NAGAP Perspectives Fall 2017

VOLUME 29 NUMBER 3 FA L L 2 0 1 7

PERSPECTIVES A Newsmagazine for Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals

IN THIS ISSUE  2 From the President  4 Reflections on the 2017 NAGAP Summer Professional Development Institute  6 Six Months and Six Struggling Programs: Using Faculty, Marketing, Scholarships, Research Support, and Good Customer Service to Reach Enrollment Goals  8 Open Doors, Email Inquiries, and Coffee Colloquies: An Interview with NAGAP Future Leader Award Winner Jillian Baer 11 Working with a Partner to Achieve Your Goal: The Graduate Recruitment Challenge 13 NAGAP Mentors: An Old Program With a New Vision 14 Personalize Recruitment Efforts and Resources to Appeal to International Students 16 The Trip from Educator to Educational Administrator 17 Book Review 20 New Orleans 2018 NAGAP Conference 21 Increasing Graduate Enrollment in a Decentralized Environment: Hope is Not a Strategy 22 Barriers Present Opportunities 25 Back to Basics: Reviewing International Transcripts

www.NAGAP.org

FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Colleagues, I’m pleased to welcome you to the fall 2017 issue of Perspectives. There has been quite a bit of turmoil recently (e.g., Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, news of the pending repeal of DACA) but, on a lighter and brighter note, the students are back on campus and there’s an energy in our buildings that I have really missed.

It’s also fall which means the seasons are changing and, as a native New Englander, I can easily say it is my favorite time of year. The icing on the cake? I just learned earlier this week that our school’s café is adding cider doughnuts to its menu for the next couple of weeks. Dangerous and delicious and, well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to indulge in at least one!

PERSPECTIVES

A Newsmagazine for Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals

Editor, Jennifer Kulbeck

Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts Saint Mary’s College of California 1928 Saint Mary's Road Moraga, CA 94575 NAGAPpublications@gmail.com

Getting back to our students, as they are taking steps forward in advancing their education, I encourage each of us to set time aside for furthering our own professional development. Whether it is putting into practice something you learned at the Annual Conference or Summer Institute for New Professionals, consulting with NAGAP colleagues for advice on implementing best practices or tackling challenges, or signing up for an upcoming webinar or the Winter Institute for Advanced Professionals this coming January in Palm Springs, it is important that we remember that professional development benefits not only us as individuals but also our teams, our institutions, and, ultimately, the field of graduate enrollment management as a whole. If you need assistance with language as to why something NAGAP offers is important and should be supported by your supervisor, school, etc., please don’t hesitate to contact me or anyone on your NAGAP Board; we are happy to help in any way we can!

Speaking of professional development and engagement with NAGAP, please do participate in the upcoming NAGAP elections process. We will be voting in a new President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and your voices in the process are critical in ensuring that the next Governing Board best represents who you think will lead the association and represent your collective interests most successfully. You might also consider using this moment in the NAGAP leadership cultivation cycle as a personal prompt to get more involved with NAGAP this year. As I communicated both when I was running for President and then shortly after being elected, one of my top three priorities has been to engage a broader and more diverse group of individuals in the spirit of cultivating new talent in leadership positions across the association. I would really love to see this happen.

I also want to thank those of you who took the time to respond to the NAGAP Needs Assessment Survey that went out in mid-September. The data from this survey is very helpful to me and the rest of the NAGAP Board as we make decisions related to our Strategic Plan, including doing the best we can to offer an appealing portfolio of products and services to our members, enhance our visibility as the leader in GEM and our impact on the field, all while making careful decisions about the expenditure of limited financial resources.

NAGAP Perspectives is published three times per year (fall, spring, summer).

Articles of particular interest for publication are graduate enrollment management research/study results, how-to articles, success stories, reports of workshops/ seminars, book reviews, etc.

Submissions should be sent to the editor via email. Articles should be provided in Microsoft Word, with figures and photos provided separately as high-resolution TIF or EPS files. APA style is preferred for documenting sources. Submission deadlines: August 30, January 6, May 16.

Copyright © 2017 NAGAP NAGAP is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in all of its activities.

This commitment embraces respect for differences including age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, life experiences, race, religion, and sexual orientation. NAGAP champions an open exchange of ideas in a collegial environment that embraces academic freedom, cooperation, mutual respect, and responsibility. NAGAP supports activities that promote and nurture professional development, best practices, research, and collaboration of a diverse and global community of graduate enrollment management professionals, encouraging dialogue that fosters professional growth among all of its constituents, in the U.S. and internationally.

Turning to this issue of Perspectives, I’m so impressed with the depth and breadth of content here. It includes a conversation with the NAGAP Experts Bureau on personalizing the international student experience; a case study on meeting enrollment goals from the University of Michigan, Flint; Visionary Award recipient continued on the next page

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David Lang shares ideas about the future of GEM; we have a how-to piece on reviewing international transcripts; and former Distinguished Service award recipient Dan Bennett offers a review of A Perfect Mess: The Unlikely Ascendancy of American Higher Education by David Labaree—and so much more.

In closing, I want to reflect on just how fortunate I feel to be a part of two incredible intellectual communities—in my “day job” at The Harvard Graduate School of Education and through my participation in NAGAP. These communities generate incredible energy, whether it is a casual conversation in between classes, in the dining hall and social areas around campus, engaged in a working group meeting, or connecting at a networking reception. Loud or quiet, indoor or outdoor, intimate or in a larger group, the energy is palpable and envelops all members of our communities. For me, it’s this very energy that reminds me why I’m passionate about my work, and of the power behind reaching out to another GEM colleague to talk through a difficult situation or ask around for benchmarks. Feel the pulse! Take in everything you can, and give back so others can benefit in the same way. We are greater than the sum of our parts and our ability to grow as individual professionals as well as a collective association depends on this. n

Julie Deland NAGAP President

NAGAP Chapters

Join or Start a Chapter Today!

For those of you looking to get more involved with NAGAP, your local chapter is a great place to start. Chapters provide a wonderful opportunity to network, to participate in regional workshops and conferences, and to assume leadership positions.

They are also a great resource for learning more about GEM, especially if you are unable to attend the national annual conference.

NAGAP has eight regional U.S. chapters, one international chapter, and two special interest chapters. To find out which chapter your state is a member of, visit NAGAP’s Chapters page. Here you will find contact information for each chapter president, and a link to the chapter’s website or social media page. Most chapters have a “join” or “contact us” link right on the landing page.

If you find your state is not affiliated with a chapter, you may be interested in beginning a new chapter. For more information, review the How To Get Started overview. Questions?

Please contact us at info@nagap.org.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE 2017 NAGAP SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

By Fellowship Recipients Alyssa Cadue and Lauren O’Neill comprehensive overviews of enrollment management and introduced new ways to maximize our offices’ efforts.

Alyssa Cadue Enrollment Management Coordinator Temple University College of Education

Another topic that I was excited to learn more about was international student recruitment. My office works with a small pool of international students, so I have limited knowledge of the best practices to assist this population. The presentation from Dr. Ray Lutzky on “International Student Recruitment” was highly beneficial, and I believe that the entire audience shared this sentiment. Dr. Lutzky’s discussion included data that I do not have the ability of otherwise reviewing in my daily work, so the figures that he presented were of great value to me. His detailed account of the work that goes into communicating with international students was eye-opening. Attending this seminar was one of the most beneficial moments of the conference and I feel more confident about international recruitment as a result.

The 2017 NAGAP Summer Professional Development Institute (PDI) was an amazing experience. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend as a fellowship recipient and represent my university at a national conference.

While writing my application for the fellowship, I expressed the desire to learn from established professionals in the enrollment field, particularly after I reviewed the agenda for the institute. I am excited to share that my expectations were exceeded during the conference. Two presentations that were particularly memorable were “Welcome to Graduate Enrollment” and “An Introduction to GEM Marketing—Best Practices and Strategies”. During each session, the presenters reviewed items that many of us found familiar but then expanded upon their respective areas of specialization. Rarely as new employees do we take the time to define our industry and map out the values and standards of our departments. I found that both of these seminars provided

Aside from the engaging presentations that were scheduled, I learned a great deal from interacting with my peers throughout the conference. The intimate size of the conference allowed everyone to meet new people each day. During

meals, breaks, and after the sessions, I had the opportunity to speak with professionals from across the country.

Sharing our experiences and different points of view within higher education was by far the most rewarding aspect of the Summer Institute.

However, without the excellent planning by the PDI committee, none of this would have been possible. It was easy to see how deeply the members cared about this event—from the quality of presentations, to their positive interactions with each participant. The logistics and necessary arrangements for the conference were communicated well to attendees, and I felt prepared from the moment I arrived.

Lauren O’Neill Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions Massachusetts College of Art & Design When I applied to the NAGAP Summer PDI fellowship I had just embarked on my first admissions cycle at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt). Having accepted the position in October, it was a trial-byfire learning experience with little time to analyze the process and procedures I inherited. I took what was in front of me and rolled with it, doing my best to make small changes and improvements as I moved with the process. Fast forward nine months and it’s time to attend the NAGAP Summer Institute.

This opportunity allowed me to pause and reflect over the whirlwind that was my first application and enrollment cycle in graduate admission. More than anything, the two days in Las Vegas provided me with a much needed retreat to listen, learn and brainstorm ways to implement new ideas as my second recruitment cycle begins.

Kathryn Kendall, Lauren O’Neill, Alyssa Cadue, and Katie Beczak

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What stayed with me the most from the Summer PDI, is the importance of relationships and the value those relationships will have both professionally and personally. In every session, from the opening welcome with Dr. Kristin Williams, to Brittney Joyce’s closing session “What is your drink? What Starbucks can teach you about recruiting and working with Graduate Students” the emphasis of forging personal relationships and the mentality of “it’s not what you say, it’s how you make people feel”, stuck with me. Having gone to numerous undergraduate college fairs over the years, I was not surprised when people noted the decline of graduate and professional school fair attendance and the rise of “stealth” applicants.

