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November 14, 2018
An Interview with LGBTQ Advocacy Pioneer Julie Mencher
Julie Mencher, MSW, is a psychotherapist, consultant, educator, and trainer in private practice. All students need a welcoming, safe, and supportive school environment to best develop...
November 14, 2018
The Future of Financial Aid
In the last year, I’ve noticed during my presentations – whether to enrollment leaders or business leaders or heads or trustees – that the audience wants to linger on slides connected to...
September 26, 2018
Post-Conference Reflections #EMA18
As I stood in front of the registration table waiting for my name tag to print, I looked at the two options for ribbons to attach: Presenter and First Time Attendee. It had been over a decade...
September 11, 2018
Stronger by Association #EMA18
As we head into this week’s EMA annual conference, I am reminded of several important issues which speak to our theme this year, “Stronger by Association.” Indeed, since the school year began,...
August 8, 2018
Listening to Parents. Changing Perspectives.
Marketing guru Scott Stratten, this year's Annual Conference keynote speaker, asserts that today’s parents are loyal to one thing only—their children. His insights will certainly be useful as our...
August 8, 2018
The Politics of Enrollment Management
Office politics is a phrase often uttered with an air of disapproval, even distaste. At its core however, it is simply a way of building and leveraging relationships to help achieve professional...
August 8, 2018
We Are Not An Island
In September 2017, as I started the CERPP program, I was excited to take the next step in becoming an enrollment management “professional.” I entered this field only a few years ago and felt I...
June 20, 2018
An Interview with Laurie G. Hurd
Associations serve as the front line in the collision of trends and tradition, as schools gather to share their experiences and collaborate on ways to meet current and upcoming challenges. The...
June 20, 2018
Growth by Design
by Greg Bamford Four years ago, Watershed School faced a real enrollment challenge. Despite an innovative educational model, we had high attrition and a poorly understood identity in our market....
June 20, 2018
School Profile: International School of the Peninsula (CA)
School Overview:Palo Alto, California Enrollment: 545 Type of school: Coed, pre-Kindergarten to grade 8 day school providing French and Chinese language immersion. Maile, when did you start...
June 20, 2018
Character Counts and Counting Character: A New Way to Measure Skills
Assessing an applicant’s character may be one of the more challenging aspects of the independent school admission process. But The Character Skills Snapshot, a tool launched by the Enrollment...
June 20, 2018
Three x 3: School Videos
We have witnessed the evolution of the school video. Not that long ago, school videos were 20 and even 30 minutes in length and viewed on VHS cassettes. The tone was typically serious and the...
June 20, 2018
Taking the Pulse: Understanding and Communicating with Millennials
Do you wonder how—and where—to best communicate with millennials about your school? MaryLeigh Bliss, editor in chief at YPulse, and her team decode and demystify millennials and teens for many...
June 20, 2018
Taking the Leap from Admission to the Head’s Office
by Patricia Kong Admission professionals are uniquely poised to lead. With deep knowledge of a school, its mission and programming, a natural ability to connect with children and parents, and...
June 20, 2018
They Said What?! Parents Get Real About Admission
Whether your school employs a process for collecting feedback from families who do and don’t accept an offer of admission, can you be certain you’re receiving honest responses? We decided to find...
May 31, 2018
Using the Enrollment Management Spectrum to Drive Success – Three Brutal Facts
In recent speaking engagements, I have been asked by more than one head of school about the necessity of implementing a full enrollment management system. “Why can’t we just build a better...
May 29, 2018
Challenge Accepted!
Undertaking the USC CERPP Leadership in Enrollment Management certificate program during my first year as a director of admission and marketing was challenging …. and that’s exactly why I chose...
May 24, 2018
Without Mission: Impossible
While interviewing for my first admission job three years ago (and just one year out of college), I remember naively pondering a series of questions: is the field of “admission” one that can...
May 24, 2018
The Benefits of the Retreat
It’s that time again, we’re exhausted from filling the class but energized by the dynamic classes we are creating. Once we get over the hump, we need to debrief as a team and determine how to...
April 20, 2018
Four Skills to Master for Effective Leadership
When I decided to apply for the USC CERPP Leadership in Enrollment Management certificate program, lots of people asked why I would undertake the work of the program if I wasn’t considering a...
April 10, 2018
You're Accepted! Member Schools Share the Good News
This time of year can be fraught with nerves and stress, but one thing that always brings a smile is an acceptance video. We put out a call for examples from our member schools, and I'm pleased...
March 19, 2018
Join Us In Welcoming Our Newest Trustees
The EMA board of trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of four new trustees beginning their terms this July 1. Laurel Baker Tew, governance committee chair, said, “We had some tough...
March 13, 2018
What's the True Cost of Attending Your School?
by Margaret Hardy and Tearon Joseph In 2013, as part of Lakeside School’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, we led a project on the true cost of attendance in order to gain an understanding of...
March 13, 2018
Member Spotlight: Jennifer Rosen
The Yield sat down with member Jennifer Rosen, director of admission at Isidore Newman School (LA), for a brief interview. Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? EMA has...
March 13, 2018
School Profile: The York School
School Overview Ontario, Canada Enrollment: 675 Type of school: Coeducational Day School Praveen, what are the most notable differences between independent school and graduate school admission?...
