

increasing diversity and inclusion

may sound, the actual steps

leaders take to build a more

inclusive campus community

and diffuse the value of diversity

throughout an entire organization

are much more elusive.”




scholars—and perhaps by some on their campuses. This illustrates an interesting irony, or rather, paradox: institutions hire these leaders to increase inclusivity, yet they often encounter exclusion by both their institution and the literature on leadership. I contend that we cannot begin to truly identify and learn from those who have the potential to influence change for greater equity, access, retention and inclusion if our ideas about who can be transformative leaders are too narrow.

There is overwhelming interest and research on transformative “superstars” in higher education. Recruitment, admissions policies, campus climate, financial aid, support services and faculty relationships are key factors of why students of color are not participating and persisting in graduate STEM education. Despite the rising recognition that intervention programs such as graduate diversity programs address these challenges (Matthews, 2011), one of the most popular solutions recommended is to find or cultivate a transformative leader (Hicks & Pitre, 2012; Hudson, English & Dawes, 2012). Most of our current ideas and research on transformative leadership are fixated on senior administrators, particularly college presidents (Barut, 2012; Kezar, 2008). Although there have been some attempts to examine non-traditional leaders and mid-level administrators as transformative (Astin & Astin, 2000), leaders like the graduate diversity program leaders in this study are rarely considered to be transformative or even recognized in the literature as leaders. Yet, as my study shows, many of their colleagues view these leaders as transformative because they are changing attitudes and behaviors across their campuses. They are transformative because they have the capacity to create institutional change.

This is an exciting time in higher education. Demographic shifts are on the rise, with more underrepresented

students seeking entry into higher education and, more specifically, graduate education. Although not widely institutionalized, diversity and inclusion is a commonly espoused value for most institutions of higher education. There is new information and new mechanisms available to help institutions start the work of self-reflection so they can move toward real institutional change. Additionally, more scholars are recognizing that significant change does not necessarily start at the top. From Tinto’s (2012) call for institutional change for the classroom to Kezar and Lester’s (2011) study on grassroots efforts to increase institutional capacity for leadership, there appears to be a growing recognition and interest in finding leaders in other locations within our institutions. The results of my study offer evidence of a group of extraordinary leaders who work among us. They manage to accomplish much with very little recognition.

Graduate diversity program leaders in STEM have vast knowledge, networks and collaborative relationships with many disparate communities within, and outside of, their institutions. They are committed to the goals of increasing diversity and creating environments that are inclusive. If higher education wants to truly move beyond symbolic diversity and toward institutional change, institutional leaders and the funding organizations that support diversity initiatives must begin to take the role of these types of leaders more seriously. Instead of stumbling about like Lois Lane searching for a superhero to fix our problems, we need only to search within our campuses to find the superheroes in our midst. Graduate diversity leaders in STEM can teach us how to recruit, support and retain more underrepresented students of color in STEM and help us soar to new

levels of fulfilling the diversity goals our institutions espouse.

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“They are transformative because

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“Demographic shifts are on the

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16 N A G A PS U M M E R 2 0 1 4 • P E R S P E C T I V E S

2014 NAGAP AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations, Jeffery!

Distinguished Service AwardThe Distinguished Service Award is presented to an individual who has contributed exceptional service to the graduate enrollment management (GEM) profession and to the Association.

The recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Service Award is Jeffery T. Johnson, PhD. At Tulane University, Dr. Johnson has served as Director of Admissions, Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Services, Director of Peace Corps Programs and founding Director of Undergraduate Public Health Studies at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He currently serves as the Senior Special Assistant to the Dean and holds a Clinical Assistant Professorship in the Department of Global Health Systems and Development.

Congratulations, Holly!

Visionary AwardThe Visionary Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated unique and innovative vision in the GEM profession.

The 2014 Visionary Award honoree is C. Holly Wilbanks, Academic Administrator for the Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management, would like to congratulate its 2014 award winners. These awards were presented at NAGAP’s 27th Annual Conference on May 1, 2014, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, Calif.

Congratulations, Josh and Chris!

Building Bridges AwardThe Building Bridges Award recognizes an individual whose efforts or initiatives have helped to build bridges of dialogue, communication and exchange within the GEM community and/or NAGAP.

The 2014 Building Bridges Award was presented jointly to Christopher Connor, Assistant Dean for Graduate Enrollment Management Services at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Joshua LaFave, Director of the Center for Graduate Studies at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

17 N A G A P P E R S P E C T I V E S • S U M M E R 2 0 1 4

Future Leader AwardThe Future Leader Award honors an individual in the Association who has displayed leadership and enthusiasm both to the GEM profession and also to the Association.

Future Leader Awards for 2014 were presented to Ariana Balayan, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. and Linda Horisk, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Enrollment at the Fordham University Graduate School of Education in New York City.

Graduate Student Enrollment Management Research GrantThe Graduate Student Enrollment Management Research Grant is designed to encourage emerging knowledge and understanding of the complexities of graduate enrollment management including all aspects of admissions and recruitment, enrollment, retention and graduation in higher education.

The 2014 recipients of the Graduate Student Enrollment Management Research Grant are:

Pam L. Gustafson, for her proposal entitled “What Signals Are We Sending? The Use of Programs-Specific Admissions Criteria in Graduate Programs.” Her research looks at the use of program-specific and generalized admissions criteria in specialized graduate programs through the lens of signaling theory, market matching and resource-based theory.

Jessica Ostrow, for her proposal entitled “Toward an Understanding of Student Veteran Motivation for Pursuing Graduate Education.” Her study explores student veteran motivations for pursuing graduate education by examining qualitative data through Schlossberg, Waters and Goodman’s (1995) theory on adults in transition and Wigfield and Eccles’ (2000) expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation.

Congratulations, Pam and Jessica!

Promotion of Excellence AwardThe Promotion of Excellence Award is given in recognition of new or existing methodology that clearly demonstrates best practices for other GEM professionals. This year’s topic was “Best Implementation of an Idea that Developed as a Result of Participation in a NAGAP Educational Offering.”

The recipient of the 2014 Promotion of Excellence Award is State University of New York at Buffalo for their implementation of two initiatives as a result of attending NAGAP’s 25th Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. These critical take away items, including strategic use of social media and implementation of a paperless application and review system, were the catalyst for significant changes within the office of Graduate Enrollment Management Services and across the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Holly Acito, Lisa Coia, Troy Joseph and Chris Connor, representing the team from SUNY at Buffalo – Congratulations!

Congratulations, Linda!Congratulations, Ariana!

N A G A P18

As a recipient of the 2014 NAGAP Pre-Conference Institute Fellowship, I had the opportunity to attend the session “Avoiding Liability & Legal Pitfalls While Managing Change in Graduate Enrollment Management.” Joan Van Tol, General Counsel at the Law School Admission Council, expertly led the discussion and provided opportunities for participants to share unique examples from their schools.

The session focused on legal issues related to recruiting, postings on social media, obtaining a diverse applicant pool, electronic record management, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and more. We discussed the importance of reviewing outward-facing communications (website and application), the admission decision making process and how we communicate the decisions. Attendees were give a multiple-choice quiz to test themselves on how they would manage particular legal situations. Private conversations of how individual schools dealt with these issues continued throughout the day.

The topic of being aware of legal pitfalls while managing change in graduate enrollment is of particular interest to me in my role as PhD Program Director and Chair of the AACSB Affinity Group,

DocNet. In both of these positions, I find myself networking and discussing best practices with graduate admission professionals within and outside my university. Following the NAGAP conference I shared the following with my colleagues. Some of these topics may seem obvious, but they are useless unless we act upon them.

1. Secure permission-to-use from the artist for any photographs, video or art that is published, either in hard copy or electronically. Secure written permission-to-use from any individual whose likeness is used (except for ‘stadium shots’).

2. Identify your recruiters (staff, students, alumni, faculty) and keep them current on knowledge of your program so they don’t make promises you can’t keep. Have training sessions!

3. Review your process. Know and use test scores correctly. Require that students who have access to applicant files are trained in FERPA (and they sign confidentiality agreements). Check accuracy of the

acceptance letters that come from a database. Develop a post-denial communication and train staff to the policy.

4. Electronic records (back-up file and email) are records for legal purposes. Know your school/state record retention policy.

5. Does your school provide or do you need liability insurance?

This year’s Pre-Conference Institute made me more aware of legal pitfalls associated with managing change in graduate enrollment management. Thank you to NAGAP’s Professional Development Committee for this opportunity.

S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 • P E R S P E C T I V E S

NAGAP PRE-CONFERENCE INSTITUTE: PERSPECTIVES FROM FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS NANCY CROUCH AND MELINDA VAN HEMERTReported by Nancy Crouch, School of Business, University of Connecticut


As a longtime admissions and recruiting professional, it is critical to keep abreast of the important issues facing our daily operations. The Pre-Conference Institute gave me specific training on various legal issues and prompted me to evaluate our current application to make sure we are meeting new regulations in this constantly changing educational climate.

This session provided me with best practices benchmarking. It also allowed me to keep informed of how to better manage, integrate and evolve our social media outreach to prospective candidates while maintaining professionalism and staying within FERPA guidelines. Joan was a great presenter.

I want to make sure that I am in compliance, and overseeing an office with many roles and responsibilities does not allow me to attend as many professional development workshops as I would like.

This is the first time in 15 years as a NAGAP member that I have applied for a fellowship and I am so thankful that I was selected as the recipient for the Pre-Conference Institute this year. It was so nice to meet new colleagues and catch up with old friends.

I rely on NAGAP as an important part of my support and training and have found great utility in the reports provided online as well as the in-person sessions and conferences.

Reported by Melinda van Hemert, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University

NAGAP PCI CONTINUED


2014 CONFERENCE SESSION SUMMARIES

CONNECTING EXPERTISE WITH GRADUATE EDUCATION: DEVELOPING AND MARKETING ADVANCED CERTIFIED PROGRAMSPresented by Cammie Baker Clancy, SUNY Empire CollegeRecorded by Melissa Cook, Illinois College of Optometry

It is no longer feasible to believe that formal education ever ends. As non-traditional students sought to increase their knowledge after the 2008 economic crisis, SUNY Empire College found many prospective students willing to complete a certificate to improve their job outlook, but unwilling to obtain a master’s degree. By looking at the approach this institution took, others may find a way to bring in more funding and create a new potential pool of students from which to recruit for their programs.

While most changes in higher education are based on theory, SUNY Empire College decided it was more important for certifications to be applicable towards career advancement and academic growth by offering a potential stepping stone for individuals to advance themselves now and

possibly expand later into a master’s degree. A goal was to have at least one certificate course be a requirement for a corresponding degree, which was cost effective as the courses already existed.

SUNY Empire College began by looking at government job growth research to determine possible future student interests. This was then compared to the courses that students were taking in various programs and several combinations of courses were found to match careers in demand. Students were surveyed to see if they would like an integrated certificate that corresponded to their degree and resulted in a high interest from students. This allowed them to launch four certificates in less than two years. A certificate in health care management was designed to lead to an MBA, because so many students were

studying it; however, public health policy students were also interested. After realizing other areas were interested, they took a step back and found a way to ensure other certifications fit pedagogically. By working with faculty who were excited by the new combinations, they now have students enrolled in 15 different certificates and more will be added soon.

SUNY Empire College has established a template that other institutions could use to create sought after certificates. Once students began their advanced certificates many realized their potential in achieving a master’s degree. It may take some time after completing their certificate, but most will come back especially if the recruiting efforts help them realize their abilities.

IMPLEMENTING ONLINE DOCUMENT SUBMISSION INTO THE APPLICATION PROCESS ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET: HOW UIC’S GRADUATE ADMISSIONS TEAM MADE IT HAPPENPresented by Steve Kowal and Lauren Morris, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)Recorded by Laura Look, University of North Dakota

The push to move towards a paperless process is something that many universities are facing. The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) was facing budget and staffing cuts, high volume of application materials moving through the office and across campus and the problem of lost files and documents. UIC was able to move to a paperless process while utilizing their current information systems for a cost-effective solution.

A committee was formed including the graduate college, department program coordinators, the office of admissions and the IT/Systems offices. The goal was to determine the requirements for an online

application process including document uploads, letters of recommendations and fillable forms. Modifications made to the student information system included checklists for both the university and program application requirements, an online recommender system and a data warehouse to create reports for administration, record-keeping, quality control and unit workflow.

The student accesses the checklists to upload their application materials. The system accepts PDFs of transcripts, writing samples, recommendation letters and other required documents. The student can also see the date the materials were received and details and notes as well. The student also requests

recommendations through this system. The student enters the recommender’s email address and an optional message. The recommender receives an email with a link to upload the letter to the system.