In response, it is vital to look to the influencers surrounding prospective graduate school applicants and forge meaningful relationships with those individuals; advisors, professors, parents, employers etc. More than that, when applicants do express their interest,

tailoring communication and experiences geared specifically for them is essential.

my concerns of not only recruiting for graduate school in today's current climate; but recruiting for master of fine arts (MFA) programs. Though MFA programs tend to be the outlier among business, engineering and education graduate programs, I can take many ideas and methods from these programs and apply them with slight tweaks to my developing strategies. We’re really not that different! Regardless of program of interest, all students contemplating a graduate program are pondering taking a significant, life-changing step.

They are looking for advice from trusted advisors, whether that is a professor or parent; they want admissions professionals to hear their concerns and respond thoughtfully. I look forward to finding ways to combine old strategies with new ones; use technology with in person experiences to create meaningful relationships with students, parents, faculty, and colleagues; and in the process, cultivate interested and qualified MFA candidates for MassArt. n

The importance of personally stepping out of my comfort zone and networking became abundantly clear, especially as my role as the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at MassArt is a new position and I’m more or less a team of one! The exercises we did in the “Professional Development: Defining your personal and professional journey” session helped me make connections with colleagues at other institutions who I can turn to when questions arise and I need another perspective. Additionally, it prompted me to take a similar approach to discovering resources on my own campus. Understanding my strengths and weaknesses and knowing where to turn when I need support within and outside of my own institution is something that I will keep with me as I move forward in this admissions cycle.

Finally, when I wrote my essay for the fellowship application I addressed

NAGAP Volunteer Opportunities NAGAP is a member-driven association, and there are many ways to get involved!

Check out the Volunteer Opportunities Page to learn more about the committees, organizational activities, and other projects to which you may volunteer your time.

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For more information, or to talk to someone about ways to become more involved with NAGAP, you can email a member of the Leadership Cultivation & Elections Committee.

The Leader in Graduate Enrollment Management

We hope you will take the time to consider the opportunities for volunteer participation, and that you will discover a way to become more involved in NAGAP.

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SIX MONTHS AND SIX STRUGGLING PROGRAMS: USING FACULTY, MARKETING, SCHOLARSHIPS, RESEARCH SUPPORT, AND GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE TO REACH ENROLLMENT GOALS

By Brad Maki, Director of Graduate Admissions, and Matt Bohlen, Recruitment Supervisor, University of Michigan-Flint Do you have that one graduate program that seems to struggle each and every year to attract new students? The one that sounds great on paper, has experienced previous success, and is supported by wonderful faculty and staff? Maybe you have more than one… like us. They are great programs, but people just aren’t migrating toward them like they did in previous years.

Struggles Of our 39 programs only a few were selected to take part in our tactical plan for 2016 and 2017. The following programs were selected, with fall 2016 matriculated student headcounts as indicated: • Arts Administration (MA) 12 • English Language & Literature (MA) 19 • Liberal Studies (MA) 21 • Mathematics (MA) 7 • Public Administration (MPA) 110 • Social Sciences (MA) 25 • Biology (MS) 20

In this article, we look at some of our struggling programs and how increased intervention can play a part in growing enrollment.

(Biology was not involved in the 2016 plan)

Background

Although the enrollment varies for each of these programs, each has seen steady decline since their peak enrollment periods. Each degree is unique in its course offering, program structure, delivery method, research options, and employment prospects. All of the programs are run by very involved faculty and staff who care deeply for their students and programs.

The University of Michigan-Flint is one of two regional campuses of the University of Michigan. We have five academic schools/colleges, 100+ undergraduate programs, and 39 graduate degree and certificate programs.

At the peak of the fall 2015 semester there were 1,604 students enrolled in a graduate program. During the fall 2016 semester there were 1,463 students enrolled (our third largest semester in history). Increased competition, a declining Michigan population, a better economy, and negative associations with the city of Flint have all played a role in making enrollment management at our campus a challenging, yet rewarding, experience.

“In this article, we look at some of our struggling programs and how increased intervention can play a part in growing enrollment.”

The Office of Graduate Programs at UM-Flint is the central recruitment, application, communication, research, and scholarship office for 39 graduate programs. Every student who inquires is entered into our CRM, thus engaging the student in our extensive communication plan that includes emails, calls, letters, and texts. Potential students are invited to four main open houses on campus and a variety of online events as well.

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Planning Support from Faculty: Before we could include a program in this enhanced recruitment plan, we needed to make sure the faculty and staff were supportive. Our team went program-byprogram setting up meetings to ensure the main players were 100% on board.

While several had questions, everyone was in full support of the heightened recruiting efforts.

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Scholarship Support: Although program specific scholarships were identified, we concluded that additional financial support in the way of academic scholarships was needed.

Therefore, our dean gave us one-time funding for two $3,000 scholarships for each program. The scholarship dialogue became a major part of our marketing text.

GSRA Support: Our dean also supported us with funding for additional Graduate Research Student Assistantships (GRSAs). These GRSAs are worth over $4,000 per academic year and each program was given the option to use two.

Each student would need to be partnered with a willing professor, so we needed support from all faculty involved. The faculty were overwhelmingly in support of the new GRSAs. Marketing Tactics: Timing: Our planning began in January 2016. ✓✓March 1: Website updated with all info ✓✓March–June: Email campaigns, online ads ✓✓March (2nd week): Search/lead pieces dropped ✓✓April: Open houses ✓✓April (late): Scholarship and GSRA letters mailed ✓✓June 1: Scholarship and GSRA deadline ✓✓June 15: Scholarship and GSRA offers ✓✓September: Classes begin Applicant pool: What can you say about an established program that hasn’t been said already? The answer, perhaps, had less to do with what we needed to say, and more to do with whom we needed to address and how often we needed to do so. This is how we decided to grow our prospect pool. continued on the next page

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SIX MONTHS AND SIX STRUGGLING PROGRAMS We purchased names through a few different third-party vendors. We also increased marketing to our own alumni base and around campus, and we decided to invest in social media through specific targeted campaigns. Some of this enhanced targeting worked very well.

For example, it was easy to segment our target audience for the Biology program among alumni and social media, and we therefore experienced success with open house attendance.

Programs to a more select group of students. This letter highlighted the scholarship and research opportunities.

Conversely, some of our clever ideas turned out to be flops. For example, through meetings with faculty members in the Liberal Studies program, it was brought to our attention that the Rackham 100% online program had always been popular among higher education middle-managers—so we purchased a list of higher education middle-manager-types across the entire State of Michigan. However, the list proved to be unreliable and riddled with bad contact information. Over 25% of our postcards were returned and our email click-through-rate was far below average.

4. Two-week application deadline for financial aid

Direct mail: We sent six different postcards to nearly 12,000 people in our target audiences. The postcards featured a brief program highlight, student testimonial, scholarship and GRSA info, and information about attending our program specific open houses.

Additionally, we sent a letter from our Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate

Measurement of Success Highlights from the 2016 campaign: • Inquiries by program and month, one‑year change

º 108% increase year-to-year in inquiries of target programs in April 2016 (compared to 81% increase overall) • Applications by program for fall 2016 term: Mixed results, as some programs had increases year-to-year of 20-30%, but others were flat or declined • Admissions by program for fall term

º 2% increase in one year for the target programs (5% decline overall)

º 4% increase over three-year average for the target programs (1% increase overall) • Newly-enrolled students by program for fall term

º 22% increase in one year for the target programs (7% decline overall)

º 10% increase over three-year average for the target programs (10% decline overall) • Admissions yield by program, fall term

º 19% increase in one year for the target programs (2% decline overall)

% increase over three-year º5 average for the target programs (12% decline overall) • Scholarship and/or GSRA offers

7 offers, 22 accepted and º2 enrolled (81% yield)

7% yield of no-offer students in º6 same programs

Email: Our total email prospect pool was over 23,000. We sent four different messages over the course of the recruitment plan: 1. Scholarship/GRSA info 2. Attend our open house (and have your application fee waived) 3. Prior day event reminder

Communication plan enhancements: Our standard communication plans were improved to feature new information.

All programs’ inquiry emails and letters were altered to highlight the scholarship and GRSA details.

Open houses: For the past two years, in April, we’ve featured our struggling programs with individual open houses.

The benefits for a student to attend our open houses were: one-on-one chats with faculty, visits to campus, and $55 vouchers for our application fee. We served light refreshments and held events in our office. Each event lasted one to two hours depending on individual conversations.

During the course of the new recruitment approach, we kept track of how students heard about our open houses (students can answer more than once). The results are shown below (see Table 1).

The 2017 results will not be in until the census date of our fall semester.

Table 1 How Students Heard About Our Open Houses

Conclusion

2016

2017

Website = 28%

Website = 40%

Email = 28%

Email = 26%

Faculty/staff = 22%

Faculty/staff = 14%

Postcard = 17%

Postcard = 9%

Friend/relative/co-worker = 4%

Friend/relative/co-worker = 7%

Other = 9%

Other = 12%

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The results of the 2016 campaign proved to be mixed. While total applications for the six 2016 programs were down, numbers for inquiries, admissions, yield, and web traffic were all up. Therefore, it is difficult at this point to determine the effectiveness of our recruitment plans. We look forward to analyzing the results in more detail as data from the 2017 campaign is collected and reviewed. n

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OPEN DOORS, EMAIL INQUIRIES, AND COFFEE COLLOQUIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH NAGAP FUTURE LEADER AWARD WINNER JILLIAN BAER

By Caela Provost, University College Cork Finding my own path in the student affairs discipline through my work with graduate students felt exciting, and I soon realized that the area needed more voices, more scholarly work, and more community.

Over the course of the recent fleeting weeks of August, I have been given the opportunity to correspond with Jillian Baer: extrovert, champion communicator, GEM intermediary, and recent NAGAP Future Leader Award recipient. In the last issue of Perspectives, NAGAP members were offered a glimpse into Jillian’s work in the GEM field through her award winner profile. This interview digs deeper, giving readers insight into how modest curiosity, an affinity for collaboration, and a desire to connect colleagues to create lasting, advantageous links within the realm of higher education led Jillian Baer down the path toward her recent achievements. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know Jillian and hear her story; I’m sure all of you will feel the same.

position at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State. It is the smallest of the 15 colleges at OSU, and has a very collaborative and servicefocused spirit. At first, I was not sure I wanted to work with graduate students.

