As the only participant in the program from Asia, I had a tremendous learning experience and professional growth with USC’s Leadership in Enrollment Management Certificate Program. As I reflect back on my one year journey, I can proudly say it was an informative and inspiring process for me to delve into all facets of enrollment management through instructions given by the top enrollment leaders in the field. In addition, I was able to discuss, analyze, and challenge various ideas with other admission professionals working in both independent schools and higher education.

One of the greatest benefits of the certificate program is that participants have to rethink admission through the entire admission season, while working on relevant topics every week. In October 2016, my group started by defining what enrollment management (or strategic enrollment management) is. Through the first couple of weeks, we were able to familiarize ourselves with the concept and learn further regarding enrollment management as a profession. As we opened our online application for 2017-18 school year at Beijing City International School (BCIS) late last year, I was fortunate enough to have the faculty, as well as colleagues from the certificate program, accompany me through the whole admission season by instructing, discussing, and analyzing important enrollment management topics, such as admission models, data-driven decision making, enrollment goal setting, student selection, return on investment (ROI), retention programs, and so on. The topics were all outlined perfectly for me to rethink the school’s admission policy, procedures, and standards. In the meantime, through the certificate program, I learned it is essential to take initiative and engage all key stakeholders of enrollment management, and garner their support, all while strategically working together with my team to achieve the enrollment goal set.

With fantastic instructions and practical strategies to address all facets of enrollment management from the certificate program, I was able to deepen my understanding of the profession, connect with industry leaders to further my professional development, and most importantly, truly expand my understanding of admission, enrollment management, and its alignment with teaching, learning, and an individual institution’s mission and vision. Topics such as return on investment (ROI), equity in admission process, and politics in institutions have opened my eyes about this profession not only from an independent school perspective, but also at the higher education level. The certificate program also provided me with an active platform to seek ideas and answers. I am now more than ready to apply what I have learned through my journey and swing into a new school year with my institution in Beijing.

Amy Harriman, my colleague from the certificate program, and I will present at the upcoming Enrollment Management Association Annual Conference in New Orleans to share some of our practices and admission models to interested colleagues. I am also available to chat if you want to learn more regarding the certificate program and share more details with you regarding my one-year study journey.