These updates in processes and the elimination of paper supporting documents have resulted in a drastic decrease in paper received by UIC. Since September 2013, over 225,000 documents have been received electronically. Of the over 15,000 applications received each year, only approximately 2,500 have to send in official documents for final review.


CREDIT REPORTS AND SCORES: WHY SHOULD A STUDENT CARE? WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?Presented by Bryant Anderson, Illinois College of OptometryRecorded by Maureen Dour, Marymount University

The objective of this session was to explain how to manage credit reports by providing simple tools and resources. Credit scores and reports are the basis for financial stability. Establishing good credit should begin as early as possible. Students need to understand that actions now impact financial futures for years to come. We as higher education professionals need to guide and mentor prospective and enrolled students with their financial choices. We should assist and motivate students to make well informed decisions about credit, paying for school and protecting their identities.

Student debt is the only kind of household debt that has continued to rise through the Great Recession. Since 2008, trends show that individuals with student loan debt have been negatively impacted on their credits scores. Nearly one-third of the borrowers in repayment are delinquent on student debt.

Nearly three-quarters of all credit reports have errors.

Credit reports matter because they are used by, though not limited to, lenders, employers, insurance companies, landlords, cable, internet and utility companies and cell phone providers. Every financial decision is impacted by credit and score reports. That said, it is important to know what a credit score is and what factors are used to determine it.

FICO (Fair, Isaac & Co.) is the most common score type. It is a fluid number that changes with each transaction. It ranges from 300 to 850. There is no magic threshold above or below which decisions are made. Factors that influence a credit score include, payment history, (with on time payment being the most influential), low balances, (using only ten percent of available credit is advised), closing unused accounts (unless

they are your oldest account, in which case using them at least once every three months, while paying off the balance monthly is encouraged) and not opening more than one new account per year.

In order to establish good credit, students should be encouraged to obtain a credit card and use it for monthly expenses such as gas or groceries. They should pay the balance in full each month, ON TIME. After twelve months of activity, a good credit history begins to establish itself.

Credit Repair is a myth. Beware of companies claiming to repair credit. Disputed items are temporarily removed from reports, and thus appear to improve the score during the investigation period.

Worthwhile websites include: www.annualreditreport.com, www.creditkarma.com, www.cgsnet.org, www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0160-student-loans

Thanks to Liaison International for their support of the Welcome Reception!

2014-16 NAGAP GOVERNING BOARDOfficersPresidentJames N. Crane Assistant Dean Graduate Studies Brigham Young University BYU Graduate Studies 105 FPH Provo, UT 84602 Phone: 801-422-1586 Fax: 801-422-0270 Email: [email protected]

Vice President Julia B. Deland Harvard Graduate School of Education

SecretaryJoshua LaFave State University of New York at Potsdam

TreasurerJeremiah Nelson UNC Charlotte

Immediate Past President/ International Relations Chair Joanne Canyon-Heller Roosevelt University

The Leader in Graduate Enrollment Management


COMBINING E-COMMERCE STRATEGIES & BEST PRACTICES IN GEM TO BUILD AN INNOVATIVE WEBSITE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTSPresented by Marc-Olivier Ouellet, University of MontrealRecorded by Alexandra Cole, University of Pittsburgh

In this presentation, the experience was shared of what was learned from creating a new website for prospective students to showcase the 250+ undergraduate and 350+ graduate programs of the University of Montreal (UM). In only eight months (January-October 2013), UM’s web offerings were realigned to meet the needs of prospective students while incorporating best practices of GEM and implementing a system to measure and evaluate the success of the new site without proprietary CRM.

The redesign was conducted in three distinct phases: digging, prototyping and consulting.

The digging process required two months of research to assess the following:

• Which data is available on the website?• Which data is missing from the website?• Who owns and can modify this data (e.g., the individual program, admissions office, the

registrar)?• Can this data be validated by a source (e.g., PeopleSoft, old publications)?

The prototyping process used a program (Axure) to create a mockup wireframe to force test users to focus on the ergonomics of the site rather than becoming distracted by the design.

• During this process, the site design changed reflecting feedback from test users.• Using a wireframing tool such as Axure provided more valuable feedback than screenshots of a

mockup website.

The consulting process consisted of focus groups of intended users (e.g., students, personnel/staff, high school counselors, and front-line receivers of questions such as secretaries).

• During this process, the site design underwent additional changes per user feedback.• Focus groups provided the added benefit of enabling the “It’s not my idea; they asked for it.”

reply to higher-ups who may have been resistant to change.

In terms of measuring the success of the new site utilizing Google Analytics, a 1 minute, 30 second increase has been realized in the duration of visits to the site. The new contact form increased UM’s contact list from a few hundred prospective students to several thousand.

The primary lessons learned from the redesign included the following:

• Students want all information about the program on one page.• Subsets of information specific to the program are grouped by tabs within the page.• Faceted search (powered by open source software Apache Solr) makes search more friendly

to users by allowing them to choose/rank the features most important to them in selecting a program.

Features for the new website currently under development include:

• Social login for Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.• Program comparison tool.

2014 CONFERENCE SESSION SUMMARIES CONTINUED

mailto:[email protected]

CommitteesChapters ChairSarah Petrakos Simmons College

Conference Chair 2015Teisha Johnson Illinois College of Optometry

Diversity & Inclusion ChairValerie Robinson Miami University

Education ChairLinda Horisk Fordham University

Membership ChairKittie Pain Neumann University

Professional Development ChairKeith Ramsdell Bowling Green State University

Publications ChairJennifer Kulbeck Alliant International University

Research and Global Issues ChairChristopher Connor University of New York at Buffalo

Technology ChairMarcus Hanscom University of New Haven

Publications CommitteeNicquet Blake, PhD University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

Marianne Gumpper Fairfield University

Raymond Lutzky New York University

Kate McConnell Saint Joseph’s University


DOES IT WORK OR DOESN’T IT: GRADUATE ADMISSIONS FROM AN AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVEPresented by Joanne Canyon-Heller, Roosevelt University; Kees Kouwenaar, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; and Marybeth Gruenewald, Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.Recorded by Janet Beagle, Purdue University Graduate School

In continental Europe, there is no middle space between a bachelor’s and master’s program. Students who leave a 3-year bachelor’s program immediately enter into a 2-year master’s of the same track. It is a diploma-based rather than a competency-based admission. This is a remnant of the traditional structure which had one 5-year degree before the doctoral degree. When students enter doctoral programs in Europe they are often no longer considered students. They seek a professor who will be their supervisor in their personal quest for a dissertation. There is no formal program at the doctoral level and little to no coursework; the formal status as a doctoral candidate is as an employee.

While the U.S. incorporates general education courses, European bachelor’s degrees have 3 years of discipline-specific coursework. There is a small movement toward allowing minors outside of the major, but this deviation from the core discipline is still frowned upon by faculty. U.S. students applying for a European master’s degree would appear very weak in their major, since the general education credits would be disregarded.

In the U.S., different schools have different admission criteria. The exit requirements to leave a bachelor’s program are not necessarily the same as the entrance requirements to start a master’s degree. Standardized test scores, additional essays and faculty recommendations are often required. While only about 1% of European students leave with a bachelor’s, it is much more common for U.S. students to enter the job market with a bachelor’s degree. Interestingly, while European schools have moved toward separating the degrees, there is the opposite trend in the United States, with some programs integrating bachelor’s and master’s programs into 3+2 programs.

There is a growing call in Europe for more competency-based admission to master’s programs, reflecting the growing diversity in the pool of applicants. To respond to this trend, there is now an initiative “Mastermind Europe” to develop a toolkit and samples of good practice for master’s directors who want to shift from diploma-recognition to competency-assessment as the basis of their admission.



CHANGE MANAGEMENT 101: APPLYING THE BUSINESS PRINCIPLES OF CHANGE TO GRADUATE ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENTPresented by Jeremiah Nelson, University of North Carolina, CharlotteRecorded by Stacy Doepner-Hove, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Change is the only constant in life. This statement is very true in our world of GEM. We are continually facing change in our departments, our staff, our students and the world around us. Taking a moment to step back and look at change as a process can help us to anticipate what we need to do to make the change a reality and change we didn’t ask for a more successful part of our work.

Professor John Kotter provides an eight-step change process as a way to approach any change management situation – big or small.

1) Develop a sense of urgency around the need for change so that people understand why the change needs to come.

2) Form a powerful guiding coalition that will work as a team throughout the change process.

3) Create a vision for change. Make it something that can be easily grasped and remembered and captures what you want to see as the future after the change is in place.

4) Communicate that vision in everything you do. Talk about it every chance you get and embed the vision into all you do.

5) Empower people to act. Remove barriers in the way to change and ask those resistant to change what they need to move forward. This isn’t a one-time thing. Continue to look for barriers to remove throughout the change process.

6) Create short term wins and celebrate them. Nothing motivates more than success and the end goal may be far away so take the time to celebrate along the way and keep people motivated.

7) Don’t let up, think about continuous improvement. Real change needs to run deep in the organization. Don’t claim victory too early. Research says that you need to repeat and improve the change ten times before it will stick.

8) Anchor the change into the core culture. Leaders need to continue to support the change and it needs to be thought about when hiring new people – bring them into the new change culture from the time they start.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT LESSONS LEARNED: HOW TO LEAD & SUPPORT THE CENTRALIZATION OF A “NEW” ADMISSION TEAM AND EMBRACE GRADUATE SEMPresented by Robert MacDonald, The New SchoolReported by Jennifer Webb, Marymount University

In this presentation, the experience was shared of centralizing three major graduate schools at a private not-for-profit university into one graduate admissions office while maintaining the “branding” of each of the schools and programs. When creating a centralized admissions process, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. Admissions decisions are typically made by admissions only, faculty only or admissions and faculty together at institutions of higher education, which is true for the case-study institution where most programs were separate entities.

The three phases in the centralization process were: Phase 1– A work in progress: centralizing a graduate admissions office, phase 2 – moving toward SEM, and phase 3 – a centralized office.

Phase 2 is where majority of the changes occurred, during which 3 school identities and/or 8 program identities were transformed into one in many ways. This was done by talking to each team to discuss

the identity of each school and fusing common characteristics. The new admissions team had to learn 51 programs but for the most part, admissions staff answered general institution questions or application questions and referred students to Director of Admissions, AVP, faculty members or deans to answer program specific questions. Marketing materials were redesigned into a comprehensive brochure.

Challenges and factors of centralization included:

• Individual staff assessment• Operating structure• Management of change including

ambiguity of leadership• Office re-organization including new

collaborations• Re-allocation of resources• Use of technology• Data collection• Communication plans• Resistance to change

• Gaining university supporters • Faculty buy-in – Convincing schools to

agree to similar admissions application requirements.

• Staff resistance and then acceptance – Staff needed to adapt to the changes in positions, physical locations, job status and job duties.

• Branding – taking big schools with different brands and marketing as one institution. The directors had to work with deans to assure each event was true to what they have set for the school experience.

The biggest benefit of the centralization was strategic recruiting as admissions improved data recording and tracking. Even if all schools cannot be combined, it can be beneficial to combine some facet, recruitment perhaps, in order to improve strategic recruiting and enrollment.


EMBRACING A NEW PROGRAM’S MARKETING EVOLUTION: ASSESSING WHAT WORKS (AND WHAT DOESN’T)Presented by Justin Maher, Harvard Graduate School of EducationRecorded by Jennifer Brown, Washington University in St. Louis

The objective of this session was to assess the effectiveness of outreach and recruitment strategies and how to efficiently change course when necessary. Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) reviewed their first five years of recruitment efforts for a new graduate program and has identified best practices for outreach, and assessing and revising marketing platforms based on effectiveness, feedback and available resources.

HGSE faced three challenges. First, they needed to identify a mechanism to recruit students who were not necessarily thinking about graduate school. Previous strategies included simple ad hoc outreach to professional organizations and did not yield positive results. A more focused strategy was created and centered on:

Streamlining High Touch Outreach – Responses were tracked and levels of prospect enthusiasm were followed up with personalized communication.

Narrowing Prospect Search by Work Experience – HGSE purchased email lists and used LinkedIn to identify prospective applicants.

Referrals – Organizations whose members fit their target were identified and marketing material was sent via email. Current students and alumni were sent additional marketing material and encouraged to pass it along to any interested colleagues.

HGSE also needed to create an intuitive web platform that would allow them to effectively connect with their target audience. By interacting using the appropriate social

media that their target demographic is familiar with they were able to expand posts beyond events, link to relevant third party content and interact with their followers. They also lightened their work load by scheduling posts in advance.