I had spent two years in HESA studying the traditional college student and GEM felt like a departure from the reason I got into student affairs in the first place.

I soon realized that graduate students and their experiences need allies too.

Working at the John Glenn College was one of the best experiences of my professional career.

Caela Provost (CP): What is your educational background?

Jillian Baer (JB): I received my BA in Communications from Elon University, a small liberal arts college in North Carolina. It was there that I found my love of student affairs. I had such a wonderful undergraduate experience, that just a few years later I decided that I wanted to work with students for a living. I wanted to help others find the same satisfaction and love of learning that I found at Elon. I am originally from Columbus, Ohio and returned to Columbus to pursue my MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) from The Ohio State University. The program had a great combination of theory and practice and I was able to work in many different departments while studying student development and higher education administration.

The team mentality of the work they do in the Admissions and Student Services Office is unparalleled. I was able to learn on the job, apply theory to my work, and grow as a student affairs professional. It was in this job that I first learned about the larger field of GEM and about the great work that NAGAP does to support our community.

“It was challenging work without a lot of additional support inside our own disciplines. So we started relying on one another for advice,

CP: How did you land in the GEM field?

guidance, support, and sharing of

JB: When I graduated from the HESA program, I was lucky enough to earn a

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CP: I’d love to hear more about your connection to the Association of Graduate and Professional Administrators (AGPA).

As one of the creators of the AGPA community, what inspired you to “join forces” with your fellow professionals in order to create a mutually beneficial GEM professionals network?

JB: It all started with a friend of mine from graduate school. We finished the HESA program together and while I was working at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, she held the same position in the College of Public Health. Her name is Rachel Foltz and it is because of her that I am even here today. She introduced me to NAGAP and encouraged me to get involved. Because of our previous relationship in graduate school, and with the help of a few other members of the university that we knew were doing work with graduate students, we started getting together for coffee.

Then coffee became lunch. We realized that each of us was “on an island” within our own departments. All were smaller units at Ohio State where we seemed to be the only staff member responsible for the graduate student life cycle. It was challenging work without a lot of additional support inside our own disciplines. So we started relying on one another for advice, guidance, support, and sharing of best practices.

That small group getting together for lunch and coffee led to the first iterations of AGPA.

best practices.”

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OPEN DOORS, EMAIL INQUIRIES, AND COFFEE COLLOQUIES CP: Why, in your opinion, is having access to associations like AGPA so important for the GEM field?

JB: I believe that having community is important in any field! Some individuals thrive on it more than others do, and I certainly fall onto that end of the spectrum. As a perpetual extrovert and a largely external processor, surrounding myself with enthusiastic and positive individuals always helps me do my best work (especially when I can find people that are smarter and harder working than myself—Rachel Foltz being one of them!).

I believe that an association like AGPA is especially important for GEM professionals because graduate enrollment management often seems like an underrepresented voice on a traditional college campus. So much of what we study in higher education, what we talk about, is undergraduate education. I believe undergraduate education is very important. But graduate students and their experiences also need representation at the table.

Since we have created AGPA and come together in this very grass roots effort, we have been involved in more discussions with the Graduate School and the governing officials of academics at Ohio State.

They have seen the work we can do as a united group, they have heard our collective voices, and have opened their minds to our thoughts and opinions. So often at the graduate level, the faculty members are the ones guiding decisions. And although they play a vital role in educating the graduate students on our campuses, we must not forget the staff who work tirelessly to help these students succeed. Sharing information, working collaboratively, and becoming better GEM professionals to best serve our students is the reason we started this group in the first place.

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CP: AGPA recently hosted its first conference, which is a huge landmark for the association. What steps did you take to reach this level of membership and support?

CP: What were some of the biggest hurdles to organizing AGPA? JB: I was very lucky to have a true partner in the creation of this organization from the start. Rachel and I shared responsibilities and picked up slack for the other during busy times of the year. Our biggest discussion from the beginning was how to grow and be more inclusive without losing the appeal of a small, tightknit community. Part of that struggle is in the titles associated with our roles at Ohio State. There are many folks who hold the same title (at Ohio State, that is often a “Graduate Program Coordinator”), but many of us had completely different roles within our respective disciplines. So how do we create something that is useful for ALL?

JB: AGPA held its first 1-day conference solely to support professionals in GEM on July 11, 2017. It was a huge success and we were so proud of the hard work that went into the organization of such an event. We had 120 attendees from 9 different institutions. It blew my mind and exceeded all of our expectations! When we first started talking about this idea, our only goal was to try and convince 50 of our friends to take a day out of the office to come and learn from one another. Through the hard work of the committee, it quickly became something none of us could have expected.

We started by creating a signup form and just asking people to fill it out to “join” a list of folks we’d email with plans to meet and discuss different issues throughout the year. In that form we asked about job responsibilities, giving individuals the option to “select all” from a list of approximately 30 different duties listed. It helped us better understand who these people were and what might be important to them. From there, we organized meetings that the group wanted.

We got their feedback on just about everything from what to offer and when to offer it. This truly was a grassroots effort from the start—created by our people, for our people.

The reason that this event exceeded so many expectations has entirely to do with the conference planning committee. In summer 2016, we had enough members interested in helping with leadership that we held our first AGPA elections. Through that process, Professional Development Co-Chairs, Courtney Sanders and Alisa Tate were voted in to help run what would become the conference the following summer.

Their hard work and dedication to the idea of sharing knowledge and building a community spurred the entire event.

They put together a committee of other dedicated volunteers, delegated tasks, and made the whole thing come to life.

Rachel and I as co-Presidents this past year simply supported them in their efforts and offered help when needed.

“So often at the graduate level,

CP: What does the future of AGPA look like? Any exciting news?

the faculty members are the ones guiding decisions. And although

JB: The most exciting news is in regards to our current leadership. This summer a new Executive Team was voted in to take over the future of the organization.

Rachel and I are now ex-officio members (as outgoing presidents) and a new

they play a vital role in educating the graduate students on our campuses, we must not forget the staff who work tirelessly to help these students succeed.”

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OPEN DOORS, EMAIL INQUIRIES, AND COFFEE COLLOQUIES President and Exec are running the place.

It is exciting to see a group that has meant so much to us and our community continue to thrive as we take a step back.

They have wonderful plans this upcoming year, including updating the membership database, expanding the website, offering additional skill building into the monthly programs, and more. I am even hoping to join a committee and chip in somehow as a member of one of the teams!

As I stated before… it started as an email asking for help, then an email turned to coffee, coffee turned to lunch, and two years later, we have more than 220 members and provide a monthly space for colleagues to learn from one another and share what they have learned as experienced GEM professionals.

And of course, the second annual AGPA Conference will be taking place in summer 2018. Stay tuned…

JB: I’m excited to announce that I’ve just accepted a new role as an Associate Director in the Graduate & Professional Admissions Office at Ohio State. I am thrilled to be joining such a talented group of hardworking staff members that are dedicated to making the University a better place for graduate and professional students in all programs.

While in this role, I will be working on a campus-wide Enterprise Project to help develop a new technology to assist with the recruitment and admissions portion of the GEM lifecycle. It is an exciting new challenge that will have me relying a lot on the relationships I have formed through AGPA and NAGAP to better our

CP: What’s next for you in the GEM field?

CP: If you could give other aspiring future NAGAP leaders a piece of advice to make a positive impact on the field, what would it be?

JB: Don’t be afraid to ask for help! This all came about because I reached out to friends and was very upfront about the fact that I did not know anything. If I can continue to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am, my work will be stronger. I believe we can all accomplish more as a team than we can as individuals.

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technology platforms and create a space to improve our day-to-day lives while we work to better assist our students.

CP: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

JB: I am so humbled by the opportunity to tell this story to the NAGAP family. I want to be clear that none of this happened in a vacuum, as they say. Or in a student affairs world it may be more appropriate to say that none of it happened in my office with the door shut. Building community, accepting help from colleagues, and getting people excited about coming together for a central cause are all things that get me out of bed in the morning. And I was lucky enough to find like-minded people working in GEM at Ohio State that shared that vision. All of us have worked hard to make this a reality. We now have a place where we can turn with questions and hopefully find the answers.

Thank you for doing this. I feel honored, truly. n

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WORKING WITH A PARTNER TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL: THE GRADUATE RECRUITMENT CHALLENGE

By Allyson Cates, Director of Admissions, The Graduate School, Houston Baptist University; with contributions from Jennie Bailey, Associate Principal, Continuing Education Programs, EAB | Royall & Company Every Graduate Enrollment Management (GEM) professional knows that GEM is still a relatively new concept for higher education. GEM truly began to take shape when a different set of graduate students—a group that is very particular—emerged with the turn of the economy.

The number of students earning master’s degrees is on the rise and expected to increase by 36% between 2012 and 2022, which is twice as fast as the expected growth of awarded bachelor’s degrees (17%) (National Education Statistics). EAB’s Continuing and Online Education (COE) Forum has spent a lot of time researching this phenomenon and the challenges around it, which has informed much of our thinking. COE’s research indicates that much of this growth is coming from millennials, a group whose enrollment in graduate studies is becoming increasingly important for reaching net tuition revenue goals as colleges and universities cope with higher discount rates and fewer high school graduates to recruit. With undergraduate recruitment becoming so expensive, universities are placing a higher priority on graduate enrollment.

However, the number of graduate programs added to the marketplace during this same time period (2012– 2022) is outpacing demand. In 2012, 650 institutions added a total of 1,700 new master’s programs. In an effort to keep up with the competition, strategic institutions began spending more on graduate student recruitment, particularly for master’s programs, to ensure they adequately filled their classes. In 2010, The Graduate School at Houston Baptist University (HBU) found itself in this very situation.

