Many students who begin their education at a community college intend to earn a four-year degree. Yet Engle and Tinto (2008) conclude that "only 5 percent of low-income, first-generation students who started their education at community colleges had acquired bachelor's degrees within six years." For too long, universities have seen…

Across the nation, troves of college students disenroll prior to graduation; students who do graduate often leave campus still searching as if something is missing, inadequate, and deficient. Indeed, something is missing and unsustainable in this malaise. Drawing on Tia Brown McNair, "et al." (2016), who call for student-ready campus…

Mark McCoy, Ph.D., was president of DePauw University from March 2016 through July 2020, having served previously as dean of the DePauw University School of Music from 2011-2016. A first generation college student and the son of a coal miner, Dr. McCoy was committed to making DePauw an even greater place to learn, live, and work, with an emphasis…

Within the landscape of collegiate student athlete eligibility, transfer students present the greatest challenge. Their movements, motives, and so-called mistakes are the subject of extensive legislation. Anyone looking from the outside at the rules and protocols for transfer student athletes as an indication of the overall state of collegiate…

In four years of managing the Northern Arizona University (NAU) Student Service Center--a one stop shop--from concept to fruition, the author has collected some tips and tricks and a toolbox of key components for success. The NAU Service Center journey started in 2012, when university leadership came together for a two-year concept review that…

Stories are one of the primary ways in which humans communicate and interact with one another--even in an office. Like any organization, the registrar's office relies on stories. Stories from inside the office are vehicles for culture, knowledge, context, data, information, and the emotion implicit in the work being done. Stories from outside the…

2019 was a bit different from previous years for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Research. Since they had six larger-scale research projects (of which several were calendared over the summer months), they did not want to overly burden their members with surveys. This resulted in four 60-Second…

Many colleges and universities nationwide use midterm grades to provide feedback to students about their academic performance at the midpoint of a course. In recent years, registrars have been challenged to collect accurate midterm grades. Numerous factors contribute to the challenge of collecting accurate assessments. This constellation of…

Many people view commencement from the outside: a wonderful celebration of academic achievement and a time to celebrate graduates' accomplishments. By contrast, the commencement coordinator analyzes and implements each of the smaller parts that culminate in graduates crossing the stage and throwing their caps. The perfect commencement is…

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities completed a project that used degree audit data to project expected graduation terms for students. By working together within our organization, Academic Support Resources, in partnership with colleges throughout the university, the new process was implemented. This article will explore the factors in place…

Gone are the days of expecting a grad fair to bring a flood of students, a list of qualified leads, and inevitable conversion to application. Instead, creativity and attention to the considerations noted in this op-ed are necessary for the grad fair to continue to be of value.

Mary Callahan is the Registrar and Senior Associate Dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She was named Registrar in 1999 and Senior Associate Dean in 2015 and sets the strategic direction for a continuum of student and faculty support activities. Among her many responsibilities are oversight of registration, grades, degree…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are being compared and evaluated based on the outcomes that their students experience. While both self-evaluation and accountability are valuable, one should be careful that the right outcomes are measured. Using data from 21 community colleges, we find that traditional measures often ignore key positive…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers' (AACRAO's) Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement Program, or SEM-EP, is a well-defined, self-paced professional development program and career advancement track for in-service enrollment service professionals. Designed to promote industry competency and readiness, the…

Luisa Havens Gerardo is Vice President for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech. She has served the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) as president, vice president for access and equity, chair of the international admissions committee, and member of the nominations committee and the program committee…