HGSE’s last challenge was including already over extended faculty and students in the recruitment process. They solved this problem by using “light lifting, high impact activities.” Students were interviewed briefly in person and through questionnaires. The information collected was then used in multiple marketing pieces. Faculty were featured at high impact events and were asked to include HGSE information in their lectures and panels.

(WEBSITE) CONTENT (STRATEGY) IS KING: ATTRACTING & CONVERTING PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS BY PROVIDING CONTENT THEY NEED, WHEN THEY NEED ITPresented by Pam Hardy, California Western School of Law and Tony Poillucci, VisionPoint MarketingRecorded by Stefanie Stern, Pardee RAND Graduate School

In today’s interconnected world, an effective and well-thought-out website can make a huge difference in attracting, recruiting and enrolling prospective students. A strong website is a powerful marketing and communications tool. In this presentation, we heard about the partnership between a law school and a marketing agency to develop a strategic approach to the creation of a new website, a brand platform and a content and engagement strategy.

“Content strategy” is planning for the creation of website content from the beginning in order to tell a particular story. It builds an integrated message based on established “pillars” that ultimately tell the story of the school. In the law school example, pillars were developed that reflected the school best: “professional

ready” (e.g., offer real-world experience), “champions of justice” (e.g., dedicated to the cause of justice and equality), “committed to excellence,” and “supported learning communities.” Along with these pillars, attributes that best described the school were compiled: welcoming, supportive, authentic, creative and bold. Lastly, four distinct student types were identified: the public interest-minded student, the financially concerned, the “novice” and current or former military members. With these brand pillars, descriptive characteristics and student types in mind, the website content could be formulated to tell this story and provide the content that the prospective student needs most.

In order to build upon the content strategy, the next step is the “engagement

strategy,” whereby content selected for the website supports a brand pillar, services a call to action and/or provides specialized content to one of its four student types. Website engagement can include testimonials to tell the stories of students and graduates; awareness pieces (e.g., how to live on the cheap, the return on investment of a law degree or how to find scholarships available); and opportunities to interact with the school (e.g., attend an alumni webinar or schedule a financial aid consultation).

A website content and engagement strategy is a worthwhile investment in order to develop content that best serves the goals of the school and engages prospective and admitted students all the way to their first day of classes.



MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION: SYRIA, IRAQ, LIBYAPresented by Margaret Wenger, Educational Credential EvaluatorsReported by Hope Geiger, University of Tulsa Graduate School

Countries that are in the midst of or emerging from conflict have recent changes to their educational systems which need to be taken into account during the admissions process. Things of particular concern relate to documentation, including the availability and use of graduate databases and other verification options for certifying official documents.

SYRIAEducation is still taking hits on a variety of fronts in Syria during the recent conflict (physical structures, policy implementation and support structures). The Ministry of Higher Education oversees post-secondary education, maintaining the most current list of public and private universities as well as the intermediate institutes offering more technical based educational options. The most important element to consider when dealing with Syrian applicants is to maintain flexibility when evaluating documents since it is difficult for students outside of Syria to obtain documents. Certified and original versions look quite different, but both can be considered official.

For more information and updated university lists, visit www.mohe.gove.sy/mohe.

IRAQHigher educational institutions in Iraq indicate that their document archives have remained intact following conflicts in the area. According to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, all diplomas can be verified and legalized going back at least to 1990. Some new additions to the educational offerings in Iraq include 3-year bachelor’s degree, which are not usually equivalent to a 4-year degree in the US. Most of these 3-year degrees will be issued from Al-Nahrain University, which is new to the Iraqi educational system. Typically documents are issued in Arabic and English, but keep in mind that the Kurdish Regional Government has established a separate system with Kurdish as the primary language or instruction. Regardless of the course though, Iraqi degree information can be verified using online resources.

For more information, visit www.mohesr.gov.ir and www.mhe-krg.org.

LIBYASince Libya is still in the midst of conflict, very little is known of the current state of their educational system. Universities were closed briefly in 2011, but otherwise appear to have remained open. The National Transitional Council is working with the universities to overhaul general infrastructure. Official documents should all have a hologram seal from the Quality Assurance Association on the back. In addition to traditional 4-year degree institutions, Libya also has created Higher Institutes which offer 3-year technical degrees, although students can sometimes go into master’s degree programs with these credentials. Most of the state institutions have been renamed after the overthrow of Qaddafi’s government in 2011.

For more information and updated university lists, visit www.qaa.ly and www.educationuse.info/MENA.


ADAPTING EXISTING PROGRAMS TO MEET CURRENT STUDENT NEEDS: GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUEPresented by Jill McEvoy, SUNY Empire State CollegeReported by Claire DeWitt, Brigham Young University

The SUNY Empire State College (ESC) developed this program with the help of a grant from the Graduate Management Admissions Council to meet the needs of veteran and military students. The existing MBA was adapted and enhanced to address the transition needs of this population from military to civilian leadership roles.

The School for Graduate Studies was established in 1971 as a non-traditional learning institution with a decentralized structure that offers associates, bachelors and masters programs. They currently serve students from all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. The graduate school offers programs in business, policy studies, liberal studies, education and nursing.

During the 2012-13 academic year, 1,662 military/veteran students were enrolled and of these, 5.5 percent were in the School for Graduate Studies. Most of the military and veteran students enrolled in graduate programs were in the MBA program (or

advanced certificate programs related to the MBA).

The average age of graduate students is 36. Often they are married or married with children and have physical disabilities. It is very important for the student to be engaged in the program for this opportunity to be successful for them and validate the school’s efforts in the students’ behalf.

Some of the “school issues” the military and veteran students deal with are:

1. Absence of a regimented schedule

2. Isolation from civilian peers and the college community

3. Disorientation from change in reporting structure and environment

4. Lack of available support services

5. Navigation of benefits

The Ideas to Innovation (i2i) Challenge is sponsored by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

ESC wants to:

1. Reduce the cost and time to degree completion.

2. Increase the social capital and corporate employability of participants.

3. Recognize the service and training of this population through transfer credit and individual evaluation.

4. Increase the number of veterans and service members who earn an MBA.

5. Create a model that can be used at other institutions and that can be adapted to fit various student populations.

It takes a number of resources to be able to make such changes. AT ESC they are using the following: advisory committee, college-wide academic review, Office of Veteran and Military Education: Transition Services, Recruitment and Outreach Personnel and Admissions.

Título de LicenciadoBằng Tốt Nghiệp Đại Học

Diplôme de MaîtriseGrado de Maestro



HOW TO MAKE YOUR DATA WORK FOR YOU: EFFICIENCY & TRANSPARENCY IN RECRUITING & EVALUATIONPresented by Sonja Steinbech and Rumman Chowdry, University of California at San Diego (UCSD)Reported by Elsa Evans, University of San Francisco

The objectives of this session were: 1) to determine what data is important and how it correlates to success of a program, 2) how to isolate and score data, and 3) how to implement data-analysis solutions for unique enrollment considerations.

When considering how to use data, the presenters examined specific enrollment goals and concerns to determine admission guidelines. By using regression models to determine the important criteria, they were able to reduce the noise in their data and craft their application questions to target the most relevant data. They found that academic success in the program was directly correlated to certain areas that they could then use to craft admission review criteria.

The process included an objective review of the data used to make admission decisions – GPA, test scores, grades in relevant courses – and established a consistent, reproducible, objective ranking system. Using a point-based rank for objective data and combining it with a weighted, subjective data ranking allowed the stakeholders to score applicants based on known indicators of success in the graduate program. The subjective ranking

included letters of recommendation, as well as professional, leadership and international experience.

The presenters took advantage of subject area experts and faculty to provide insights into why some types of data were more reliable than others. For example, in countries that teach to the test, standardized tests scores are not a good predictor of success. Instead, they examined the data of students who earned Dean’s Fellowships in the graduate program to find important indicators of success. Using this type of regression model can also segment your populations to best craft questions in the review process.

In a case study, three countries were examined to show that using the same criteria to score applicants from different regions leads to inconsistent performance in the graduate program. To address these nuances in the admission process, they built in country flags that allowed them to examine the propensity to study for exams, value of family connection in professional experience and unreliability of test scores. Utilizing a country’s experts allowed them to add variables like program rank or simply

weigh criteria differently depending on cultural knowledge of the region.

When determining review scales, they recommend considering if the same system can be used for three years to keep the dataset consistent. They also suggested taking advantage of statisticians and coordinate across departments to get the largest set of data available for analysis. Keep the dataset clean and consistent in order to validate your findings long term.

The same tools can be used to predict yield. Two aspects were most important for the UCSD program for determining yield: applicants from California and funding offered. To get their top applicants, full funding would have to be offered. Looking at their own data, applicants with strong quantitative scores were often awarded more funding despite applicants with the strongest quantitative and analytical scores performing best in the program long term. By using regression modeling, the process can be improved to match academic performance indicators and funding to increase yield and performance in the program.


REACHING THE WORLD: MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY’S PLAN FOR RECRUITING AND SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS (RECIPIENT OF 2012 NAGAP PROMOTION OF EXCELLENCE AWARD)Presented by Noreen Golfman, Andrew Kim and Forristall Ashley, Memorial UniversityReported by Andrew T. Espiritu, Alliant International University

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) at Memorial University (MU) is a trailblazer when it comes to increasing international student enrollment and building on student success. Recipient of NAGAP’s Promotion of Excellence Award for the past two years, much of their enrollment triumphs focus on 3 key objectives:

1) Building international strategies from the ground up.

2) Increasing awareness of growth opportunities for graduate enrollment.

3) Linking student services to their enrollment plan.

Building an International Strategy From the Ground Up

SGS identified its main organizational weakness in recruiting international students as the decentralization of its international activities and offices. In an effort to revamp the University’s commitment to internationalization, SGS built better relationships and collaborated with various internal departments and external organizations, thus resorting to a more centralized model. By partnering with its International Center and Division of Marketing and Communications, SGS was

able to build a stronger international profile and brand itself in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam through webinars and participating in international graduate fairs.

SGS’s success can also be attributed to the 35 partnerships and 121 exchange agreements it has established with institutions around the world. The majority of these agreements are with institutions located in Europe and Asia, with added interest from government sponsorship agencies in emerging and high growth markets. These partnership agreements have led to international research collaborations, the development of international projects by the University, the recruitment of foreign trained staff and faculty, and international student recruitment and enrollment.

Increasing Awareness of Growth Opportunities for Graduate Enrollment

SGS noted that 95% of its international students in Canada use the Internet to gather information when deciding which university to enroll in. To support and attract international students to Memorial University, SGS wanted to ensure that information on its programs were not only easily accessible, but also met the educational needs of

prospective students. Through the use of their homegrown CRM, strategically created microsites and their presence on foreign language social media platforms, SGS has been able to tailor their communication strategy to each individual market with added support through live chat software. The combination of these strategies led to higher international student conversion rates.

Linking Student Services to Their Enrollment Plan

Focusing on higher levels of client service and faster processing times, SGS standardized a web only application with electronic correspondence to applicants. Using MU’s live chat software, munlive.ca, prospective and newly admitted students are able to have simple questions answered in real time. To decrease the process time for admissions, SGS offered graduate assistantships, held workshops on conducting its own international credential evaluations, shortened the turnaround of application decisions from 110 to 90 days and began offering electronic admissions to their admits. New student orientations were also conducted online.



TRANSLATING AN ACADEMIC MISSION TO A BRAND PLATFORMPresented by Sylvia Green, Wake Forest University School of Business and Carey Schmitt, OlogieRecorded by Alexandra Cole, University of Pittsburgh

In this presentation, Green and Schmitt reviewed how two separate business schools (undergraduate and graduate) were transformed into the Wake Forest University School of Business (WFU) under the visionary leadership of Dean Steven Reinemund, former CEO of PepsiCo. In a process spanning six years, WFU:

• Renewed its focus on two key constituencies (employers and students).

• Drafted a 32-page white paper which formed the basis of the rebranding process.

• Worked with Ologie (a branding, marketing and digital agency) to craft a story about the WFU brand.

• Sold the rebranded WFU to its authors: faculty, staff and current students.

• Branded the environment of the new WFU building (opened fall of 2013).

WFU decided to overhaul its entire curriculum to focus on employers’ needs, reasoned that by making employers happy, students were more likely to be placed in appropriate positions, thereby satisfying students’ needs as well.

From this premise, more than 200 authors came together to draft the 32-page white paper in a process that took 1.5 years. This white paper articulated the educational vision and mission of the school and was turned over to Ologie for help drafting the story. Schmitt noted that a good story is based on four principles:

• Authenticity• Authority (what is 100% ours?)• Agility (can apply to undergraduate

through PhD)• Aspiration

From the 32-page white paper, Ologie derived three core principles that would form the basis of the rebranding campaign: ready, able, honorable. They crafted a separate vision statement, mission statement and brand statement, each with a short “story” behind the statement to illustrate the qualities inherent in WFU’s programs. The three principles subsequently were incorporated into a “mood board” including a new color palette, fonts, video, quotations and images.