Although I was not working in the graduate admissions office at the

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Throughout our partnership with Royall, we have tested different approaches, mobile-optimized our applications, and introduced digital marketing—making our 20th-century, multichannel campaign into a 21st-century multichannel campaign. Along the way, we’ve learned a few things together:

time, I know the story quite well. As a newly established graduate school, we deliberately worked to grow enrollment and sought help from our long-standing strategic partners, EAB | Royall & Company, a best practice research and marketing firm dedicated exclusively to serving higher education institutions.

Royall had already been working with our undergraduate admissions office for a decade to recruit and grow undergraduate enrollment at HBU. Just like HBU, Royall was just getting its feet wet in GEM, and there was much to learn about successfully engaging and recruiting graduate students. Whom do we target? How do we market all of our programs? Do we even have the right programs? So began our partnership with Royall as one of their first GEM partners.

1. Graduate students need reminders too. In fact, 25% of the prospective students we engaged in our campaigns did not respond until after they had received consistent and persistent email marketing for at least four months and up to a year.

Additionally, 40% of our applicants submitted their applications in response to a deadline reminder.

When we began working with Royall, we did not have application deadlines for our graduate programs, but we saw immediate increases after promoting these in our later application marketing efforts.

Royall met with our graduate admissions office, associate provost, and deans/ directors of the three colleges on campus to review our program offerings, goals, and challenges. They even spent time looking at our branding strategy for The Graduate School. Royall is not a branding agency but will emulate your brand so that prospective students have a seamless experience.

2. We needed to develop an experience that catered to any graduate student, no matter where they were in regard to continuing their education.

Not everyone is ready to apply immediately. Some prospective students are part of our inquiry pool for three months and then apply; others are part of the inquiry pool for three years and, during that time, change their mind about the program they are considering.

Royall developed an application marketing campaign for us that engaged our current recruits, alumni, and names they purchased on our behalf from GMAT and GRE. We were a bit skeptical of the impact this approach would have.

We know undergraduate recruitment is completely different from graduate recruitment, so we wondered how something that had worked successfully in that space could be successful in GEM. Our Royall campaign deployed late in the spring of 2011.

Fun Fact: One in five of our graduate students changed his or her mind about which graduate program to pursue during the recruitment process.

Identifying these types of students is just as important as identifying applicants. We have found that

Within three weeks, our applicant pool doubled, and we later enrolled our largest graduate student class to date.

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WORKING WITH A PARTNER

• It is also critical to develop a studentcentric model for graduate student recruitment that will position you as a resource to prospective students looking to achieve their next career or life goals.

ultimately these students apply and yield at higher rates than any other source because of the relationship we have built with them.

3. If you have not yet heard the news: mobile is important (but I’m sure you all have figured that out by now). Providing a convenient platform in which respondents can engage with you is critical. With our campaigns, we find that 75% of digital responders and 45% of email responders are doing so on their mobile devices. Building a friendly user experience for mobile was imperative in order for HBU to achieve the greatest rate of engagement.

As admissions professionals, we need to proactively educate prospective student populations about what we have to offer so they can realize that they are a good fit with our institution, mission, and values… or not! It is our mission to ensure that students find just the right program for their goals… whether that is at HBU or not.

The Graduate School at HBU continues to experience growth in graduate enrollment year after year, largely due to its partnership with EAB | Royall & Company. We would not have seen this success without the knowledge and expertise our Royall team brings to the table every day. From seeking new leads with groundbreaking leadgeneration strategies to talking through various strategies for increasing attendance at recruitment events, our Royall consultants work with us every step of the way.

“ Working with a strategic partner that you can trust, and can evolve alongside, will position you for success.”

GEM is still a new frontier, and it continues to change constantly. We have to think strategically about GEM and how we educate, recruit, and enroll graduate students in our programs, while at the same time navigating politics on campus, CRM implementations, and the changing landscape of adult learners. It is hard to compete if everyone is offering the same degree, in the same format, at discounted prices.

• It is important to think strategically about the types of programs that will cater to the job demand in your area and format them for the student population you are enrolling.

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2016–18 NAGAP GOVERNING BOARD Officers President Julia B. Deland

Director of Admissions

Harvard Graduate School

of Education

Cambridge, MA

(617) 495-3414

julie_deland@gse.harvard.edu Vice President Keith Ramsdell

Bowling Green State University Secretary Teisha Johnson

Illinois College of Optometry Treasurer Jeremiah Nelson

Wake Forest School of Business Immediate Past President James Crane

Brigham Young University Executive Director Dana VanMeerhaeghe

NAGAP, The Association for

Graduate Enrollment Management

Establishing relationships with NAGAP exhibitors can lead to fruitful partnerships. Our division set out to make a change on HBU’s campus, and our strategic partners helped us pave the way. But there are no silver bullets. It takes hard work on the part of marketing, admissions, and in some cases, partners who are dedicated to your success. Strategic partners such as EAB | Royall & Company offer scale and resources to which we, as GEM professionals, don’t often have access.

Working with a strategic partner that you can trust, and can evolve alongside, will position you for success. n

On this journey with EAB | Royall & Company, The Graduate School at HBU has learned important things about GEM:

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The Leader in Graduate Enrollment Management

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NAGAP MENTORS: AN OLD PROGRAM WITH A NEW VISION

Directors Cammie Baker Clancy

Empire State College Katherine Beczak

Rochester Institute of Technology Renanda Wood Dear Georgia State University School of Social Work Dave Fletcher

Barry University Andrew Kim Memorial University of Newfoundland Jennifer Kulbeck

Saint Mary's College of California Raymond Lutzky

Cornell Tech Jahmaine Smith

Morgan State University

either side with check-in points along the way, and the hope is that members will take advantage of this program in order to pass along their experiences to others—whether it be through advice or becoming a future mentor.

The NAGAP Mentor Program, which started in 2012, has re-emerged! At its inception, there were nine applications received from mentees. The program was intended for those with fewer than five years of experience in GEM to be paired with more seasoned professionals; matches were made based upon learning interests, school size/ demographic, and proximity if possible.

This year, with nineteen participants on the mentee side and an equal number of mentors to help, the program strips away the number of years in GEM requirement and focuses more on professional development between two professionals.

It is still a one-year commitment on

2017 NAGAP Mentor Program by the numbers: • 19 Mentees, 18 of whom are female • Length in GEM ranges from under a year to three years • States represented (13): California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington n

Dean Tsantir

University of Minnesota

Media Relations Amelia Pavlik

Georgia Institute of Technology

Check out the

NAGAP Online Resource Center

Publications Committee Nicquet Blake, PhD

University of Texas Health

Science Center San Antonio

Featuring a new database of Holistic Admissions resources as well as archived book reviews, GEM articles, webinars, doctoral research, and more.

Marianne Gumpper

Fairfield University

nagap.org/online-education-resource-center

Mallory Maggiacomo

Marist College Kate McConnell

Pennsylvania State Grate Valley Kittie Pain

McDaniel College

UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Caela Provost

University College Cork Troy Sterk

Seattle University

Winter Institute for Advanced Graduate Enrollment Management Professionals January 18–19, 2018 Palm Springs, California

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PERSONALIZE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS AND RESOURCES TO APPEAL TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

By Amelia Pavlik, Communication Specialist, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development, Georgia Institute of Technology During a recent conference call among members of the NAGAP Experts Bureau, the group discussed the topic of recruitment and retention strategies for international students in this everchanging political climate.

• Julie Deland, Director of Admissions, Harvard Graduate School of Education • Francesca Reed, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and Director of Graduate Enrollment Services, Marymount University • Donald Resnick, Chief Enrollment and Success Officer, The New School, New York City

Participants included: • Rahul Choudaha, Executive Vice President of Global Engagement and Research, StudyPortals • Matthew Cipriano, Manager of Enrollment and Education Operations, Weill Cornell Grad School of Medical Sciences at Cornell University • Christopher Connor, Assistant Dean for Graduate Education, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SUNY at Buffalo • Lisa Davis, Associate Director of MBA Programs, Lee Business School at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Read on to learn more about their experiences and thoughts on creating a campus environment that is welcoming to international students.

The Current Situation Since the election, the ways in which campuses are being impacted vary.

“Our application numbers have continued to increase for both undergraduates and grad students,” Reed said. “But now we’re starting to see student visas be denied.

So, while the applications are up, the deposit rate has declined.”

Cipriano said that his campus is experiencing similar struggles. While he hasn’t seen rejected visas yet, more documentation is being requested for visas to be issued. Resnick shared that one of the ways his institution is dealing with visa challenges is to get information into students’ hands earlier, so they have more time to submit paperwork and move through the visa process.

“Our international applications are stronger and more diverse this cycle—up about 4 percent,” Connor said. “But, in recent weeks, I’m hearing more students ask ‘Will I be safe in the United States?’ and I’m seeing more deferrals. I’m also seeing more students decide to go to Canada. Our numbers still look pretty good, but who knows what might happen.”

Rahul Choudaha

Matthew Cipriano

Christopher Connor

Julie Deland

Francesca Reed

Donald Resnick

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Lisa Davis

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PERSONALIZE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS AND RESOURCES From an analyst’s perspective, Choudaha has noticed increasing concerns about visa denials among institutions and students.

“Visa denials among Indian students shot up due to demonetization of currency and possibly tighter immigration scrutiny,” he said.

“Many students are concerned about unwelcoming immigration policies, which, in turn, hurts their prospects of career advancement opportunities in the United States.”

The group agreed that finances are probably the primary challenge when it comes to recruiting and retaining international students. Davis pointed out that optional practical training (OPT) is a strong option for students at her institution but that funding for tuition is “still an issue.”

“If students can’t get a graduate assistantship, it’s a major obstacle,” Reed said. “It’s frustrating because I can do more financially on the undergraduate side, but on the graduate side, I can only give small grants.”

Everyone with an institution in a big city agreed that location presents its own challenge.

“Being in New York City, the sticker price of living here is very visible,” Resnick said. “While we do provide merit-based aid for international students, they are struggling to pay for things like supplies, food, and housing.”

Recruiting with a Personal Edge The participants agree that high-touch recruiting efforts have become more important than ever.

“Since we host many programs around the world, the various events—welcome receptions, recruiting events, and others— have increased and have been very well attended by students,” Resnick said.

