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How effective is the delivery of SEM services on your campus? If you’re like many schools, you probably don’t have the information you need to answer that question, according to Luke David Schultheis, Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management, Virginia Commonwealth University.

In his article “Creating a Culture of Inclusive Excellence in Strategic Enrollment Management through Distributed Leadership,” published in the April 2014 issue of the journal , Schultheis considered how best to manage the delivery of services by the SEM division. On the one hand, the achievements of the division are judged using well-established metrics, while “it is more likely that the effectiveness of service delivery is gauged by the volume of complaints lodged by students, faculty, and the staff at the institution.”

Shared leadership

The SEM division poses special management challenges because the backgrounds and duties of staff are so varied.  To improve service delivery, the SEM leader must establish a culture of excellence in the division by encouraging collaborative work toward common service goals. This “distributed,” or “shared,” leadership framework envisions the leaders of different work units, as well as their staff, taking on division leadership roles when the challenge that arises involves their expertise.  The idea is that the distributed leadership model “will develop more innovative approaches to service in an organic manner.”   

Successful SEM builds on shared innovation

Learn from the experiments and insights of your counterparts on other campuses. In addition to checking out the forward-thinking ideas in , join the conversation at ��ɫֱ��’s at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles, October 26-29, 2014.

Consider sharing the SEM trials and triumphs from your institution! are now being accepted—deadline May 23, 2014. 

Here are just a few of the benefits you can gain from presenting, according to past presenters:

• Perspective. “Presenting at ��ɫֱ�� SEM always gives me an opportunity to stop and reflect on a current enrollment management practice,” said Christopher Tremblay, Ed.D., Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, Western Michigan University. “In our day-to-day, technology crammed, professional lives, it is critical to step away from our current environment to remind ourselves of what really matters.  Presenting provides that time to analyze and research practices in our field.  Proposing a session also provides the chance to showcase the college or university where you are conducting your important work.”
• Collaboration. “I have always enjoyed the opportunity to present at ��ɫֱ��’s annual Strategic Enrollment Management conference.  Even though I may be the one bringing a topic forward as a presenter, I am always amazed at the depth of conversations I have with workshop participants—both during and after breakout sessions,” said Alicia Moore, Dean of Student and Enrollment Services , Central Oregon Community College. “These conversations enrich my professional knowledge, provide a depth of understanding I did not have previously, and build nationwide connections that I can readily call on when I have questions or need to garner different perspectives on institutional challenges.”
• Cross-campus synergy. “��ɫֱ�� SEM is the one conference that brings together representatives from all the offices housed under enrollment management,” said Paul Marthers, EdD, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute . “The conference provides an interchange of ideas and perspectives on enrollment managing that positively informs my daily work.” 

To learn more about submitting a session proposal, visit the page.

��ɫֱ�� SEM & NSC Research track

��ɫֱ�� and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center will once again sponsor a research-specific track at SEM. If you have SEM research to share, consider submitting a session proposal. ��ɫֱ�� will waive half the conference registration fee for one presenter in each of the selected research proposals. We encourage enrollment management and institutional research staff to submit proposals for one of six research areas.

Registration for the 24th ��ɫֱ�� SEM Conference will open in June.