The entirely rebranded WFU School of Business launched with the grand opening of

the new building on November 1, 2013, an event which the Bloomberg business panel televised.

The most important takeaways from WFU’s rebranding included the following:

• Including the faculty and staff in early rebranding efforts is crucial to the success of the rebranding campaign.

• Taking time to sell the initial creators of the white paper (faculty and staff) on the branding agency’s interpretation of the creators’ words and meaning.

• Creating momentum by selecting a deadline, making a final decision and celebrating.

• Branding the environment (whether new like WFU building or pre-existing) helps to make the brand come alive (e.g., plaques with key attributes and quotations that embody the brand throughout the building, videos without sound playing on signage highlighting elements from the mood board).

IS DATA DRIVING YOUR BUDGET PLANNING & DECISIONS?Presented by Brad Gibbs, PlattFormReported by Vincent James, Harvard School of Public Health

This session covered four topics: a brief overview of the company, trends they are noticing in graduate enrollment, suggestions for institutions if they want to change their marketing approach and how to use the data presented as well as your own institutions’ data. PlattForm provides marketing and recruitment capabilities from research to creative to interactive marketing and more. The data provided in this session was based on research they have provided for their partners, IPEDS data and Google Education Search Analytics, in addition to other sources.

According to their research, they have observed a growth in students pursuing graduate degrees in private not-for-profit institutions over for-profit and public institutions, a projected increase in student pursuing master degrees through 2022 and close to one-quarter of current enrolled students are pursuing their degree through online education.

The presentation then shifted to marketing and Mr. Gibbs provided a visual of how media consumption has shifted from linear to non-linear and fragmented. A sample of a message matrix was shown as a tool to

develop a multi-channel approach to target prospective students in an effective way.

Finally, the session discussed how to use the data presented in the session by discussing the various media types that could be used in a multi-channel approach. Budget templates were also provided as a tool for cost-benefit analysis. The session concluded with some points to remember: do your research, not all programs are the same, set expectations and accept change.


RECRUITMENT & OUTREACH: CHALLENGES & STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING DIVERSITY IN GRADUATE EDUCATIONPresented by Haley Orton and Roxanna Quach, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)Recorded by Alice Camuti, Tennessee Tech University

This workshop addressed an important and critical issue in the profession today – increasing diversity in graduate programs. The presenters discussed the definition of diversity and the challenges in recruiting a diverse student body. Statistics were demonstrated regarding financial assistance for African American students, these students received less financial aid and borrowed more. African Americans also received less Research and Teaching Assistantships. It was also suggested that universities should provide debt-counseling services to aid these graduates. A literature review was conducted on the topic of campus racial climate (Solorzano, Ceja & Yosso, 2000; Yosso,

2006; and Museus, Maramba, Teriniski, 2013) as racial climate is a predictor of academic and social life of students. What they discovered was there is little research being done in this area. Three strategies uncovered in the literature included faculty involvement, student involvement (ownership) and embedded diversity offices on campus.

UCSB also looked at the impact that two pre-doctoral programs would have on diversity initiatives on campus. The programs included a California pre-doctoral scholars program called the Sally Casanova Program and the Academic Research Consortium Initiative. The two programs incorporated

faculty involvement and engagement, student research opportunities and funding. After interviewing six participants, they discovered that these pre-graduate program outreach initiatives build a sense of community and students developed a strong connection to faculty and future classmates.

The session ended with enough time to share best practices among the attendees. Discussion included creating formal visitation programs, targeting students in their junior undergraduate year, creating pre-graduate summer programs, providing funding information and opportunities, and recruiting at ‘feeder’ HBU’s and/or diverse campus’.



KEEPING NEW AND PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS INFORMED AND “ON TASK” THROUGH PLANNED COMMUNICATIONPresented by Stacy Torian, Duke University; Beth Schnettler, Washington University in St. Louis; Dean Tsantir, University of Minnesota; Lindsay Gentile, North Carolina State University; and Kim Tanner, Vanderbilt UniversityReported by Megan Barrett, Johns Hopkins University

Creating a well thought out communication plan with students as they work their way through the admission funnel is of utmost importance. In order to keep prospective students engaged and aware, as enrollment management professionals, we must stay on our toes and deliver the right amount of information in the best and most well received ways. Challenges often come about in this process due to budget restraints, lack of staff and resources. Despite these challenges there are methods and tools to limit high call and email volume so you can communicate with new and prospective students in efficient and informative ways.

In the presentation, each of the school representatives spoke about their communication plan and the advantages and disadvantages of centralized communication in graduate enrollment management. We learned that many of the schools utilize software and Client Relationship Management systems (CRM’s) to aid them in getting messaging out to new and prospective students.

At Washington University in St. Louis, Beth Schnettler and her team have adopted a centralized approach to graduate enrollment management. They do not currently use a CRM, but use the social media marketing tool HootSuite to manage call and email volume. This has allowed the team to send out admission tips through a social media platform and have a consistent way to answer common questions asked by applicants.

Kim Tanner of Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College moved from a “Homegrown” system to the CRM Slate by Technolutions. The CRM allowed for a centralized and holistic communication plan. Her team was able to trigger communications off of previous messages, utilize reporting features, and manage the online application and events. Now Kim’s team is able to communicate with new and prospective students in a timely, relevant and appropriate way.

Communication planning at North Carolina State, as presented by Lindsay Gentile, focuses on the importance of program level messaging and brand recognition. Due to a high level of international applicants, current international students have been utilized in communicating with applicants. This has helped in easing concerns and getting information to applicants from particular countries.

In large centralized graduate enrollment management offices like the University of Minnesota, Dean Tsantir found that the best way to communicate with students is to send messaging at the program level. They found it to be more effective to supply communications for the two hundred graduate programs, rather than encouraging them to create their own. By creating template emails and a “Graduate Admissions Toolkit” for faculty and staff, the graduate admissions office was able to empower the individual programs to have successful communications with prospective

and admitted students. The “Toolkit,” along with the use of the Hobsons Connect CRM and a prospective student portal, has all been useful practices in communication to a very large audience

At Duke University, according to Stacey Torian, an Application Self-Service Center has been a successful addition to their communication tools. This has helped because it limits the time that staff needs to spend on sending status updates and allows the applicant to be more in control.

The panel wrapped up the discussion with some of the struggles and obstacles they have faced in the development of communication plans with prospective and new students. One of the major issues that all the panelists agreed on was getting applicants to read the content of the entire email – even short ones. Other notable challenges were keeping individual graduate programs on the “same page” as the Graduate School and deciding whether to buy versus build your own system.

By learning the variety of communication methods in the graduate enrollment management arena, you can see the large number of options that are available. It is important to choose the methods and strategies that best fit the size of your school and the type of students you are recruiting.


PENETRATING THE IMPORTANT LATIN AMERICAN MARKET: WHAT EVERY ENROLLMENT MANAGER NEEDS TO KNOWPresented by Raymond Lutzky, New York University and Montgomery L. Byers, Jr., SMDigital PartnersReported by Jennifer Webb, Marymount University

The objective of this session was to identify the latest trends and cultural differences in the Latin American (LatAm) market, identify the best practices for creating a multi-faceted online marketing strategy, and to examine a case study of an integrated digital marketing campaign in Latin America.

The facts and figures of the LatAm market demonstrate that it should be an important part of institutions diversification strategy as eighty-thousand people from Latin America study advanced degrees in the US. Over 90% of consumers in South and Central America believe that higher education is vital. Student visas issued to Latin American citizens rose 34% between 2006-2007 and 2012-2013.

Five important recommendations based on cultural considerations:

• There is a hesitation for Latin Americans to engage online initially so it has to be easy and intuitive.

• Latin American students are more comfortable with their native language so truly cater your experience to the local market, not just translate the words but the entire branding and process.

• Latin Americans are more used to being served rather than proactively seeking information so focus on the execution.

• LatAm students seeking higher education in the USA have high expectations to all messaging and communication, and technology must be top-notch and catered to their individual needs otherwise their trust level wanes.

• A native presence that welcomes, engages and continually nurtures the student is meaningful so an internal resource or external partner should be considered.

Challenges that institutions have faced using traditional recruitment strategies for LatAm students include low numbers of LatAm prospects, difficulty for LatAm students to navigate US admissions process, lack of brand awareness, language barriers, time required to assist LatAm prospects, time required to foster partnerships, traditional marketing tactics are unsuccessful, and the time to convert LatAm prospects from inquiry to application is much longer.

NYU–Poly partnered with SMDigital to build their brand in Latin America and generate qualified, interested, Latin American prospects. They defined their target student profile and then launched an integrated, digital marketing campaign focused on specific engineering programs through search engines, related education portals and social media. In addition to building the brand online, they encouraged students to complete a form to jump start the prospect data/application process. The assets found during the research process were used as a foundation to create the message and variables used in the campaign, keeping in mind the focus on LatAm market and what drives their attention. The channel focus was 95% online and 5% offline.

The presenters displayed and discussed the media channels, ad placement strategy, sample ads, campaign creative, conservative

landing, multivariate testing, sample pages, video spokesperson pages, and “phablet” – focused pages. The number of prospects increased and the cost per prospect decreased through the progression of the test phase, tweak phase and optimized phase. Constant communication was essential for their conversion rates. The campaign resulted in prospects from all 18 countries, prospect activity is up 150%, applications are up 60% and enrolled students are up 250%!

The session was concluded with best practices for success:

1. Define your University Goals: Branding/prospects/both.

2. Identify your target market(s) and budget.

3. Be prepared to think long(er) term.

4. Ensure you have a process for a fluid LatAm experience.

5. Foster partnerships, unique pipelines and funding opportunities.

6. Identify a Latin American resource (internal/external).

7. Think and be “local.” Consider microsites.

8. Expand communication channels (Skype, chat, email, telephone numbers).

9. Test, test and then test again.

10. Continue to optimize campaign.



RECRUITING ACROSS GENERATIONS: BUILDING A HEALTHY INQUIRY POOL USING MULTI-CHANNEL STRATEGIES FOR DIVERSE AUDIENCESPresented by Fran Reed, Marymount University and Tony Fraga, Direct DevelopmentRecorded by Stacy Doepner-Hove, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

When the average American consumes over 60 hours of content a week – how are we going to get our message to those who we want to have hear it? While we shouldn’t throw out the traditional methods of marketing, we can’t depend on them alone any longer. In fact we can’t rely on the new methods of marketing either. As professionals we need to strategically think through how we can market our programs across many varied platforms and how we can track marketing to see what works and what doesn’t.

For some of our prospects, email or postal mail works well. For others anything sent must be interactive for a mobile device. Some of our prospects depended of social media, some need it as much as we need air to breathe. Some prospects are texting while others are still writing long hand. There are

things that work for everyone:

1) Personalized and relevant marketing2) Integrated marketing across multiple

channels3) Mobile-optimization 4) Simple designs and clear calls-to-action 5) Multi-touch campaigns

Before you can reach out to prospects, how do you know where to find them? We usually start with a good list, but what sort of list works best? Fraga and Reed provided a great set of questions to ask about your prospects. The questions include:

• What is the age range of most of your students?

• Are there professional organizations they have already joined?

• What publications might they be reading?

Taking a closer look at these questions will help you figure out where you may find your best set of lists. From there you can begin to build your campaign.

It all comes down to the use of these lists and remarketing to your “soft” prospects. You can contact a lot of people who don’t have an interest in your program, but your “soft” prospects – those who have shown some interest at some time – are your best bet.

So think about your entire marketing campaign. What channels are you using? How do you use and re-use your lists? Where do you get your lists? And how are you leveraging technology to personalize your marketing to the individual prospect? Take a look at their PowerPoint – it has even more useful information.


STEADY AT THE HELM: STEERING THE COURSE OF GRADUATE RETENTION THROUGH TURBULENT WATERSPresented by Roberta Nolan and Lisa Bussom, Widener UniversityRecorded by Dannette Gomez Beane, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The objective of this session was to share a case study of a process for the creation of a retention plan for graduate students through the lens of Business Process Modeling (BPM).

To start, Dr. Nolan used an excellent analogy of retention using the traveler’s experience with cancelled flights. She compared the customer who says, “I’m never going to fly this airline again” to the student who doesn’t enroll for the next term. She said there are internal and external factors that affect the loyalty of customers or the attrition of students. The external factors, such as the weather for a flight or when a student’s personal situation changes, are ones that are out of our control and we should not spend our efforts addressing. The internal factors, such as in-flight service or the ease of registering for a class, are factors we can control and improve. She says to keep the focus there.