“We hosted four admitted student receptions in India where students were invited to bring their families and had the opportunity to interact with our staff and alumni,” he said. “It was a good opportunity to show the students that we offer a welcoming community.”

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Reed’s institution provides a variety of on-campus supports such as a dining hall that caters to all dietary needs, including kosher meals.

“We have a large international student committee, which domestic students are also part of, that puts on weekly coffee hours, an international celebration week, international Thanksgiving meal, and other events,” she added.

Offering Supports to Foster Community “We host a free and optional online academic writing workshop that is open to all students, but specifically targets international students, the summer before they start,” Deland said. “It provides a great interactive opportunity for these students to learn and ask questions about the writing expectations that are in store for them. For example, we cover referencing other writing, which clears up confusion about plagiarism issues.”

Though the road ahead of us in the realm of international student recruitment may be one pervaded with political, financial, and societal difficulties, the GEM community can assert with complete veracity that the success and safety of international students on our campuses is, and will continue to be, our priority. n

Last year, Connor’s school started the SEAS 360° Certificate of Professional Development to help students with topics related to professionalism. As part of the program, there is a component open to incoming students. Students are then encouraged to continue on in the program as they move through their time at SUNY at Buffalo.

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“You have to understand the needs of these different populations of students,” he said. “For example, we started the orientation because we noticed that our international students didn’t know how to do things like open a bank account, fill out a check, or get a cell phone contract set up.”

“We’ve held a variety of events emphasizing the support and services that the university offers to international students to educate them and answer questions,” Cipriano said. “About 75 percent of the population has attended.”

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Cipriano’s school started an international student orientation to help students better adjust to life in New York City.

Reed mentioned that Marymount’s International Student Services has worked closely with embassies representing key student groups, such as the Saudi Arabian student community, to educate students on the positive culture at the institution.

Connor said that his school has relied on alumni ambassador programs and

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communication and how to address cultural biases among domestic and international students.”

current students from specific countries to help reach potential students.

“When they arrive for orientations, the students come together for professionalism workshops and networking with each other and with faculty and staff,” he said. “This year, we’ve also placed more focus on engagement and intercultural

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What is the NAGAP Experts Bureau?

This group of 15-20 NAGAP members was created in 2015 and trained and prepared to speak to members of the media about NAGAP’s key messages on short notice. If you’d like to know more about the Experts Bureau, email Amelia Pavlik, NAGAP media relations lead, at media@nagap.org.

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THE TRIP FROM EDUCATOR TO EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATOR

By Marianne Gumpper, Director, Graduate Admission, Fairfield University confirmations and enrolled students. And with the tools to improve efficiency and an excellent CRM this is all possible. The one downside he pointed out to all of the improved workplace efficiency is he misses the contact on a more personal level with prospective students. With so much of GEM work happening online, he does enjoy when he can meet prospective students face-to-face at events and other recruiting opportunities.

Troy Sterk holds a love of education deep in his heart. As an avid reader who always loved school, it comes as no surprise that he ended up with a career in an educational field. Graduating from Western Washington University in 1996 with majors in history and education, and a teaching certificate, Troy went on to teach at both elementary and junior high school for five years. Shifting away from a long-term career in teaching, he sought out graduate school options. The one that really piqued his interest was the Student Development Administration program at Seattle University. He studied part-time at first and then during his required internship he gave up teaching, finished his degree fulltime, and found a job on campus in the graduate admission office. He received his master’s from Seattle U in 2004 and has never left. In 2011, he earned his doctorate in educational leadership, also from Seattle U. He is currently a Senior Admission Counselor.

and all applications are submitted online with faculty also reading online.

Another big advance is the use of a CRM to work with prospects to move them along the funnel to become enrolled students.

Like many of us in NAGAP, Troy feels these changes have improved efficiency. He also expressed that Graduate Enrollment Management (GEM) is recognized as much more of a profession today than when he entered the field back in 2004. But with the professionalization of our field has come more scrutiny. Daily reports are now the norm tracking inquiries, applications,

Reflecting on his graduate school search, Troy remembers back in the late 1990’s how different it was from how students look for graduate programs today. The Internet as a way of marketing master’s degrees had not yet taken hold. He remembers seeing a brochure from Seattle U, a school he did not know about at the time, and applied on a paper application. He feels the biggest changes in his 13 years in graduate admission have been the advances in technology. No more paper applications; now everything is scanned

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“Troy Sterk holds a love of education deep in his heart. As an avid reader who always loved school, it comes as no surprise that he ended up with a career in an educational field.”

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Other changes that he has encountered during his tenure at Seattle U are a huge growth in new master’s programs, over 50%, and an explosion in certificate programs that are sometimes taught online. More and more programs are being taught online or in hybrid formats. The challenge in his office is one that many of us encounter where we are semi-centralized: working the prospective students to application completion but having no hand in the admission decision. The demographics of the Seattle U population has changed with a much more diverse population and more international students.

Troy has been a member of NAGAP since 2004 and a member of JGAP since 2005, and he recently joined the NAGAP Publications Committee. He has found these professional associations to be “a wonderful community of professionals who help me stay informed of new issues and changes in our field.”

While reading is a favorite hobby, also as might be expected of someone living in the Pacific Northwest, he has a passion for the outdoors and hiking. n

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BOOK REVIEW

By Daniel J. Bennett, Assistant Dean Emeritus, UCLA Graduate Division, Senior Consultant, World Education Services (WES)

A Perfect Mess: The Unlikely Ascendancy of American Higher Education David E. Labaree, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2017 We in the graduate enrollment management community tend to live out professional careers at the university without thinking deeply about how the U.S. higher education system became what it is today: successful and productive, attracting students and scholars from throughout the world, despite its short history and evolution from humble origins. We are busy evaluating records, admitting students, administering fellowships, graduating students, and much more.

When confronted with many of the university’s problems of today—declining enrollments, increasing competition for students, withdrawal of government support for higher education, increasing student debt loads, calls for transparency and administrative efficiencies—we often end up being placed in a defensive posture by critics. As I’ve noted before, many of the books on higher education I’ve reviewed for Perspectives in the last few years have been highly critical and posited the need for major policy and structural changes.

Professor David Labaree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education offers a different perspective on higher education in the U.S. While calling it a “perfect mess,” Labaree’s accent is on perfect rather than mess.

In nine short chapters the author outlines the history of higher education in the U.S. and concludes that, “The American system of higher education is

“This book is an effort to

enormously productive and useful, and it’s a great resource for students, faculty, policy makers, employers, and society.”

Professor Labaree’s academic research, focused on the history of higher education, is well established through several books on the subject.

The history of higher education in the U.S., according to Larbaree, is paradoxical: the unworkable works, the bad turns out to be the good: “This book is an effort to understand how a system that started out so badly turned out so well—and how its apparently unworkable structure is precisely what makes the system work.” The origins of the American university (and Labaree notes that we can use college and university interchangeably in the U.S.) lies with “a loose collection of parochial nineteenth century liberal arts colleges, which emerged in the pursuit of sectarian expansion and civic boosterism more than scholarly function.” There was no central control or strong funding. Colleges had to compete for students. With their tuition, students gave the institutions of higher education their immediate funding and, as grateful alumni, their future funding.

Getting money from these two principal revenue streams forced universities to be nimble and responsive to an everchanging public and its ever-changing needs and demands. “As a result,” Labaree argues, “American colleges developed into an emergent system of higher education that was lean, adaptable, and radically decentralized.”

what makes the system work.”

In the 1880s American universities gained academic respectability by including the mantle of research, taken from the German university. However, they did not abandon undergraduate teaching but instead created a new model that combined undergraduate

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teaching with graduate programs and research plus fraternities and sororities, football, comfortable dormitories and grassy campuses adorned with the medieval quadrangles in a faux gothic style. Enrollments soared as a college degree became essential to a rising managerial middle class. A modern curriculum with practical training and electives emerged. Funding was through cross-subsidy: a large number of undergraduates justified hiring more faculty and teaching assistants and paid for graduate programs; undergraduates also became primary donors as school spirit paid off. Finally, employers came to value the college graduate and a culture of professionalism developed.

The narrative continues with a struggle between the liberal arts and professionalism that evolved into a system where each side served the other: “My aim is to show how these two motifs weave together into a fugue of mutual subversion, in which the professional has come to dominate the goals of higher education while the liberal has come to dominate its content.” In Labaree’s scheme, even business education has become more continued on the next page

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BOOK REVIEW

CONTINUED of huge federal (and state) subsidies and the sense of the university and higher education as a public good. However, the author emphasizes that, “in the midst of all of this bad news we need to keep in mind that the American system of higher education has a long history of surviving and even thriving under conditions of modest public funding. At its heart, this is a system based on not the state but the market. Schools in the system learned how to attract tuitionpaying students, give them the college experience they wanted, get them to identify closely with the institution, and then milk them for donations when they graduate. Football, fraternities, logo-bearing T-shirts, and fund-raising operations all paid off handsomely.”

academic, theoretical, and researchbased. In the final analysis, “Both PhD students and MBA students want to be prepared for a variety of possible positions and not just one, and our consumer-responsive system of higher education gladly accommodates them.”

Accessibility and exclusivity are the dual principles of American education.

Each step of the way—from universal elementary education onward—the level above becomes the elite, from the high school diploma in the 19th century to the doctoral degree today: “Every time they raise the floor, they also raise the ceiling.” U.S. higher education has constantly balanced access with advantage as college enrollments continue to balloon from 1890 to the present (3.8 million degrees of all types—associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorates—were conferred by U.S. institutions in 2015, more than double the number in 1980).

“Professor Labaree’s book is quite valuable in demonstrating how the American university developed a

The author sees the relationship between private and public universities as complex, with neither truly public or private given their missions and sources of financial support. He notes that with so many well-established privates in the oldest part of the country, “it is not surprising that the public universities in the Northeast had trouble establishing themselves as serious research universities. Nor is it surprising that the most distinguished American public universities tend to be located in the West (Berkeley, UCLA), where they did not have to compete with entrenched private institutions.” Labaree also notes that publics with the greatest autonomy, e.g., the Universities of California and Michigan, have the highest rankings.

higher education that is the envy of the world. But that “perfect mess” has to continue to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of a changing society, economy, technology, and careers as, the author notes, it has done so successfully in the past.”

