In this presentation Dr. Woolf will outline the current and likely immediate future global and national context for higher education. He uses the word ‘threats’ rather than the euphemism ‘challenges’ deliberately—there are some potentially existential threats looming to the PSE system in Canada as we know it, some endogenous others emanating from changing global circumstances and technological change. The presentation will examine such issues as changing student/parental expectations as to what a university education should ‘buy’, including employment prospects, blue-chip mental and physical health supports, and a stress-free or ‘safe’ environment. It will also examine external threats such as increasing governmental intrusion into university affairs; unstable revenue streams; the difficulty of balancing research and economic development expectations with a commitment to teaching; the relative lack of levers that university administrators have to effect change; the promise and also risks of internationalization; and, the threat to traditional liberal values in a highly polarized world. The final part of the presentation will suggest some ways in which universities can protect the core of what they do best and also adapt to face these new circumstances.

In 2015, Fort McMurray dipped into a serious recession. When this was followed by a wildfire in 2016, enrolment dropped by 25%. Layoffs, restructuring and regular changes at the executive level removed any connection to previous SEM work. Needing to rebuild, required us to plan for "SEM Again". We will share the process, the journey, the successes and the challenges that we have experienced in our first two years of "SEM Again". Using collaborative tools, we have built a very solid foundation for our roadmap moving forward. Connecting business change management in our pursuit of enhancing the student experience is providing us with the vision to truly achieve Strategic Enrollment Management. The dream team on this project includes key people: the SEM manager, the Organizational Development Advisor and the Institutional Research Analyst. By combining the talents of topic expertise, organizational expertise and research expertise, we bring a comprehensive approach to SEM again.

Universities across Turtle Island (North America) are grappling with what a meaningful, reciprocal, and consensual Indigenous recruitment strategy can look like. At the University of Alberta, we have built an Indigenous community engagement portfolio in collaboration with First Nations in the central Alberta, Treaty 6 region that aims to inspire community members toward the pursuit of higher education. These events range from full-scale community-wide traditional ceremonies to school-centered parent conferences which establish the University as a trusted partner and a good neighbour in the development of post-secondary pathways between FNMI communities and the institution. This session will walk attendees through the systematic, cultural, and relational shifts the University had to make in order to realize a reconciled Indigneous recruitment stewardship model that abandons traditional attract-and-yield recruitment tactics. We will discuss a holistic approach to recruitment that engages all four spheres -- emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical -- of the medicine wheel and offers an opportunity to foster deeper understandings of and an abiding affection for the First Peoples whose traditional territory our universities reside within.

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM

In the endless war between marketing and communications professionals and the academics and administrators of higher education, leave this session equipped with new ammunition for the battle of "Less is (actually, quite a lot) more". We aren't writing rubrics, syllabuses or policies, but our stakeholders are. While keeping your compassion hat on for the concerns, anxieties and limitations all stakeholders face, learn how you can challenge the status quo and improve your stakeholder relationships so that you can create dynamic, engaging and interesting content for Gen. Z, helping you to recruit prospective students and keep current students interested and informed. Join Laurier's MARCOM duo as they share trials and triumphs of ongoing relationship building and communications refinement. Learn how you can empower stakeholders to adapt their communications, why the Viewbook isn't everything, and how to leverage research to promote data-driven decision making.

Adult learners represent a new and underserved market for Canadian postsecondary institutions, and their numbers are growing. This presentation will explore how economic forces are disrupting the labour force, creating a demand for short, flexible training programs that are geared to adult learners. The presenters will describe what the evidence suggests are the ideal elements of adult-focused upskilling programs, and explain why competency-based education, which is growing in popularity among US postsecondary institutions, is a promising model with the potential to better serve Canadian adult learners.

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM

“You have to date before you get married!”

If you’re involved in recruiting or marketing, drip marketing should be part of your strategy. Drip and nurture marketing can yield excellent results and provide an effective method for building relationships with students and influencers. Drip and nurture email campaigns are ideal for reaching leads generated at education fairs, from your own website or from third-party websites.

Drip and nurture campaigns are delivered as a series of communications over time. Drip marketing, with an eye on frequency and brand consistency, will lead to better connections and better conversions — at a reasonable cost. We will review live examples, as well as plan and build a sample campaign.

This presentation will review the usage of agents as a strategy for attracting international post-secondary students. With Memorial as a case study, the presenter will provide an overview of the usage of agents, particularly within the Canadian university context. If your university/school is (1) interested in seeking best practices information, (2) wanting to assess the value of students recruited via agents or (3) determine how your school compares with others, this presentation is for you.

For those institutions with on-campus residences, there exists an amazing opportunity to retain students and turn those living on campus into brand advocates. Advocates that will be embedded and actively engaged in the university or college experience. Many will thrive socially, and bring other students into #reslife. Some will carry on into residence leadership roles, while others succeed in their studies. All of this delivers engaged students or advocates that will carry forward the institution’s brand during and after their time on campus. There are studies that confirm students excel academically and personally in-residence vs those that live off campus. However, to ensure they stay involved and engaged year after year, institutions need to look beyond rooms, beds, and burgers. Powerful #reslife experiences offer vibrant social programming and activities, community spaces that foster creativity, ‘making’, socialization and fun, as well as food services that feel like the Marche or Whole Foods. Well fed, well rested and involved students come back, stay connected and are loyal. They’ve lived (literally) the institutional brand and will be strong advocates going forward. In this session, Sean Williams will speak about the connection between residence living, student retention and brand loyalty. An alignment that will foster a never-ending level of engagement.

This session will look at the transition from secondary to post-secondary to the world of work from the lens of a student with a visible and/or non-visible disability. While your institution may offer services to support academic accommodations, it may not be addressing the employment support needs and opportunities that are often needed by students with disabilities.

You’ll learn about a unique project in the Ottawa area, where two colleges and two universities have been collaborating to explore how they can work together to reduce the employment gap for students and graduates with disabilities, through the David C. Onley Initiative for Employment and Enterprise Development, and the public awareness campaign #AbleTo, geared to inform and engage students, campuses and local employers.

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM

How well do you know today's students? What could be more important to your work?

Terrible things were done to Millennials – sometimes in the form of "infographics" and sometimes under the guise of "research". The amount of mis-information produced about that generation should make us hesitate as we begin to learn about the next.

So, let's do a better job of understanding the current generation of students, Gen Z, who are currently coming through colleges and universities.

This fast-paced presentation will shake up your thinking at times, and reassure you of your convictions at others. Come hear some insights from recent research – and highlights from some of the 2019 SEMM Forum presentations – so you can head back to work with a clearer perspective on the students you are engaging with.

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM

Facilitated roundtable discussions among leaders in SEMM