The first step, Ms. Bussom shared with the group, was to start the journey of retention efforts with the definition of terms. The terms “graduate student,” “start term,” “retained student” and “inactive student” all mean different things to different stakeholders. The presenters stated that getting faculty members to agree on definitions was a long process that took two years to complete and had to be done before data could be gathered. They stressed that it is important to the integrity of your data to maintain the definitions of terms from year to year.

The presenters encouraged participants to use data when approaching faculty about the importance of retention because some faculty may not know there is a problem. It can be perceived that retention is “just fine” when enrollment numbers are strong. However, the findings from this case study showed that although enrollment was steady, when you tracked the number of returning students against those who were eligible to return, there was a decline in returning students. The steady enrollment numbers were due to the entrance of new students who made up the difference in number of students who were not registering or returning.

Findings from this case study showed an attrition trend in the second to third semesters for graduate students in several part-time programs. Using Business Process Modeling, Six Sigma graphical techniques of Cause and Effect Analysis and Process Mapping, it was determined that many students do not consistently register for upcoming semesters. The presenters discussed the contrast between the Undergraduate and Graduate registration processes. Undergraduate students at Widener University received structured advising through their registration as well as interventions for academic and personal needs that were all meant as retention efforts. However, these processes did not exist at the graduate level. Graduate students are often left on their own to

manage the class selection and registration process. Notifications of when to register are generally the only communications the graduate student receives.

In an attempt to enhance retention, admissions professionals can apply the best practice of communication plans used for recruitment to the development of communications plans for retention. In essence, the idea is to develop a persistence funnel using registration for each semester as the goal. Dr. Nolan is implementing a pilot communication plan built around second semester graduate students. She identified specific touch points that would announce, remind and re-remind students of registration deadlines and class schedules. Different communications would be used including postcards, emails and phone calls. The plan is to communicate with students through the summer and even into the drop/add period. She recommended automating the process and tracking every step.

Finally, the presenters gave the following tips for continuous improvement:

• Keep collecting consistent data.• Collect feedback from active students.• Collect feedback from inactive students.• Adjust communication plans.• Don’t expect immediate results.


TRENDS IN GLOBAL STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR CONNECTING IN THE SOCIAL SPHEREPresented by Jon Cheney, Chegg Enrollment Solutions and Shrim Bathey, Mills CollegeReported by Chris Miciek, University of the Sciences

In an increasingly competitive environment for domestic students, graduate enrollment offices may be attracted to meeting goals by reaching out to the international market. But with so many countries, cultural norms, communication tools and expectations, understanding and navigating these options can prove overwhelming. At the same time, successful engagement can enrich our campuses. So how do we tackle the challenge?

Tapping an international market mirrors an entrepreneurial venture. The presentation posed how to do this and offered China as a case study. With the global economic center rapidly moving back to Asia it should pose no surprise that the US sees most of its

international students coming from China, India and South Korea. Growing populations and economic development in Turkey, the Middle East and Brazil make these appealing too. We would do well to focus on two or three and expect to spend three to five years to develop. That sustained dedication must have few missteps. By 2025, eight million students are expected to be studying abroad.

Getting a slice of that growing number requires institutional dedication (it’s not just the right marketing), understanding and orienting your institution’s strengths to the market’s needs, and finding the right combination of message + channels + delivery to resonate in that country. Questions to ask:

• What social media is used? How do we best access it?

• Are agents part of the scene? How do they fit in and how do we work with them?

• Do fairs offer a good ROI? • Is it cheaper or more effective to

outsource or keep a task in-house?While building your school’s brand in another culture can reap long term dividends, doing so requires careful cultivation. Know where you are going, what you have to offer, how you are going to communicate and follow up with your audience, and where you need to bring in outside help to do the job right.

BRIDGING THE STRATEGIC VS. OPERATIONAL GAP: CREATING COMMON DATA METRICS TO ENHANCE GEMPresented by Christopher S. Connor, SUNY Buffalo; J.C. Bonilla, New York University; Joshua LaFave, SUNY Potsdam; and Michael Behringer, Liaison InternationalRecorded by Janet Beagle, Purdue University Graduate School

One of the challenges faced in data reporting is the divide between senior level strategies and operational reality. Program variations lead to variable data sets and many institutions face multiple data systems, serious integration issues and the absence of common metrics. Several challenges to longer-term strategic planning include:

• Absence of hard data on key metrics and related analytical tools that can measure success.

• Use of multiple admissions systems across a university that creates silos of information and inefficiencies as well as integration issues preventing the institution from having a holistic, strategic view of its graduate data.

• Absence of a national common data set for benchmarking, evaluating and forecasting national trends.

The presenters raised several points for consideration:

• New York University recently rolled out a common application with a supplemental section. Although they have different schools with different processes, they found that most of the application needs are actually the same. While processes may differ, program needs are not as unique as they thought in terms of data fields.

• Our field of graduate enrollment management (GEM) needs best practices for definitions. For example, an undergraduate student who is starting a graduate program at the same institution – are they new or continuing?

• GEM needs established data standards so we can all speak the same language. It may be helpful to have a clearinghouse of data by discipline so we can compare across discipline peers. A common application by discipline would also be helpful.

• Senior leadership is often out of touch with graduate school needs. We need to provide data to allow for a strategic perspective. It is important to consider data visualization rather than text-heavy spreadsheets.

• Liaison offers centralized application services that allow applicants to research and apply to multiple schools and programs. This is most common in health fields, but Liaison’s “UniCAS” system could have broader appeal as a central application for universities.

• A system like “UniCAS” could provide a university with common data and standards across its entire campus, while supporting the unique requirements of individual schools and programs.

• With the ability to harness applicant data, GEM offices can provide guidance to senior administration to support strategic growth initiatives.



UNDERSTANDING THE CHANGING NEEDS OF INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTSPresented by Lorena Shank, The George Washington UniversityRecorded by Hope Udombon, The University of West Georgia

Ms. Shank began her session by highlighting that in the 2012-2013 academic year, the number of international students enrolled in graduate programs had a 3.6% increase from the previous year. The increased enrollment of international students has provided new opportunities and challenges to many graduate campuses.

Ms. Shank facilitated discussions and questions on ethics, technology and student engagement outside of orientation, along with methods to engage international students and faculty members.

Ethics

Plagiarism was a concern. Some international students lack the understanding of what plagiarism is and what plagiarism means. There is also the misrepresentation of the meaning plagiarism in the admissions process. ‘Personal Statements’ that have been submitted for admission are sometimes copied directly from a website. To meet

these changing needs for international students, it has been suggested that different resources should be used such as turnitin.com, URL tracking, interviews and conduct orientation where student expectations are defined and stated clearly on what plagiarism is and honoring the code of conduct of the home institution.

Technology

Using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Sina Weibo and Skype are just a few examples for providing international student engagement. The challenges discussed with using these tools was making sure that the information provided at these sites was up to date. Email can be used to send welcome letters, conduct doodle polls to bring students together for events and to build a network between current and new students.

Student Engagement with Faculty

In order to meet the needs of international graduate students, an orientation with faculty members prior to the start of classes to discuss study skills, language

skills and cultural orientation was discussed. Other examples included activities outside of the classroom such as having coffee hours for international students to meet other students and faculty members at their respective campuses as well as a mentoring program. The mentoring program would consist of faculty members from their respective home countries to mentor international students to help facilitate the academic and cultural transition to their campuses.

Student Engagement Outside of the Classroom

To engage international students, participants indicated that having a staff on-hand with international experience was crucial for making sure that international students understood academic policies of the institution. Having an international day and multicultural week with different types of food helps engage international student on campuses.

The participants left this session with ideas to initiate at their campuses.

IMPLEMENTING A COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL GRAD SCHOOL RECRUITMENT FAIRPresented by C. Holly Wilbanks, Baylor College of Medicine and Gayle Oliver-Plath, Career EcoRecorded by Jennifer Brown, Washington University

Opportunities to connect with potential students are dwindling as institutions realign budgets and cut funding for registration and travel to traditional marketing and recruitment events around the country. Virtual Fairs are a way to overcome our current and future economic barriers, while connecting with the internet generation, highlighting our individual institutional and program resources. Baylor College of Medicine partnered with Career Eco and utilized institutional contacts through BioGAP to create a BioMed Virtual Fair. The objective of this presentation was to teach those attending how to plan and implement a successful Virtual Graduate School Fair.

A Virtual Recruitment Fair is a multi-institutional recruitment fair online. It utilizes chat and video technology to allow students, alumni and working professionals to connect with graduate school institutions effectively. They allow institutions to lower recruitment

costs and connect with generation “text” live online. Participants can connect from any internet connection anywhere.

“Coopetition” is collaboration between business competitors in the hope of mutually beneficial results. Baylor utilized the BioGAP Chapter of NAGAP and invited colleagues from other institutions to share costs and participate in the fair.

A collaborative marketing campaign was established by both Baylor and the vendor (Career Eco) and distributed to participating institutions. Banners, Evites, Social Media posts and email templates were provided to participants and timed email campaigns were generated and distributed from each school to their already established prospect lists.

The presenter encouraged participants to train those who will be using the Virtual

Fair. Career Eco provided tutorials, live practice session training and chat hints to the participating institutions.

The day of the fair, Baylor distributed a list of Best Practices and examples of chat responses to their users. After the fair, the vendor provided registrant contact information, access to all uploaded resumes, transcripts of all chat room activity, attendee tracking and ongoing database access to applicant tracking. Applicants were sent follow up emails that included a thank you for participating note, links to additional program resources, information and an application deadline reminder.

By utilizing connections with competitor institutions, Baylor was able to connect with more potential students using fewer resources than traditional recruitment fairs.



CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT IN A DECENTRALIZED ENVIRONMENT: PILOTING A MULTI-UNIT RECRUITMENT EVENTPresented by Laura Chavez Hardy, University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration; Braden Grams, University of Chicago Division of Humanities; and Kevin McKenna, Sara Lawrence CollegeReported by Terrence Grus, The University of Missouri

Coordinated graduate recruitment efforts at large decentralized institutions can pose formidable challenges. Academic programs tend to be very insular, especially in times of limited resources. At the University of Chicago this past year, several graduate and professional divisions came together to shake up graduate recruitment on campus by hosting a campus-wide recruitment event. This presentation focused on the challenges, the process and the payoffs of such an event.

Presenter Kevin McKenna began by discussing the early stages of planning and the challenges facing the organizing committee. To begin the process of shaping the event, a “communication leader” was appointed to coordinate the conversations between units. For this purpose, the Executive Director of Graduate Enrollment was enlisted. Many of the early discussions between divisions centered on financial resources, technical resources and integration of technology, tips/tricks on recruiting and generating more data on industry trends and peer performance.

The group was faced with some initial challenges. Some of the academic programs at the University of Chicago have long, storied histories and very prestigious reputations, which meant that these units generally sold themselves. The University of Chicago also has some very unique divisions, such as the School of Divinity and the Continuing Professional Education division that created unique structural challenges. There were also some new programs coming on-board that had no history or experience in recruitment. In the end, the group decided to focus on shared institutional values, the implicit prestige of the University and how the institution has produced transformative change in the world (big ideas) and broader themes of community and diversity.

Presenter Laura Chavez Hardy outlined the major factors the organizers focused on when planning the event:

• When-needed to select a date and time beneficial for all.

• Where–needed a location that would draw the most participants (central location).

• Who–needed to identify the target audience.

• Why–enrollment trends are changing and the University of Chicago can no longer depend on the name alone.

• How–the best ways to market and publicize the event. Prospect lists were purchased from GRE/GMAT and academic programs used current prospect lists; no snail mail was sent. Social media was used extensively and an ad was purchased in a local paper.

The organizing committee got buy-in from all 12 graduate and professional divisions. Over 185 prospective students attended the event. Overall, most of the divisions were happy with the turnout and felt their money was well spent and the event was a success.

The presenters encouraged the session attendees to focus on common themes, institutional strengths, sharing of resources when planning such an event, and to learn from your mistakes the first time around.


PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM: OVERVIEW FOR ADMINISTRATORS OUTSIDE OF THE AID OFFICEPresented by Laura Zuppo, Stetson University College of LawReported by Angelica Smedley, Alliant International University

In today’s media, higher educational institutions are being vilified for the amount of debt their graduate students are accruing. Many graduate with $100,000 or more in student loan debt and then obtain jobs that only start at $40,000 per year. While many schools do not have the resources to provide fellowships or large scholarships, admissions representatives have the option to educate their prospective students about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) as a way to lighten the burden of high student loan debt.