In regard to the relationship between different tiers of higher education in the U.S., Labaree offers some statistics regarding how stratified the “system” is. For example, of 4,700 colleges and universities, only 191 (4%) are selective in [undergraduate] admissions; 96% accept most applicants. The American Association of Universities (AAU) has only 62 member institutions but they represent 19% of all U.S. graduate students. Labaree counters this advantage of the elites with his

In a chapter entitled, “Learning to Love the Bomb—America’s Brief Cold War Fling with the University as a Public Good,” Labaree views the post-WWII Cold War era as a temporary and unique time that was largely over by 1989 following the onset of the collapse of the Soviet Union. We mourn the loss

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usual optimistic view, noting that the largest number of employees at Apple graduated from San Jose State University (“You can understand why the San Jose State website bears the motto Powering Silicon Valley.”), thus offering hope for those who do not graduate from the highest tier. He outlines the advantages of culture and social capital of the upper middle class in negotiating the complex, nuanced, and sometimes opaque system of higher education for their children versus the difficulty all of this poses for those without these assets.

Labaree emphasizes, “Without higher education, you're closed off from the white-collar jobs that provide the most security and pay.” This economic system creates anxiety, both for those in the upper-middle class trying to ensure that their children get into the best schools to maintain their economic status and power and for those at the lower rungs who want their children to get a better life than theirs.

The author also discusses the problems created within this tiered system when “Downward mobility is the fate of the large majority of the candidates for the professoriate.” These faculty wish to move up, or to move up their institutions to a higher rank, thus creating a degree of anxiety and unhappiness among them, and a potential for neglect of students who may not be the best or at a lower degree level than they wish to teach.

The final chapter discusses the “perfect mess” of U.S. higher education in the context of the current environment.

The cost for consumers and the state is becoming too high. Taxpayers and their legislators, federal and state, are in revolt. The rate of enrollment growth is slowing. State appropriations are falling. Tuition and student loan debts are rising. There are threats to social opportunity. The public is calling for greater transparency in how colleges operate and use their resources as well as for unbundling their complex activities continued on the next page

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and offering them through leaner, more specialized bodies. Some want to reduce costs through online courses, increasing teaching loads, and abandoning lush campuses and football.

Labaree comes down against recommendations for structural and policy changes: “Today, critics are telling the system to disaggregate the muddled mix of functions into their component parts—undergraduate instruction here, research there, professional instruction somewhere else—and to get rid of all the expensive extras, such as food courts and rock-climbing walls and football. To their great frustration, the system declnes to do so.” [For one author’s thoughts on this topic, see my 2013 Perspectives review of Jeffrey Selingo’s book College (Un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students] Labaree recommends leaving the university alone based on this history: “It learned how to adapt to contingency, take advantage of opportunity, survive in the face of adversity, seek out sources of financial and political support, accumulate a variety of social functions and forms of legitimacy, please major constituencies, and develop a loyal and generous group of alumni.” The author notes that the university’s broad public support generated by a robust undergraduate culture and sports allows academics to flourish as well: “This helps to explain that paradox that sixteen of the top twenty American party schools are research universities, including six that are ranked among the top fifty in the world.”

As Publishers Weekly observes, “Labaree’s provocative view of higher education is likely to make anyone working in the field more than a little uncomfortable.” The book is instructive on history but short on helpful recommendations for the future. The author argues that we endanger the university’s success by recommending it be made more transparent,

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administratively efficient, or academically accountable. Indeed, in an interview with Scott Jaschik in Insider Higher Ed he refers to critics as “the accountability police.” I do not think this is a viable position today. For example, at present the University of California is facing enormous public scrutiny and criticism for an audit that revealed such problems as a system wide payroll system overhaul that will cost $1 billion, triple the original cost, and take five years longer than planned. This is the type of administrative debacle that leads to waning public support and no amount of football or school spirit can fully compensate.

as I write) suggests that we need revolutionary change at the university that includes new methods of studentand active-learning centered pedagogy and transcends the domination of disciplinary departments to improve teaching and learning.

President Trump may “love the poorly educated,” but I do not think this is the common view of the American people.

We need to combat the disdain for the university that has become prominent in at least one political party and among some in the general populace, through restructuring and reform where needed. Professor Labaree’s book is quite valuable in demonstrating how the American university developed a higher education that is the envy of the world.

But that “perfect mess” has to continue to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of a changing society, economy, technology, and careers as, the author notes, it has done so successfully in the past. n

Also, the author does not discuss the changing demographics in the U.S.— a shrinking cohort of undergraduates, more of whom will be underrepresented minority students and from lower income strata—that necessitates a rethinking and restructuring of enrollment management. There also is the issue of recruiting international students to compensate for the withdrawal of financial support from government. We have the capacity to take in far more international students (their percentage of the college population is far lower in the U.S. than it is in Europe, for example) and these students contribute to the intellectual, social, and financial good of the university. But we must balance this practice with the needs of our domestic population. Again, doing business as usual won’t work. And Julie Posselt and others have shown how the lack of transparency and maintaining senior faculty hegemony over admissions without deeper review has poorly served the graduate school in terms of equal access, diversity, and quality, another issue largely ignored by Labaree in this book.

References Asimov, N., “UC Ripped Again in Latest Audit that Finds Bungling of Payroll Upgrade,” http://www.sfgate.com/ education/article/UC-ripped-again-inlatest-audit-that-finds-11956728.php.

Davidson, C. (2017), The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux.

New York: Basic Books.

Jaschik, S., “Author Discusses New Book About How American Higher Education has Always Been a ‘Perfect Mess,’” https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/2017/05/03/author-discussesnew-book-about-how-american-highereducation-has-always-been.

Posselt, J., (2016), Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity, and Faculty Gatekeeping. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Sellingo, J., (2013), College (Un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. Boston/ New York: New Harvest: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Some scholarly critics are offering ideas for academic restructuring of the university. A new book by Cathy N. Davidson (just coming to press

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NEW ORLEANS 2018 NAGAP CONFERENCE

By Naronda Wright, Graduate Admissions Specialist, Georgia Southern University The Conference Planning Committee is working behind the scenes to put together the 2018 Annual conference in New Orleans. This event is the highlight of the NAGAP year for many of our members and we are very excited to be working on the planning. The annual conference allows us the opportunity to connect with colleagues, meet new friends, and learn from leaders in the higher education field. At the conclusion of the conference we hope every attendee is re-energized and full of ideas to carry them through the year and share them with colleagues on their individual campus.

members. The quality of proposals continues to increase from year to year and we are very pleased.

New Orleans is a great place to host our annual conference and since we recently hosted our conference here, we are working hard to make this experience unique and different. With that being said, we challenge you to try something you did not try if you visited previously. New Orleans is filled with a rich culture, unique architecture, great music, and excellent food choices. If Bourbon Street is not what you are looking for, try one of the Haunted Museum and ghost tours. Visit the Southern Food & Beverage Museum to experience specialty southern foods from the region and sit for a cocktail demonstration in the Museum of American Cocktails. New Orleans has lots to offer and we hope you enjoy your time there!

We are ecstatic about the proposals that have been submitted for the conference educational sessions. As a committee we find it very rewarding to review the high quality proposals that are submitted by our members and their willingness to share experiences, lessons learned, and best practices with fellow NAGAP

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The 2018 conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. The

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hotel offers numerous dining options for its guest. The food in the hotel is phenomenal and the award winning chefs aim to please. The property is beautiful and is steps away from the Superdome, Smoothie King Arena, Champion Square, and the Loyola Avenue Streetcar line. A Dave & Buster’s recently opened right next to the conference hotel, so challenge your colleagues to a friendly game of bowling to connect after the conference sessions!

The Conference Planning Committee is hard at work to ensure that you have a memorable experience at our annual conference in New Orleans, the “Crescent City.” You can look forward to programming designed to help you grow in your field, engaging and inspiring speakers, numerous networking opportunities, and lots of fun and entertainment. We look forward to seeing you in April. n

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INCREASING GRADUATE ENROLLMENT IN A DECENTRALIZED ENVIRONMENT: HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY

By David J. Lang, PhD, Assistant Dean for Graduate Enrollment, University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences Having received the 2017 NAGAP Visionary Award in April, I’ve been invited to offer my perspective on graduate marketing and recruitment.

As I embark on my 15th year working in graduate enrollment management and student services at the University at Buffalo (UB), I am struck by the rapid pace of change—especially over the past several years. This year in particular has seen the lowest unemployment rate since 2001, the introduction of a federal travel ban, and a shift in undergraduate demographics—all resulting in more pressure to grow graduate enrollment.

My current role in the largest and most diverse academic unit at the university is unique in that 27 academic departments comprise the UB College of Arts and Sciences, each offering graduate programs of varying scope and demand.

Having more than 50 separate graduate degree programs to support provides plenty of opportunity to be creative and develop tactics that inevitably work well for some departments but not so much for others. Consequently, forming the overall graduate marketing and recruitment strategy for that many distinct departments while collaborating with faculty across such a variety of disciplines has been a challenge.

My approach to graduate enrollment management in the College of Arts and Sciences can be characterized by an attitude of “hope is not a strategy.”

Despite the cliché, this outlook on

“ We consistently tailor our marketing and recruitment efforts to increase applications from particular high-yield student populations that have historically demonstrated the highest likelihood of enrolling.”

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I suspect there are slight variations in tactics used by enrollment managers— from branded marketing materials and messaging to use of homegrown recruitment databases to an integrated CRM—all of which certainly impact the potential to reach enrollment goals. As the return on investment for earning a graduate degree is further debated by prospective students and the need to grow graduate enrollment on our campuses increases, robust marketing and recruitment plans supported by an integrated CRM are essential.

graduate enrollment resulted in growth across a variety of programs to the extent that our initial success has helped to facilitate collaboration with more faculty and garnered further investment in graduate marketing and recruitment by the College. More importantly, I have been fortunate to work alongside such devoted and talented colleagues whose efforts significantly outweigh any mantra worthy of being printed on a tee-shirt.

