Thanks to engaged members and research partners, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) was able to engage in research and produce reports on several topics again in 2021. AACRAO Research completed four 60-Second Surveys and six comprehensive reports. Other research-supported work included: facilitating…

Historically, community college enrollment is impacted by the economy--the better the economy, the less students seek a community college education. The enrollment at Marion Technical College (MTC) in Florida generally has followed this trend. Prior to COVID-19, the economy in the United States was seeing unprecedented growth and, thus, MTC's…

As the country and college campuses shut down in the Spring of 2020 in response to COVID-19, institutions needed to quickly pivot their plans into a digital environment to yield their accepted class. Through the Wisr platform, institutions communicated directly with their admitted students and their families through discussion board functionality…

Enrollment offices deploy various outreach methods including mailings, brochures, phone calls, and email campaigns. For these undergraduate admissions offices, working with high school students creates opportunities to shift the enrollment approach every academic year. Evolving admissions strategy created a chance to change the print marketing…

Brian C. Rosenberg, President-in-Residence at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, served as Macalester College's sixteenth president from 2003-2020. During his tenure, enrollment of U.S. students of color at the college increased significantly. Moreover, under his leadership, the college prospered during a challenging economic…

Students need to be able to complete a meaningful higher education degree without crushing debt. That is the simple, straightforward perspective of Eric Waldo, Chief Access & Equity Programs Officer at the Common App and Executive Director of Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative. In an age where higher education may feel out of reach for…

Dr. William Serrata has been President of the El Paso County Community College (EPCC) District since 2012. Dr. Serrata serves as an advisory board member of the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI), and was recently appointed to the Executive Committee for Board of Directors for the American Association of Community Colleges…

This study seeks to share student feedback about the design and creation of comprehensive learner records. Student input is not often solicited as institutions develop new credentials issued to students. Our workshops encouraged students to consider how they would develop new credentials and what artifacts and features they would include on these…

This quantitative study was designed to explore the factors that most impact the job satisfaction of community college deans in one North Texas district. Quantitative data was collected to compare results among deans with titles ranging from dean, assistant dean, associate dean and executive dean. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was…

This article is the second of a two-part series on best practices in receiving digital documents. Part I focused on national databases, third-party digital repositories, institutional websites, and certified documents. Part II looks at a problematic and prevalent of digital records options: email attachments. It discusses the security of email and…

In the fifteen years of working in higher education (with the vast majority of those years in the registrar's office), the authors have participated in all types of emergency planning--a registrar staple--including earthquakes, fires, severe weather, floods, bomb threats, and even H1N1 pandemics. But none of that planning truly prepared them for…

In this monumental time of social change, community college news and reports need to be at the forefront of all professionals working in higher education- not just those who work in these unique institutions. Why? There are several reasons, each of which become more apparent while flipping through the pages of Inside Higher Ed's special report…

The COVID-19 pandemic not only presented unique challenges to faculty and students in the classroom, but it also forced institutions to think creatively about the way they support students. Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) knew it had to provide more than just academic supports for students as the school quickly transitioned into virtual…

Over the past two decades, suicide rates have been increasing steadily in the United States (Hedeggaard, et al. 2018), which has led to many higher education institutions exploring ways to prevent, intervene, and respond to student suicides. While prevention and intervention are vital components to addressing suicides on college campuses,…

This study investigates how universities can increase enrollment by advertising anxiety resources to prospective students during the college search process. Anxiety is classified as a mental health crisis on today's college campuses and is the leading concern for college students. There are eight major factors associated with anxiety among college…