Presenter Laura Zuppo did an amazing job providing an overview of the three main learning objectives:

1. Learn the major points related to PSLF.

2. Confidently counsel prospects nervous about pursuing their career goals.

3. If applicable, learn what you need to do to secure PSLF.

Laura went into great detail as to what the PSLF program entails and who is eligible to participate. Some of the key details of the program include:

• Making 120 on-time payments.• Making payments under a qualifying plan.• Working full-time at a qualifying

organization.• Completing the Employment Certification

Form.• Completing the Final Forgiveness

Application after 120 qualifying payments have been made.

Graduate students have the ability to work in industries that PSLF considers qualifying employment and it was recommended that conference participants educate prospective students about PSLF by providing information on their university’s website and getting them in contact with people on their campus who are the most knowledgeable about PSLF, usually the Financial Aid office. Additionally,

it was recommended to try and reach out to qualifying employers who regularly hire students from their respective programs and educate them about PSLF as a way to retain employees.

Changes may be on the horizon for the PSLF program in 2015 as updates have been recommended to Congress for approval. While it is unclear as to whom these changes will affect or if it will limit the ability for students to participate, it is important to continue to educate students about this program while it is still available. It is also important for individuals who work in higher education to educate themselves about the program as many can qualify for PLSF as well.

NAVIGATING CHANGES IN YOUR GEM WORLD: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT?Presented by Linda Horisk, Fordham University; Kristen Sterba, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences; Joanne Canyon-Heller, Roosevelt University; Judith Baker, Nazareth College of Rochester; and Marcus Hanscom, University of New HavenReported by Rachael Holmes, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Graduate professionals are under increased pressure to find creative solutions with fewer resources; therefore, they have many issues to worry about. In this rapid-fire presentation, a panel of NAGAP leaders talked about some of the concerns they are currently facing.

As worries about enrollment and staff turnover were presented, some major themes higher education institutions are struggling with emerged. Institutions are discovering they have an identity crisis, while under scrutiny to increase enrollment and grow retention; they are struggling to define who they are and what differentiates them in order to attract and retain students.

Some of the challenges include defining what makes them unique and determining who is responsible for creating this identity. In addition to this identity crisis, many institutions are realizing there is a lack of data to inform their decisions on how to brand themselves. Furthermore, branding is difficult because so often programs are housed separately and marketing departments often do not have the resources to support them all.

Although, these issues seem overwhelming, there were many positive suggestions offered. For example, one university suggested those involved in graduate enrollment management on campus meet

together to share ideas and strategize on how to address the issues in the ever-changing graduate market place.

NAGAP is aware of many of these issues, as evident in recent conference topics and sponsored Webinars. Attendees were encourage to take advantage of opportunities offered through NAGAP, local chapters and affinity groups to learn more about best practices and the things other schools are doing to address the many things keeping graduate enrollment managers up at night.



MANAGING TEAMS WITH DATA DASHBOARDS: A CASE FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING & RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN GRADUATE ENROLLMENT OPERATIONSPresented by JeanCarlo (J.C.) Bonilla, New York UniversityReported by Laura Look, University of North Dakota

Graduate Enrollment Management is currently in a transition away from intuition-based management to data-driven management. Decisions need to be fact based and formed on evidence.

Everyone has data, but not everyone is using it. According to Bonilla, we need to mine the data to create something useful. Data leads to information, which leads to insight and action. At New York University, Bonilla holds weekly data-driven meetings presenting data dashboards that include key performance indicators, descriptive statistics and trends or predictive statistics. Dashboards such as

this tell you where you are currently so you can lead your team to where you want to go. They are “the art of integration, analyzing and visualizing data” taking data from multiple platforms and combining it in a visual format.

When building a dashboard, you should include first order Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or funnel metrics, second order KPIs or school and/or program specific data, include visual checks for data accuracy and be honest. A dashboard will be a work in progress until you have all of the information you need and use. A linear

projection should be close, within 10% either way. When using this data to look at your progress, use quartiles as benchmarks. Pay attention to when and where you reach 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of your goals to see if you are on track with previous years’ progress.

When asked how to plan for new programs and set goals, Bonilla’s advice was to create a plan based on knowledge from similar programs. Be clear to all parties that these are simply starting point projections and may not be accurate. As the first year progresses, adjust the projections as you learn more.

A NEW HORIZON INITIATIVE: A COLLEGE-WIDE EFFORT IN IMPROVING RECRUITMENT AND DIVERSITY EFFORTPresented by Dannette Gomez Beane, Virginia TechRecorded by Carl P. Wainscott, Marquette University

Virginia Tech’s New Horizon Strategic Plan 2012-2018 called on the school to increase graduate enrollment by 1,000 students, mainly in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Health (STEM-H) programs, with special emphasis placed on recruiting underrepresented populations. By engaging members of the Graduate School, College of Engineering and academic departments, real progress has been made in converting their targeted applicants, increasing from 1-2 per year to 32.

Prior to the New Horizon’s initiative, the Graduate School, College of Engineering and academic departments were fairly insulated from one another and could be characterized as being somewhat in their own silos. The initiative gave a push for collaboration and new funding opportunities available in the form of graduate assistantships for students who were in the GEM consortium provided an attractive incentive to bring everyone to the table. The Director of Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives, Ms. Dannette Gomez Beane, was able to offer eight graduate

assistantships which she used to mainly target underrepresented populations. These assistantships were matching, meaning that Ms. Gomez Beane would fund the first year of a two year commitment and the department or college would fund the second year.

Once the conversation started between the various constituents it was discovered that not only were GEM scholarships available, but colleges and departments would sometimes have resources reserved for funding underrepresented students. By collaborating with each other multi-year financial aid packages could be designed and offered to targeted students. Being able to provide such awards demonstrated Virginia Tech’s commitment to recruit and retain students at the front end of the process, which partly translated to their higher yield.

The GEM consortium provided information on students from several other institutions that could be targeted based on their affiliation with an underrepresented

population in STEM-H programs. In 2012, Virginia Tech chose to target 65 potential graduate students who were then communicated with regularly by deans, program directors and the Director of Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives. Through the combination of communication and offers of multi-year financial aid packages, 32 of the targeted students enrolled at Virginia Tech in fall 2013.

Main takeaways from the presentation are:

1. Get buy-in from all institutional stakeholders (can be challenging, but persistence will pay off).

2. Communicate regularly with students you are targeting.

3. Put together multi-year aid packages that coordinate funding from multiple sources (a good deal of work and coordination is required).

4. Maintain contact with the students after they are enrolled to keep them engaged as a valued member of your institutional community.


USING ONLINE TOOLS & SOCIAL MEDIA TO ATTRACT NEW STUDENTSPresented by Chris Ferguson, The New School; Brad Ward, BlueFuego; Peter Layton, Blackboard; and Donald Resnick, The New School Reported by Katherine Beczak, Corcoran College of Art + Design

As the prospective graduate audience changes and an increasing number of students utilize social media and online marketing to choose their graduate programs, it has become essential to connect with students using digital tools and strategies. It is also widely acknowledged that this connection must last beyond recruitment and lead generation, until the student matriculates in the program. This presentation focused on best practices and trends within the world of graduate enrollment management and how The New School is leveraging online marketing to meet its recruitment goals.

Chris Ferguson discussed the strategies used by The New School to move students through the admissions funnel. These methods include a multi-channel approach and a mix of digital, print and in-person communications. His plan includes student

scholarship competitions that engage a worldwide audience and a unique custom digital viewbook system, which allows undecided prospects to engage and which brings in more qualified leads for the institution. Mr. Ferguson also leverages stories and connects communities on the Parsons student blog, iheartparsons.com.

The presenters stressed analytics are the key to attracting new students and increasing yield, stating a foundation of accurate supporting data is the key to a student-centric recruitment plan. By assessing the use of social media at each individual institution, one can better understand all participants throughout the medium. Ultimately, it is important to remember that social media is an element of a multi-channel plan, not a replacement.

The presenters acknowledged the challenge

of engaging students in a communication plan and called for a new model to drive improved recruitment planning and outreach. Ultimately, the key to improving engagement in the communication plan is learning about the prospects, knowing their interests and catering information to their specific needs. BatchGeo was recommended as a tool which allows institutions to import excel spreadsheets and see a clear view of markets across the country.

Ultimately, all the presenters stressed that effective communications and marketing efforts allow students to choose the platforms that are consistent with their personalities and needs. By analyzing the needs and demographic of the potential student body, institutions can simplify and improve their outreach in social media and digital marketing to increase yield.

YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR SUMMER: UTILIZING THE SUMMER MONTHS FOR INNOVATION AND IMPLEMENTATIONPresented by Jennifer Forney and Megan Siehl, Indiana University School of Public & Environmental AffairsRecorded by Kieran Bennett, Pacific University

The summer is a great time to assess how the previous year went and to develop ways to improve operations for the upcoming year. Although many GEMs have several projects they would like to complete over the summer; too often time flies by without addressing these items. This session concentrated on developing and implementing a plan to accomplish much needed tasks during the summer.

Presenters Jennifer Forney and Megan Siehl provided very useful information on how they are able to develop and implement a summer plan. An office, whether it is in admissions or another area of student services, should evaluate their operations over the past year. This review can help determine which areas need improvement or more innovative practices. Once areas of improvement or innovation have been

determined, a plan on how to implement and execute changes can be developed.

How does one accomplish all of this? Offices can review their operations in the following ways:

• Conduct surveys of their students (current and graduates).

• Evaluate application evaluation tools.• Review timelines of processes (application

deadline dates, interview days, etc.).• Assess the efficacy of the admissions

committees.• Keep a rolling list of ideas for

improvement throughout the year to reference when brainstorming for summer projects.

The next phases of making the most out of your summer are to create and implement a

plan based upon the areas of improvement discerned from the evaluation of processes. The plan should be created early and should include actionable items. The summer projects should be assigned to a specific person or team to work on throughout the summer and should include a final deadline date, as well as, incremental deadlines. A best practice would be to conduct frequent staff meetings so that individuals can update the entire office on the status of their projects. This update should also include the projected status of the project for the next meeting. This type of planning and execution keeps everyone on task to ensure timely completion of projects.



EXPLORING THE EFFICACY OF INTEGRATED INQUIRY FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS: A TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY AND INCREASE CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONSPresented by Matthew R. Evrard and Marilee Bresciani-Ludvik, San Diego State UniversityReported by Hope Geiger, University of Tulsa Graduate School

Integrative Inquiry (INIQ), developed by Dr. Marilee Bresciani at San Diego State University, is a training program that seeks to facilitate student learning and development based on seminal research in neuroscience and psychology. This particular study focused on first semester doctoral students in an Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) Program. All participants were enrolled in the same course with Dr. Bresciani as one of the instructors and had INIQ components integrated into the general course requirements. Quantitative results were compiled using dependent t-tests while qualitative information was examined through the analysis of weekly reflective student journals.

Participants who completed the training program in its entirety demonstrated increased attention, emotion and cognitive regulation. The researchers contend these changes in regulatory strategies reinforce other valuable behavioral and academic changes. Reported changes include lowered stress, anxiety, and decreased judgment and reaction to one’s inner experience. Additionally, participants reported an increased ability to observe, describe and act with awareness. However there were some areas under consideration, such as critical thinking dispositions and specific improvements for stress and anxiety levels, which did not seem to be affected. This may be indicative of the testing instruments being

used and not necessarily the efficacy of INIQ strategies.

The study concluded that INIQ is an effective solution to curb increasing levels of anxiety associated with entering a doctoral program and train trait-level emotion and cognitive regulation in doctoral students. The application of INIQ in graduate populations as a training program could help facilitate better decision making skills to improve not only enrollment but graduation rates as well. However, comparison of the data to undergraduate and master students suggests INIQ would be more effective in those populations than a doctoral data set specifically.

DEGREE PROGRAMS IN UNIVERSITY-BASED EXECUTIVE EDUCATION OFFICES: AN ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR ADULT LEARNING AND INSTITUTIONAL GROWTHPresented by John Lee and Tara Wessel, Marshall School of BusinessRecorded by Maureen Dour, Marymount University

Executive education is a customer driven business. The subject matter is determined using input from corporate clients and prospective students. The courses are offered with the schedule of the working professional in mind. Students are focused on networking, career advancement and promotion. Pertinent job skills and class flexibility are priorities. At USC the Executive Education courses are non-degree professional development programs.

When designing executive education programs, consideration for the different needs of the adult learner needs to be addressed. Characteristics of adult learners include voluntary participation, mutual respect for colleagues and classmates, collaborative spirit, critical reflection and the need for current real world examples shared as case studies in class. Many students already have terminal degrees in their fields and are seeking new skills in other areas.