Operating in a completely decentralized graduate admissions environment requires data to develop strategy based on information and stories that emerge.

We consistently tailor our marketing and recruitment efforts to increase applications from particular high-yield student populations that have historically demonstrated the highest likelihood of enrolling. By maximizing applications from and encouraging departments to make offers to these groups we shifted the odds in our favor to counterbalance the potential effects from changes in immigration policy and declining trends in graduate applications to the arts and humanities.

Graduate marketing and recruitment is markedly different than traditional undergraduate admissions. A one-sizefits-all approach will ultimately prove ineffective. The sooner we segment our respective audiences and target our efforts at the program level, the sooner we will reach our enrollment goals. This approach will further advance collaboration with faculty on future initiatives, increase diversity, and support new program development and improved student outcomes.

I doubt that most of our graduate marketing and recruitment offices have perfected this recipe or currently possess all of the requisite ingredients given the changing landscape of graduate enrollment. However, therein lies the opportunity—to continuously adjust our tactics and align our efforts to enroll graduate students who meet academic requirements and are a good fit. As for overcoming external factors that might adversely affect our work, enter the element of hope into graduate enrollment management.

Our graduate marketing and recruitment tactics are probably not anything unlike those already utilized by most everyone reading this—web retargeting, direct email and environmental marketing, graduate fairs, webinars, class presentations, GRE name buys, subscriptions to online lead generators, recommender thank you campaigns, and yield enhancement activities. For example, alumni volunteers from our master’s programs call admitted students to share their experience and highlight how earning their degree from UB helped them succeed. Our departments vet these alumni volunteers while we facilitate their connection with admitted students, which is a prime example of how we support such diverse programs and help to increase enrollment in a decentralized environment.

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Thank you for taking a moment to muse about graduate enrollment management. I sincerely hope you find my perspective to be insightful and that your appreciation for the opportunity to work in graduate enrollment has only deepened as a result. n •

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BARRIERS PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES

By Kate McConnell, Director of Marketing and Recruitment, Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley Graduate Enrollment Management (GEM) professionals frequently share common issues regarding the apprehensions and issues that prospective graduate students face when they contemplate returning to school for graduate study. Whether a school is small or large, or public or private, it can be challenging to address many concerns expressed by overwhelmed prospective students—apprehensions that can ultimately become barriers to enrollment.

of these issues, and I received a diverse list of members from across the country to poll for input. A few daring GEM professionals accepted the challenge, chose a barrier or two that resonated with them, and shared their insights.

Here is what they wrote:

The recent summer issue of Perspectives outlined ten very common barriers that are encountered by many prospective graduate students. After reading through the list below, you may have a “light bulb moment” like I did and come to the realization that you are not alone.

You may very well catch yourself saying, “Wow, these are legitimate concerns I hear all the time.”

“Several employers in the Detroit metropolitan area offer their employees tuition assistance. Unfortunately, students are opting to enroll at other schools where the tuition is covered by their employer reimbursement. In an effort to become competitive in this market, we have taken a couple of different initiatives to bridge the gap between the amount of reimbursement students receive and our tuition.

Cost of Attendance Lynn Vitale, Director, Transfer and Graduate Admission, University of Detroit Mercy

We network with area companies to negotiate tuition discounts for those who have an interest in starting a cohort with Detroit Mercy for various graduate programs. We also extend the opportunity to bring the cohort to them and teach on-site. For example, we offer a substantial discount to Ford employees if they commit to starting a cohort of at least 20 students for a specific engineering certificate.

“After I read through the list of perceived barriers to graduate education, I thought it would be helpful to develop a catalogue of best practices to address, or even alleviate, these concerns.”

One thing I have learned from my association with NAGAP is to never underestimate my colleagues. With their vast knowledge, experience, and willingness to share, I can always go to them for advice to understand their approach and apply similar solutions at my own university. This time is no different. After I read through the list of perceived barriers to graduate education, I thought it would be helpful to develop a catalogue of best practices to address, or even alleviate, these concerns. I initially reached out to a few NAGAP colleagues, asking if they knew anyone who may have faced any

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We continue to develop relationships with HR departments within local companies to inquire about the tuition benefit offered to their employees.

In some cases, we have been able to negotiate tuition rates for their employees to ensure that the employer reimbursement they offer covers the full tuition. We focus on very specific programs that are not at capacity.

Detroit Mercy joined Automation Alley, a Michigan-based non-profit technology and manufacturing business association with over 750 members. The membership affords us the ability to enhance our

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presence in engineering and business related companies and offer members a 50% tuition discount for their employees.

This is a new venture for us. We are going into our first year as a member.”

“The good news is we are seeing increased enrollments in programs that have adopted a greater understanding of the need to discuss cost as part of the admission process.”

Maureen Welby Faux, Executive Director for Graduate Admission, Loyola University Maryland “Financing a graduate degree can be a challenging task for prospective students. At Loyola University Maryland we understood this and several years ago began working to provide resources to help graduate applicants understand how to finance their education. We wanted to break down the barriers by providing our applicants with early communication about financial aid and outlining resources available to them as graduate students.

Some of our successful initiatives include: • Graduate academic program scholarships, fellowships, and grants • Early priority application deadline to apply for scholarships • Enhanced financial aid presence on our website • Financial aid resource fact sheet • Series of financial aid webinars designed for prospective and admitted students • Graduate assistantships • Tuition discount partnerships with school districts • Employer tuition discount partnerships and employer tuition remission • Promotion of veteran’s benefits continued on the next page

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BARRIERS PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES We still have work to do, but we are light years beyond where we began several years ago. The good news is we are seeing increased enrollments in programs that have adopted a greater understanding of the need to discuss cost as part of the admission process.”

Nikki Popielarcheck, Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment and Admissions, California University of Pennsylvania “Graduate school is expensive, so we try to provide thorough information to our prospective students early in their search. Instead of stressing the cost, we emphasize the investment in their future by showcasing outcomes, career objectives, and time to completion.

We created email campaigns that address the availability of financial aid and options for scholarships. We have a robust graduate assistant program where students can work on campus, network with professionals, and improve their resume while earning a stipend toward their tuition.

We make sure tuition and fee information is made readily available through an online calculator. Students always appreciate knowing the “sticker price” up front, so they can plan accordingly. Today’s students are smart consumers. We need to provide them with concise and clear information.”

Unclear About Their Fit with the Program and the Ultimate Value or Career Outcomes

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your end game? Where do you want to be in five years?’ I encourage hesitant prospective students to go interview someone currently in their ‘dream job’ and find out the path they took. We shouldn’t be afraid to be candid. I am the world’s biggest advocate for our program and university, but I’m also comfortable telling someone an MBA isn’t the best fit for their goals.”

where prospective and new

Time and Family Commitments

students can talk to current students

Matthew Painter, MBA Program Director, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University

in their program to see how they

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handle the commitments.”

Fear of Failure Brandi L. Weber-Mortimer, Director of Graduate Admissions & Jerry McCombs, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania “Frequently graduate admissions professionals hear many reasons or even excuses as to why a prospective student cannot pursue graduate studies. The reasons range from financial to time commitment. Financial concerns usually appear to be the barrier. However, one of the most common reasons often missed when talking with prospects is fear of failure. GEM professionals most often assist two types of students; the undergraduate student transitioning to graduate school or the adult student looking for advancement or a career change. There are shared fears among both populations such as worrying about having a less competitive undergraduate GPA, meeting admissions requirements, balancing work, and finding time for extracurricular activities and family.

Graduate school is known to involve more rigor, more work, and higher expectations. Is graduate school even a possibility? The answer is yes, with a one-day-at-a-time approach!

Nikki Popielarcheck, Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment and Admissions, California University of Pennsylvania

“Non-specialty degrees such as an MBA can be tricky because there is no singular career path. And that can be a source of anxiety for prospective students. Trying to ‘sell’ a grad program to a student who is unsure of their career path, in my opinion, isn’t the correct approach.

You need to ask the prospective student a lot of questions. I start with, ‘What’s

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“We have a mentorship program

“Time is our most valuable commodity; don’t gloss over this concern. There are two undeniable facts as it relates to graduate school: 1. There is no convenient time to do it, and 2. Life has the tendency to get progressively more complex. The classroom component of our program, for example, is two or three evenings per week. When I talk with prospective students, I try to put time commitments in familiar terms: ‘I don’t know about you, but between Netflix and Facebook I can easily waste two evenings a week!’ In positioning graduate school as a smart reallocation of their time, I think it is easier for prospective students to come to grips with the time commitment.”

“Our graduate classes are held one evening per week, so that makes it easier for students to plan their personal life. Having completed one of our graduate programs myself, I can honestly relay my personal story to them, having being able to earn my degree while working full-time and having a family. I don’t take their concerns lightly and stress ‘the sooner you start, the sooner you graduate,’ and answer their questions honestly.

Yes, it can be challenging, but it’s more difficult to not fulfill your dreams! We

Matthew Painter, MBA Program Director, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University

have a mentorship program where prospective and new students can talk to current students in their program to see how they handle the commitments.

Having the peer-to-peer contact and input is invaluable.

Henry Ford wrote, ‘One who fears the future, who fears failure, limits continued on the next page

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BARRIERS PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES his activities. Failure is only the opportunity more intelligently to begin again.’ Ford’s position puts fear of failure into perspective when coaching students on attaining their personal and professional goals. Students can choose to live in the fear of beginning a graduate program or they can accept the challenge and strive to achieve their goals. The most important role of a graduate admission professional in addressing a student’s fear of failure is to actively listen to their concerns. By identifying and addressing the student’s concerns, we can equip applicants with the knowledge and confidence to

succeed in the graduate program of choice. At times, an applicant may need to take additional coursework to meet admission requirements or consider a different program that may be more realistic. Educating potential students to understand what graduate education entails and how attainable their goals truly are will help ease their fears and encourage them to begin working toward their graduate degree.”

