The author never planned to work at a college, but she finds she is vice president of student development at a community college; she served previously as assistant to the dean of academic services, as registrar, and as dean of enrollment management. She started her career in health care administration, and her master's was in public…

When it comes to giving advice, the author agrees with colleagues who have stated that although they might give advice to aspiring professionals, it would be better yet if they would write or apply it to themselves! So within that context, the author, like his colleagues, does not claim to possess superior wisdom in student services. Rather, he…

After finishing her undergraduate degree in English, the author's first employment was in an academic department at her alma mater. At a large public state institution, the salary scale for non-academic appointees was--and remains--woefully low. Knowing that monetary compensation wasn't the source of staff satisfaction, her chairman made a…

Online course delivery makes possible one innovation which can provide each student with greater program flexibility as well as some personal ownership of the direction and pace of his degree progress. This concept can be called the "container course." A container course is the offering of more than one course simultaneously under a single course…

On November 7, 2010, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) hosted a national executive forum during its annual strategic enrollment management conference. Titled "The College Rankings Debate and Future Implications: Assessing the Value of an Institution's Undergraduate Experience," the executive forum…

For better or worse, rankings shape public conceptions of collegiate quality. This paper reviews the history of rankings, analyzes what they represent, explores recent efforts to employ indicators in addition to institutional resources and reputation on which the most popular rankings are based, and evaluates the extent to which rankings serve…

The primary users of the current college ranking systems do not seem to be high-school students and families, but college presidents, board members, and development officers. As structured, the commercial ranking systems imply a precision that is not corroborated by research on what matters in college, nor can college quality be accurately summed…

College rankings create much talk and discussion in the higher education arena. This love/hate relationship has not necessarily resulted in better rankings, but rather, more rankings. This paper looks at some of the measures and pitfalls of the current rankings systems, and proposes areas for improvement through a better focus on teaching and…

Anecdotal evidence suggests that each year, more and more students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) apply to and are accepted into universities. Given the increased prevalence of ASDs, it is inevitable that one's institution will soon be providing support to students with this diagnosis. Identifying students who need support may be…

Successfully preparing frontline counseling staff in an integrated student services model is a challenge--one that management staff in One Stop Student Services at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC) have been fine-tuning for almost ten years. The effort has required collaboration across units in a series of trial and error attempts…

In Canada, changing demographics and increased competition--as well as social values based on equity--have inspired efforts to increase the postsecondary education (PSE) participation rates of youths from under-represented/under-served groups. Despite its population having the highest level of educational attainment among those of OECD countries,…

Globalization, the explosive growth of knowledge, the advent of information technology, and the development of a knowledge-based economy are leading to unprecedented worldwide changes. Hong Kong's continued cultural, social, and economic development will depend on whether its population can rise to these challenges and make the best use of the…

Significant responsibility for the transition from paper to online can be traced to the college admissions office. By instituting online applications, admissions offices fundamentally altered the way in which college admissions works. Always on the forefront of developing and implementing new technology for the benefit of faculty and students,…

A healthy registrar's office will continue to evolve as it considers student, faculty, and institutional needs; staff talents and expectations; technological opportunities; economic realities; space issues; work environments; and where the strategic plan is taking the institution in support of the mission. Several recognized leaders in the field…

This article presents the development, testing, and application of an enrollment model. The model incorporates incoming freshman enrollment class size and historical persistence, transfer, and graduation rates to predict a six-year enrollment window and associated annual graduate production. The model predicts six-year enrollment to within 0.67…