Best practices for facilitating adult learning include using current, relevant case studies and examples, guest lecturers and providing opportunities for collaboration. Many of the students are interested in networking and exploring new career opportunities.

It is important to keep in mind that executive education programs often operate in direct competition with traditional graduate programs.


THE USE OF BEST PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY TO IMPLEMENT UNIVERSITY-LEVEL GOALS AND INITIATIVES ACROSS ACADEMIC-SPECIFIC TERRITORIESPresented by Amanda Ostreko, University of Kansas and Katheryn McAnulty, Kent State UniversityReported by Sarah Petrakos, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science

Although Kent State and the University of Kansas are different institutions in terms of type of school, enrollment, structure, mission and culture, they face similar challenges: unclear responsibilities, graduate school vs. college mentality, establishing buy-in, accountability, online/distance education, resistance or reluctance to change and resources. According to W.G. Tierney who has written about organizational culture in higher education, there are six specific categories that define higher education: mission, environment, socialization (adaptability), information (how is communication disseminated), strategy (overall direction and goal setting), and leadership (who are the leaders, is it a formal or information structure). Using a Goal Orientation Toolkit, we participated in a series of exercises designed to use organizational theory to implement goals.

We applied W.G. Tierney’s six categories to a future goal determined by each attendee.

We considered the university’s mission and how we would use it to implement our goal: what is it, how is it articulated, is it used as a basis for decisions and how much agreement exists? We also considered the institution’s environment: what type of institution do we work in, how many graduate programs or departments do we have, are our graduate programs managed under a centralized, decentralized or combined process, what is the attitude toward the environment (hostile or friendly), what challenges does our university’s environment present, and how do these challenges impact our ability to implement our goal? We applied socializations to our future goal by determining the steps we would take to bring a new staff or faculty member in on a project to help implement our goal. We were asked

to make a list of the type of information we would need in order to implement our goal and to choose the three most important items we needed. For these three items we asked ourselves who is involved, and is there someone who will champion each item? Finally, we considered leadership. Who are the key players essential to implementing our goal, who can we partner with, who are our allies and who has to buy-in?

By applying these principles, we were able to determine the steps we need to take to successfully reach our goal.

Katheryn and Amanda’s research is ongoing. The next step in their research is to conduct a focus group comprised of individuals who volunteered during the session.

ETHICS: A CRISIS IN HIGHER EDUCATIONPresented by Kristin Williams, George Washington University and Donald Resnick, The New York SchoolReported by Claire DeWitt, Brigham Young University

“Whether it is false or misleading information about enrollment profiles, student credentials or placement statistics, misrepresentations by professionals about their own job qualifications, or the manipulation of data for personal or institutional gain, there seems to be a new story every month relating to a moral/ethical scandal in our profession.” The presenter’s opening statement defining the purpose of the session.

The presenters used the hour for a special interest forum where participants sat at tables in groups of 6 or 8 and discussed various issues facing graduate higher education; after which each group reported to the group on their table discussion. For

example, questions raised by the presenters were: What would have helped you to affect the outcomes you would have liked to have seen with a difficult situation you have experienced? Could conversations and recommendations with regards to ethics within the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP) make a difference for our profession since our organization (us) has a responsibility to maintain ethical standards?

GEM professionals are the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences so we must learn how to respond. As an organization, we must represent high standards in everything that we do.

Some of the suggestions for consideration were:

1. Prepare a document with stated national ethical standards, used NAGAP as a resource.

2. Have legal counsel in-house training for staff.

3. Refer to accreditation guidelines.

4. Create an Ethics Committee.

5. Have some “best practices” on the national level.

6. Establish checks and balances.



STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM: LOW BUDGET EQUALS VERY HIGH GAINPresented by Lauren Smith, and Cami Meyer, Medical University of South Carolina College of Health ProfessionsReported by Katherine Beczak, Corcoran College of Art + Design

As more institutions face decreasing budgets, the need for enrollment managers to creatively use recruitment dollars in an impactful way has become increasingly important. This session reviewed in detail one institution’s graduate student ambassador program – a program which has had a significant impact on enrollment while operating with very minimal cost.

Presenters Lauren Smith and Cami Meyer from the Medical University of South Carolina, College of Health Professions (MUSC) believe that current graduate students are a “#1 recruitment resource.” With this in mind, they created a graduate student ambassador program to represent

six of their academic programs. On average, 28 student volunteers participate in the program each year, sharing their enthusiasm and experience in their individual programs without compensation. Responsibilities of these ambassadors include conducting campus tours, information sessions, chats, career fairs, presentations at local schools, and attending graduate school fairs, webinars and creating online profiles.

Each year the student ambassadors provide at least 90 to 100 tours and have approximately 1,100 prospective student interactions. Students are trained to answer emails within 24 hours and the school has an entire web page dedicated

to student ambassadors, including profiles for each student. The presenters stress that these interactions are a huge service to their college. However, the ambassadors benefit as well; in addition to receiving complimentary business cards, shirts and meals, the students gain team building, marketing, public speaking and time management skills.

To begin an ambassador program, the presenters recommend assessing your goals and starting small. A large budget is not needed to create a successful program and the advantages and benefits far outweigh the investment.

ACCEPTED! NOW WHAT? BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH COMMUNICATION AND EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT SERVICESPresented by Sara Langston and Ryan Taughrin, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo, SUNY Reported by Kara Pangburn, University at Albany, SUNY

This session emphasized the importance of relationship building in graduate enrollment management and student services. Presenters Sara Langston and Ryan Taughrin outlined their institution’s approach to relationship building which focuses on three components: responsiveness, transparency and vulnerability. They build trust with their prospective and admitted students by responding to inquiries in a timely manner, actively listening to students and being honest and genuine in personal interactions.

Understanding the similarities and differences between multiple student populations is also a key to building relationships and establishing trust. By customizing communications to meet each student’s individual needs, GEM professionals can anticipate questions and limit the student’s stress during the application process. The presenters discussed their targeted communications strategies for the following student populations:

International students – attention to detail is key! Be conscious of areas of special concern, such as finances and safety/wellness issues. International students are likely to choose the program that admitted them first, so timeliness is also extremely important.

Traditional students – are looking for quick responses, ease of completing documentation and personalized communications.

2nd career/advancing professionals – may have been out of school for a while, so they might need some hand-holding with technology and online application systems. This population also faces scheduling constraints as many work full-time jobs.

Online students – want electronic communication and prefer to accomplish all tasks related to admission online.

Finally, the presenters reviewed some student-centered strategies that may be effective in improving yield throughout the admissions cycle.

• International Student Ambassador Program – Pairs admitted international students with a current student. The ambassadors use an internal website to communicate with their partner that is monitored by a staff member.

• New Student Day – This event, launched by the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education in 2013, is held on campus in mid-May. It features a campus “resource fair,” opportunities to meet current students and faculty, and an on-site course registration process. An online version of the event was piloted in 2014.

• Targeted communication plan for applicants and admitted students – The Graduate School of Education implements a detailed email communication plan sending strategic email messages based on time from admission, time from enrollment deposit and time to the start of the semester. Continued communication means building relationships!


MARKETING TO THE INVISIBLE: STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY AND REACH THE RIGHT AUDIENCE IN A WORLD OF STEALTH PROSPECTSPresented by Melissa Rekos, Carnegie CommunicationsRecorded by Stacy Doepner-Hove, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

What is a stealth applicant? This is an applicant whose first point of contact is the actual application. But are they actually “stealthly” – or really just non-compliant? Enrollment professionals believe that an applicant should contact us for information, get marketing materials from us, attend an information session and then apply. Stealth applicants are still getting information about our institutions – they just don’t do it in the way we’d prefer.

Why do students become stealth applicants? Because they can. There are multiple sources of information about our programs online. They can get the information they need without the risk of being “judged” by the program before they even apply. They want to check out our programs when they are on the bus, in the middle of the night, on the

phone, on their way out of town – they don’t want to talk to us.

Then how do we reach them? First identify your target prospects. Use your own enrollment data to look at demographics and look at your website analytics to see where the people who are looking at your website come from. Think of this broad audience and then design your marketing around them. Next, optimize your call to action. Think about asking to get information from them at every turn. How can you engage your prospects in a conversation from the very beginning? Instead of just asking if they want to request information, ask them to introduce themselves to you and then use that information to individualize your marketing to them when you follow up.

Remember that people need to visit a website many times before they will take action – in this case before they introduce themselves to you. So, do your best to make it easy for them to get back to your site (on any device), look at your information and ask them for information frequently. Once they provide it, target your marketing based on what they tell you.

Try out your admissions website on your own mobile device and see how it works. How easy is it to put in your information? The harder it is, the harder you are making it for those “stealth” applicants to reveal themselves.

PUBLISH OR PERISH, REVISITED: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON HOW DISSERTATIONS CAN BENEFIT STUDENTS & INSTITUTIONSPresented by Dana Mordecai and Jill Kleister, Toulouse Graduate School, University of North TexasRecorded by Melissa Cook, Illinois College of Optometry

Publishing dissertations and theses in the traditional format typically will fill the shelves, but not produce the amount of web traffic students and institutions would like. Technology has enhanced many facets of higher education, including the use of electronic dissertations and theses (EDTs). A major factor in choosing whether or not to use EDTs is that dissertations and these can enjoy larger readership.

Students must learn to “promote” themselves if they want a job after graduation. Building an online profile that demonstrates their education can do just that through social media. Using an EDT allows you to create your own format, such as imbedding a video or formatting it outside traditional constraints. In order to receive a tenure-

track position, most academics will build their dissertation into a book for publication. However, the data collected on metrics such as the number of views and/or length of time an EDT is accessed by each user can be of interest to a publisher.

Every institution (and even some of the departments within) will have their own rules about whether or not they will allow students to use an EDT, but it is important to know their benefits as well. EDT data can be sorted by the type of information required and recruiting officers can develop a targeted strategy plan by utilizing the data to target certain groups. Alumni with the highest number of hits could be asked to speak at the institution or for a department, as there is documented interest in their research. During

a fundraising phone-a-thon, development officers can use this data in conversations with alumni; “did you know your research has gotten you x number of hits?”

Having students submit EDTs rather than the traditional thesis/dissertation formats can bring their name, along with the brand of the institution, to a broader audience. Marketing and promoting dissertations and theses is mostly overlooked by many institutions, but EDTs provide a cost effective way to do so in a society that uses technology to access information.



MASTER MORE BY PROVIDING YOUR GRADUATE STUDENTS WITH A HOLISTIC EXPERIENCEPresented by Tonya Wright, Morgan State UniversityRecorded by Jared McCarty, Roosevelt University

As university budgets continue to shrink, the expectations of prospective and current students continue to grow. To today’s graduate students, an education is a holistic experience which includes expansive academic, professional and social opportunities. Almost always, the “experience” is more important than sitting in a classroom and cramming for exams.

Therefore, how can universities reasonably meet its students’ expectations while struggling with budgetary constraints and decreasing enrollment? This session provided insight to this topic based on the practices of the Morgan State University’s Master of Business Administration enrollment team. Some examples of activities designed to enhance student involvement and achievement include:

• Develop a “service day” that involves alumni, faculty, staff, current students and prospective students. This event may be attached to a recruitment event or a university campaign.

• Partner with organizations for service learning and community-based projects. This informal/formal agreement increases awareness of the university/program and provides students with networking opportunities.

• Plan development retreats for both newly admitted and current students. Distinguished alumni, faculty and students may provide presentations.

• Host a Reception/Dinner for scholarship recipients and students recognized for outstanding achievement in and outside the classroom.

• Utilize current students and alumni in recruitment campaigns/events. This may entail written notes, phone calls, participation at information session and orientation.

• Assist students in developing an entrepreneurial plan to include internships, interview training and preparation of application materials. This may be part of the curriculum or provided as a student service.

• Encourage student study/support groups by area of interest (i.e. Women in Business Administration).

GEM FOR A CHANGING LANDSCAPE: ADAPTING AS A PROFESSIONPresented by Joshua LaFave, State University of New York at Potsdam; Christopher Connor, University at Buffalo; Ariana Balayan, Sacred Heart University; and Erin Lake, Edinboro UniversityReported by Crystal Perry, McDaniel College

This session was a continuation from the general session immediately preceding it and provided a unique opportunity for professionals to participate in focus group research by NAGAP. Participants were divided to sit at tables representing the size of their respective institutions as small (<5000) and large (>5000). Each table was provided with the GEM model as recommended by the presenters and a model for suggesting changes. Time was allowed for discussion and analysis of the model with particular thought requested toward recognizing strengths and suggestions.

