“SEP” Versus “SEM”-The Strategic Enrolment Process

Posted on Wednesday, January 17th, 2024

There’s a difference between strategic enrolment planning (SEP) and strategic enrolment management (SEM), but too often the terms are used interchangeably to describe the framework that is used by post-secondary institutions to achieve their enrolment targets.

When institutions begin their strategic enrolment planning, it is important to note that the most exciting part of the process is the planning phase itself. It’s an opportunity to bring multiple stakeholders together to develop strategies that will help the college set its enrolment goals, while also considering the resources and actions that need to be taken to be successful. This is the work that is done “in the trenches”, where ideas and initiatives need to be thought through with a lens assessing impact, cost, and the resources needed for them to take hold.

Through this highly interactive engagement with the college community, the foundation of a SEM plan starts to take shape, including key performance indicators that consider a variety of important metrics such as the admissions funnel, student retention and completion rates, program development, and the balance between domestic and international enrolments.

Once the plan is in place, it becomes everyone’s role to help manage the results. Of course, there are leaders within the college who must take responsibility for SEP and SEM, but it’s the contributions of many that leads to creating a culture where paying attention to the overall health of the institutions’ enrolments is top of mind for everyone.

In a new book written by the American consulting firm, Ruffalo Noel Levitz, the authors write, “Few will read the entire SEP document; but the entire college or university community should have been touched by the process; if not directly involved, then at least well informed and with opportunities to provide input.”

That is the call to action. Employees should feel empowered to learn more about strategic enrolment planning and management. It will help them find their place in a process that has ebbs and flows, but ultimately seeks to support the college mission of transforming hopes and dreams into life-long success.

It’s not always obvious to support staff, faculty, and administration how they can contribute to this cause, but by learning more about how our interactions with applicants, students and alumni can influence the overall enrolment picture, employees can find their place in contributing to a healthy enrolment picture for Algonquin College now and into the future.

More information on the college’s strategic enrolment management can be found at the Senior Vice President Academic website, including articles from our Roadmap series, written to build more awareness about the topic. In the weeks ahead, there will be opportunities for employees to engage and learn more on a variety of topics that apply to strategic enrolment management. All employees are encouraged to participate and learn how their day-to-day work makes a difference.

Visit the SVPA site to learn more: https://www.algonquincollege.com/vpacademic/strategic-enrolment-awareness/

 


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