“ We come from different geographic areas, represent a diverse population of students, programs, educational backgrounds, and economic capabilities, yet we all share a common goal: to help prospective students overcome barriers and guide them as they seek to improve themselves, their career options, and their future.”

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Gregg Henderschiedt, Coordinator of Academic Programs, Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida

be addressed briefly in the personal statement to help put the overall number in perspective. I also ask them to focus on what they can do in the here and now, such as choosing strong recommenders, writing a persuasive personal statement which demonstrates fit for the department, and preparing well for the GRE. If all else fails, time can be on their side. Poor academic performance is less critical if the student graduated five or more years ago. Often, having good professional experience can override a low GPA, and they may even find an employer with a tuition reimbursement program—a double win for the student!”

“I frequently hear students express concerns that their undergraduate performance is an insurmountable barrier to graduate admission. I explain to students we have a holistic admission process, which goes beyond the numbers on their GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs. Yes, those measures are important, but they are taken as a part of the larger picture. I also help them ‘unpack’ their grade point average.

What kept them from being the kind of student they wanted to be? Did they work their way through school, have a personal crisis, or begin college in a major that was unsuitable for them? All of these can affect overall GPA and should

These are just a sampling of responses.

As GEM professionals, we are not alone.

We come from different geographic areas, represent a diverse population of students, programs, educational backgrounds, and economic capabilities, yet we all share a common goal: to help prospective students overcome barriers and guide them as they seek to improve themselves, their career options, and their future. Collectively, we can grow as professionals and better support our communities of students if we take advantage of our expert network, collaborate, and support each other. n

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BACK TO BASICS: REVIEWING INTERNATIONAL TRANSCRIPTS

By Emily Tse, Director of Evaluations, International Education Research Foundation (IERF) The benefits of a diverse campus, enhanced by international students, are undeniable. However, one of the challenges to achieving this is determining their eligibility for admission.

When there are so many educational systems that your applicant pool can originate from, the task of reviewing international credentials can appear daunting. The time crunch can also add to this challenge. Yet, it is in the interests of both the school and the applicants that they be correctly placed. As many institutions find themselves back in a new recruiting and admissions cycle, it is worthwhile to revisit the basics and walk through the process (see Graph 1 on the next page).

“ When there are so many educational systems that your applicant pool can originate from, the task of reviewing international credentials can appear daunting.”

I. Document Check Upon receipt of the academic records, you should begin the review by locating the name of the student in the original language documents and identifying the specific credential. Checking what education has been reported on the application, or resume, can help expedite this step. Based on the credential, it is important to check that the academic records are complete and that they reflect final, official results of what the student has done up until the time of application.

For example, although a student has graduated, it may be that only the transcripts have been submitted, and yet the transcripts from many educational systems do not certify the posted degree.

In such instances, the degree certificate should be obtained, as well.

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It is also critical that the primary source documents have been received for review. You should never rely on the English translations alone, or an unofficial certification from the school that does not bear the same weight that a final transcript or degree certificate would. Similarly, as primary source documents, they should be issued by the appropriate educational institution.

In certain instances, there may be an external body, separate from the one that teaches the program and that administers the examinations and/or issues the final degree. One common example is the model of the affiliated college and degree-granting university in India. In such cases, the academic records should typically be issued by the validating, degree-awarding body.

If the records represent secondary-level studies, you should further distinguish whether or not they are lower secondary or upper secondary, as these titles can be misleading. Based on the name Secondary School Certificate, you might assume it is the school-leaving certificate at the end of the secondary education cycle. However, in India, it usually represents the end of year 10, whereas the Senior Secondary School Certificate or Higher Secondary School Certificate represents the completion of year 12 and the end of the cycle.

Similarly, if it has been determined that the academic records represent postsecondary study, you must ask whether it is undergraduate or graduate level and whether the degree has been completed. In relation to the educational level, it is also essential to query whether the credential represents academic study or if it is vocationally oriented. The orientation of the program can restrict the student’s access to further study in his/her country—a major consideration for whether or not recognition should be given.

Once a complete set of records has been received, you should also compare the details against the biographical information provided on the application, to ensure that all the details align and that there are no inconsistencies. At the same time, you should also check that the academic records conform to standards, based on the country of study, institution of study, and period of study. This may be in relation to the physical features of the documents, or the information that is reported on the documents and the format in which they are presented. If inconsistencies or irregularities are found, you may need to contact the educational authorities in the country of study to verify. Fortunately, there are a growing number of institutions and entities offering online verification portals.

III. Institutional Check The type and recognition of the educational provider are also important considerations. For example, in many countries nursing programs are often provided at hospital schools, as they once commonly were in the U.S. While these are usually postsecondary in nature, they are not regarded the same as universities (or community colleges). It is also necessary to check whether the school is recognized by the appropriate educational authority, where the recognition process includes a robust review of the school’s programs, resources and faculty against a set of standards. A mere business license to operate is insufficient proof of recognition.

II. Educational Level Check While the documents are being checked and the credential is being identified, you should also determine whether the studies are secondary or postsecondary in level. Depending on the country, terms like Bachiller and Baccalauréat can refer either to a high school credential or a first university degree. So a careful review is called for.

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BACK TO BASICS

CONTINUED program, curriculum, and what the credential would give access to. If a qualification is postsecondary in level, but does not give access to graduate study in the host country, then admission to graduate school in the U.S. is likely not warranted. Depending on the focus and purpose of the program, it is also advantageous to check the mode of delivery. Online programs leading to entry-level qualifications in the health professions (physical therapy, nursing, etc.) should be regarded as suspect and should be further investigated.

The type of school will also be an indication of the specific recognition it should receive. Again, in the case of the hospital school, it would typically not be listed under a Ministry of Higher Education, but rather by the Ministry of Health or Nursing Council. Additionally, there exist diploma mills that mislead the public by citing recognition by an educational authority that is, in reality, fake and is an accreditation mill. For this reason, when checking for appropriate recognition, it is beneficial to utilize primary sources such as ministry lists and websites. It is also crucial to check resources that are specific to the applicant’s period of study, as institutional recognition can change over time.

V. Degree Equivalency Check After all the components above have been identified, you are equipped to make an assessment and determine what the U.S. degree equivalent should be. Common U.S. degree equivalencies include the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. If the student has only completed partial studies, then credit may be given at

IV. Program Check After you check the documents, educational level, and institution, you should then review the program of study, starting with the minimal entrance requirements, nominal length of the Graph 1 Building Blocks of Credentials Review

those levels, toward those degrees.

Successful completion should be confirmed upon enrollment, if possession of the degree is required for entry.

VI. Credits and Grades Check In most cases, the credits and grades will need to be converted in order to judge an applicant’s academic performance.

One of the underlying principles of credentials evaluation is that one year of full-time academic study at a postsecondary institution is equivalent to one year of full-time study at another.

In the U.S., thirty semester credits normally represent a full year of study.

As such, when you have determined a U.S. bachelor’s degree equivalency with four years of study completed, the target number in the conversion should be approximately 120 U.S. semester credits. These credits should then be allocated proportionately, based on the weighting given by the host institution.

This detail may be recorded in terms of local credits, marks/coefficients, or hours on the transcript. If the studies are recorded in terms of hours, you should also take into account the proportion of theoretical and practical instruction.

If no weighting is recorded, the credits would then be evenly distributed.

When converting the grades, it is helpful to consult the grading scale on the transcript, if one is provided.

If not, it is frequently because there is a standardized grading scale for that country. Also note that, in many educational systems, failed courses are not recorded, if they have been repeated and successfully passed. “D” grades can also be uncommon, as marginal or conditional passes are not used in many regions. In some educational systems, the grading may be skewed, such that the highest possible grade is rarely given.

Once the credits and grades have been converted, a cumulative GPA can be calculated. However, it is also necessary to bear in mind that the continued on the next page

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result may differ from the local degree average or classification that is given by the host institution. This is often a result of a difference in criteria and the formula used. Examples include giving greater weight to courses in the major or courses in the last two years of study.

Being mindful of such nuances will help create a more informed picture of the applicant’s educational profile.

Eligibility for Admission Finally, all the necessary details have been identified to determine an applicant’s eligibility for admission, in conjunction with other criteria, including the GRE, English proficiency exam

scores, etc. Regardless of whether the admissions system is centralized or decentralized, or uses an open admissions approach, a threshold, or holistic admissions approach, it is essential that fundamental processes are established for consistency, aligning with your institutional mission. Having basic steps in place will make the process easier for your admission office and fair for your applicants. However, it is also critical that your office be prepared to revisit policy, if needed, in light of more information. Investing in resources and training will also help ensure that you are making sound decisions. n

Suggested References The European Recognition Manual for Higher Education Institutions, (2016, 2nd Ed.). NUFFIC and European Commission.

Freeman, Kate (2016). Evaluating Foreign Educational Credentials: An Introductory Guide. NAFSA. Tse, E. (2016). Degrees for Sale: The Diploma Mills Problem Continues.

Perspectives 28 (1): Spring 2016, 27-28.

Tse, E. (2015). Uncovering Fraud: The Review Process for International Transcripts and Diplomas. Perspectives 27 (4): Fall 2015, 22-25.

DID YOU KNOW… • NAGAP is a resource for Holistic Admissions reference material.

• Over 1,500 GEM professionals consider NAGAP their professional “family”.

• The NAGAP annual conference brings together nearly 1,000 individuals from colleges and universities across the country and internationally.

• Specialized networking opportunities are a hallmark of every NAGAP event.

• There are many pathways to involvement in NAGAP—from committee work to volunteer shifts at the conference.

• Webinars offer quick updates on industry issues and best practices.

• Relationships with NAGAP colleagues can enhance your career opportunities.

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And then there’s GC&U. And then there’s GC&U. Produced in partnership with NAGAP, Graduate Colleges & Universities (GC&U) offers: Produced in partnership with NAGAP, Graduate Colleges &•Universities (GC&U) One flat annual rateoffers: • Uncapped lead delivery • One flat annual rate • Discount available for NAGAP members • Uncapped lead delivery

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