Both groups of institutions agreed this was a good model with the strength of seamlessness. However, differences were observed by the small and large institutions. For the smaller institutions there was some concern regarding the implications of the structure and level of authority. With individuals stretched thin, everyone having a seat at the table could prove to be a benefit and a burden. It was felt a bigger emphasis should be placed on incorporating feedback into enrollment modeling and planning. The larger institutions had concern about implementing the model institutionally. Realistically, it was agreed it

could be handled on a school level but not institutional. Each institution carries unique nuances to consider and nothing is ever as simple as it first appears.

The feedback and conversations were beneficial to everyone involved as the research will continue. If your institution is interested in participating in the research as a case study, please be in contact with our presenters.


RETAINING THE ATTENTION OF 21ST CENTURY APPLICANTS: INNOVATIVE ADMISSION PRACTICESPresented by Alexandra Edelstein and Liz Wagoner, Tufts UniversityReported by Evan Didier, Northeastern University

As prospective graduate students face an ever-increasing number of options for graduate study in the United States, institutions must be ready to capture the attention of today’s applicants. This is especially true in a climate of economic uncertainty in which the prospect of a graduate degree can present a tough value proposition. This presentation focused on how the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University utilizes consortia and a formal deferred admission structure to meet these challenges.

Consortia

Graduate school admissions consortiums are usually voluntary, multi-purpose and multi-institutional membership organizations with long-term member support and a centralized professional staff. Consortia are often organized among member institutions with graduate programs in the same field (e.g., the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs for graduate international affairs programs).

Benefits of joining a consortium include:

– Increased publicity with more resources than an institution could muster on its own

– Shared expertise and stay current on admissions practices in the relevant field

– Pairing with more well-known universities so that students coming to a graduate fair for a more well-known university also discover programs at institutions with less name recognition

Consortia are selective in their membership and members should differentiate their program offerings from the programs of other members. Most formal consortia collect membership fees to help hire full-time or part-time staff to manage the consortium, marketing and the consortium’s website.

Consortia can also be more informal with membership comprised of a small number of programs from competitor institutions. Informal consortia are often organized for the purpose of coordinating travel and attendance at graduate school fairs.

Formal Deferred Admission

Formal deferred admission structures offer admission to a graduate applicant approximately two to three years after the applicant applies, with the expectation that the applicant will acquire relevant work experience in the interim. Although very few graduate and professional school programs in the United States offer formal deferred admissions structures, these structures can be beneficial for both students and institutions.

Challenges include delayed gratification for the student, staying connected with the student while they are working, and convincing now-successful workers to leave their positions. To address these issues, best practices include implementing a student mentor program, continuous communication and strategic use of scholarships.

Together, consortia and formal deferred admission structures can enable graduate schools to engage the twenty-first century applicant and bring in more qualified applicants.



PRESENTATION: LEADING CHANGE IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPEPresenters: Patti Blair, University of Minnesota; Stacy Doepner-Hove, University of MinnesotaReporter: Megan Barrett, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

As graduate enrollment professionals we juggle numerous projects, wear many hats, and know one thing for certain – change is the only constant. As major and minor changes occur in our workplaces we need to ensure that all the factors leading to the change are in balance. Stacy Doepner-Hove and Patti Blair, both of the University of Minnesota, found that using Dr. John Kotter’s 8-Step process for leading change aids in creating smooth organizational transition and particularly helps in empowering the human portion of change management.

The presentation allowed the group to workshop each of the eight steps:

1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency

2. Creating the Guiding Coalition

3. Developing a Change Vision

4. Communication the Vision for Buy-in

5. Empowering Broad-based Action

6. Generating Short-term wins

7. Never Letting Up

8. Incorporating Changes into Culture

Group members discussed their “Change Story” as it occurred in their institution, providing many “take-aways” for participants. Hearing that other graduate enrollment professionals are all going through similar changes was helpful to each of the group members and various tricks and tips in change management were shared.

It is important to understand why change initiatives often fail and how we can make them successful. Examples of why failure occurs include not achieving desired outcomes, workforce productivity declines during change periods, and executives who are often in a state of “change blindness.” As higher education professionals we cannot afford to fear change, because it is inevitable.

In order to implement a successful change initiative as GEM professionals we need to understand Kotter’s model and that change always involves people. You want to convey a sense of urgency, but not panic, when developing your strategic plan. Honest communication of a clear and well thought

out vision will empower others to act on your idea. If you can compel your staff and other constituents to buy into your vision, you are well on your way to an effective change initiative.

Often in our profession, changes take longer than we expect and those that are involved become weary and apathetic to the initial vision. To avoid this, as managers of change, we need to understand the realities of what people are being asked to do, be balanced in communicating the positive and negative aspects of the change, create credible and transparent messaging, and lead in ways that inspire others to act.

When working in a constantly changing environment we may struggle to gain full support of our vision, but if we can work through Kotter’s 8-steps of change management, our initiatives will have a much better chance of success.


STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE MARKETABILITY OF YOUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMSPresented by Becky Morehouse, StamatsReported by Jeff Chitwood, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

This session began with the presenter encouraging attendees to think about their current academic program offerings as a starting point for considering how institutions develop new programs. The stated purpose was to offer institutions new ways to think about old programs and provide some new concepts to think about, such as ways to 1) help differentiate from competitors, 2) attract more students, and 3) increase revenue.

Some institutions have identified a need to shift from being institution-centric to student-centric after learning more about students and competitors. A suggestion was made that having “good programs” is not enough. Instead, institutions need to provide compelling programs that are 1) in demand, 2) not offered by competitors, 3) high quality, and 4) high margin. Simply providing more programs or activities is not a successful strategy, but letting go of underperforming programs and leveraging resources to aggressively support new initiatives are important.

To increase marketability, institutions should focus efforts by narrowing down their top student personas, target geographies, key messages and targeted academic programs.

Focusing on these areas helps institutions move forward to implement specific strategies such as:

• Identify and introduce marketable new programs

• Price correctly• Be blended• Manage academic portfolios• Write a business plan for new programs• Find compelling point of differentiation• Communicate compelling point of

differentiation• Segment, segment, segment populations• Gather and communicate outcomesInstitutions interested in growing enrollment have three broad opportunities to 1) expand offerings, 2) identify and target additional markets and/or segments, and 3) provide more effective marketing and promotional effort. The presenter focused on the process of identifying and implementing new programs as strategy to attract more students. This process must be driven by research and data pertinent to each institution. Example data, based on a national survey, was shared to provide context for students’ intended programs compared to job outlook statistics. The

presenter also illustrated methods of mapping recruitment data to assess new programs and markets.

Another strategy suggested by the presenter is replicating highly successful programs. Data shows that cost of attendance is among the top college selection criteria for master or professional degree students. Institutions can maximize enrollment and tuition revenue by analyzing price sensitivity to determine cost (if possible). In regard to course delivery, data shows that 49% of students prefer a mix of online and traditional classroom experience while face-to-face and online preferences are tied at 24% each. Measuring quality indicators, demand indicators, and revenue and delivery cost factors are all important for successful management of academic portfolios.

The presentation closed by encouraging consideration of brand essence with two must haves being academic quality, and student outcomes. Through differentiation, communication and segmentation based on these factors, institutions can make strategic decisions to increase marketability and meet institutional goals.



FIGHTING BACK AGAINST FRAUD IN ACADEMIC SPACEPresented by Eileen Tyson, ETS; Cammie Baker Clancy, SUNY Empire State College; Timothy J. Kell, Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)Reported by Debra Dickerson, Eastern Washington University

While the vast majority of applicants are honest, institutions have noticed a trend of increasing fraud involving application materials including test scores, credentials, transcripts, identification documents, and letters of recommendation. Sophisticated technology has helped make fraud in education a big business. This panel of presenters discussed trends they observed, types of fraud they encounter and some practices they take for security.

One of the biggest areas of fraud is in test taking. Some of the security measures companies are taking are:

• Cameras in testing centers• Biometric voiceprints for test takers• Fingerprinting test takers• Electronic wands to detect electronic

devices at testing centers• Facial recognition for test taker

identification

Other methods are also used but can’t be identified for obvious security reasons. Different security methods are being used in different populations over the world to see what works best within various cultures.

Fraudulent transcripts and credentials are also common and sometimes very difficult to detect. Resources at most institutions are not adequate for many international programs and often they cannot be verified through traditional methods. Using qualified external credential evaluators may be the best defense against this type of fraud. These organizations use current technology including high resolution scanners. Fraud in transcripts and credentials is shared with federal authorities when discovered by these evaluators, in addition to the institution.

Plagiarized essays can be classified in two ways, either as purposeful or unintended. Cammie Baker recommends making all

requirements transparent, educating those who plagiarize unintentionally and allow them to reapply. Fraud involving letters of recommendation can be greatly reduced by setting up secure submission methods on-line. It is important to have procedures in place for dealing with fraud and for the appeal process when an accusation of fraud is made.

As technology grows, so will the opportunities for fraud. Institutions will need to continue to be diligent in protecting the validity of their admission processes.


THE SIX MONTH ORIENTATION: WHY, WHO & HOW TO STARTPresented by Shari Sekel and Bryan Butryn, Brock University, Goodman School of Business Reported by Rachael Holmes, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Orientation is not about a week or a day before students start on campus. It is about building a connection with your students. This informative presentation highlighted how one university implemented a six month orientation with various stages.

Their objectives were to:

• Share Information

• Prepare students

• Ease Transition

• Stay Connected

• Increase Yield

In the first step, they engage faculty, students and alumni to answer questions and present information to applicants. This included a massive effort to put together a student resource guide on-line which included information such as housing, how to get the most out of your degree and extracurricular activities. Next, the effort moved to the arrival of the students and presentations on strategies for success. The work to keep students engaged did not end there, and continued through to graduation.

The presenters emphasized that the personal check-ins they have with each student are

the most important factor to maintaining the connection with them. In the check-ins they ask the students how things are going and what, if anything, they could do to support them. The first check-in is a required 15 minute meeting, but the other check-ins are optional. They found that although the later check-ins are optional a majority of students use them.

In the end, the established relationship between advisor and student helped students feel comfortable telling their advisor what is really going on. This leads to greater student success and retention.

Thanks to Hobsons for a memorable evening aboard the USS Midway!


GLOBALIZATION: UNDERSTANDING A NEW GENERATION OF INTERNATIONAL AND MULTICULTURAL DOMESTIC STUDENTSPresented by Michèle Glémaud, Université de MontréalReported by Evan Didier, Northeastern University

As Brazilian government programs like Science Without Borders encourage more Brazilian students to pursue graduate studies abroad, universities can build winning marketing and communication strategies to attract Brazilian students to their graduate programs. Presenter Michèle Glémaud shared her insights and experiences with the Université de Montréal’s (UdeM) ongoing and successful efforts to recruit more Brazilian graduate students.

Analyze at the Outset and Set Goals for Brazilian Recruitment

Before developing marketing and communication strategies for Brazilian students, it is important to undertake an analysis of current Brazilian enrollment at an institution. Faculty input should be solicited, current Brazilian students at the institution should be surveyed and consulted about their experiences, and potential future Brazilian student ambassadors should be identified. Given that Brazil is a large country, establishing from which regions of Brazil an institution’s students are coming can also be helpful.

After the analysis, the institution needs to set goals and objectives for Brazilian graduate student enrollment. At UdeM, primary goals included promoting academic programs and research to potential Brazilian graduate students and attracting more graduate students with Brazilian government-sponsored scholarships.

Strategies to Attract Brazilian Graduate Students

UdeM developed and implemented a number of marketing strategies to attract Brazilian graduate students, including:

– A Micro-website in Portuguese featuring information about academic programs and topics like living in Montréal

– A Facebook group targeted specifically at prospective Brazilian graduate students

– Publishing an e-newsletter with content authored by faculty that also helped drive traffic to the Facebook group and to webinars

– Paper and digital postcards encouraging Brazilian students to connect via social

media and featuring faces of Brazilian students at the university

– Information sessions presented by Brazilian student ambassadors

– Periodic webinars

The Brazilian student ambassador program continues to be a critical component of UdeM’s goal of increasing Brazilian graduate student applications and enrollment. Student ambassadors not only engage and provide customer service to prospective Brazilian students while at UdeM, but also participate and present at UdeM information sessions held in Brazil when the ambassadors travel back to visit Brazil. By fostering relationships with Brazilian universities and through the effective use of embassy and cultural mission facilities, UdeM’s cost of hosting an information session in Brazil is minimized. These marketing and communication strategies can lead to significant positive results; the number of Brazilian Science Without Borders scholars enrolled at UdeM quadrupled between 2011 and 2013.

NAGAP Perspectives Summer 2014 Final

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