March 13, 2018
An Interview with Sheila Miklos
The Yield checked in with Sheila Miklos, vice president of market growth for The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) and deputy managing director for the North American Boarding Schools...
March 13, 2018
This Could Be Your School Too!
by Robert Andreas In spring 2016, my alma mater, King's Academy (Jordan), was in search of a yield video. It would be the first of its kind and its purpose would be to bolster yield numbers....
March 13, 2018
People of Color in Admission
More than 100 people of color working in admission gathered for a special reception at EMA’s 2017 Annual Conference in New Orleans. The event marked the first—though not the last—reception of its...
March 13, 2018
Straight-Arrow Focus: Business and Admission Offices Partnering to Make Strategic Enrollment Decisions
by Chris Dietrich Anyone who works closely with my chief financial officer, Chuck McCullagh, knows that he loves spreadsheets. In the summer of 2011, during my first week as the new director of...
March 13, 2018
The Interview: Am I Buying or Am I Selling?
by Sam Washington For more than a quarter of a century, I have interviewed students as a part of the admission process to independent schools. While my estimated 5,000 or so interview hours...
March 13, 2018
Being Intentional About Retention: 3 Steps to Combat Attrition
Keeping students: it is the underlying goal at all educational institutions. At independent schools, replacing an exiting student with a brand new one means more time, resources, and attention...
March 13, 2018
An Ounce of Prevention… How Engagement Survey Data Can Help Reduce Attrition
by George Conway, president, IES Consulting + The U.S. birthrate (fertility) is at its lowest point in history1 + Nearly half of National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) schools are...
March 13, 2018
Why They Apply: Highlights from the 2017 Ride to Independent Schools report
What drives families to apply to—and enroll their children in—independent schools? Which information and interactions impact their decisions the most? Three years ago, an EMA applicant parent...
February 14, 2018
Build and Sustain Through Change
“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change” ― Heraclitus Change is inevitable. It can create growth and inspire innovation. Much like colleges and universities over the past few decades,...
February 6, 2018
Glossary of Marketing Terms - Courtesy of NABI
Courtesy of The Association of Boarding Schools'(TABS) North American Boarding Initiative (NABI) is this sneak peek at the comprehensive marketing support NABI is providing to members. This...
December 14, 2017
The Millennials Are Coming! How Will They Impact Your Financial Aid Strategy?
with Mark Mitchell, Vice President, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) According to a 2016 study by Pew Research Center, millennials now outnumber baby boomers and are becoming...
December 13, 2017
2017 Parent Report Lesson 1: Communicate, communicate, communicate!
It’s been three years since EMA conducted our first prospective parent research study, and it is hard to believe how much has changed since then, as we’ve received the findings of our second...
December 6, 2017
The Business of Enrollment
with Chad Tew, founding principal, Tew & Associates The skill set for admission success is rapidly evolving. To maximize impact, enrollment managers need to learn the language of CFOs, heads, and...
November 15, 2017
DASL-ing with Data!
Join Hilary Lamonte, Senior Vice President of Data and Analysis for School Leadership, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), as she shows you the many ways you can take advantage of...
October 31, 2017
3x3: Collaboration is the New Black
When asked to reflect on the 2016-2017 school year and favorite trends, EMA Director of Outreach Dave Taibl said, “Collaboration!” In the world of independent school admission, collaboration...
October 31, 2017
Developing The Character Skills Snapshot
While character education is a hallmark of an independent school education and is a salient piece of most schools’ missions, gaining insight into an applying student’s current level of character...
October 31, 2017
Member Spotlight: Wellesley L. Wilson
Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? The professional development resources and opportunities to connect with others in independent school admission are invaluable. I...
October 31, 2017
School Profile: North Broward Preparatory School
School Overview Coconut Creek, Florida Enrollment: 1,584 Type of school:Coeducational Day/BoardingGrades: PreK - 12 What distinctive attributes characterize North Broward Preparatory School...
October 31, 2017
Using Domestic Students to Boost a Boarding Population
by Cindy Veitch, communications officer at St. Andrew’s College (ON) While boarding enrollment continues to wane across North American independent boarding schools, St. Andrew’s College (SAC) is...
October 31, 2017
Announcing our 2017 Award Recipients
Camille Bertram Receives the Gourley Award Camille (Cammie) Bertram, founder and president of The Bertram Group, LLC, in Westport, Connecticut, was named the 2017 recipient of the Everett E....
October 31, 2017
An Interview with Shelley Dorfler
The nature and culture of independent school admission has changed over the last 40 years. Four decades ago, heads handled recruitment and interviews. Standardized testing was still just taking...
October 31, 2017
What You Need to Know about The Mastery Transcript Consortium
In 2014, D. Scott Looney, head of Hawken School in Ohio, published in his school’s magazine an essay titled “The Future for Education: Why Hawken Has to Lead.” The paper was a rallying cry to the...
October 31, 2017
Diving Into Data
As the independent school landscape becomes more complex, the need for enrollment managers to produce (and provide meaning for) a variety of institutional data increases. In addition to the more...
October 31, 2017
Building Influence and Leadership with Your School's Business Officer
As issues of enrollment management, affordability, financial planning, and financial aid dominate discussions at the governance level, two key stakeholders—the admission leader and business...
October 31, 2017
Pricing Strategy
by Chad Tew, Founder and Principal, Tew & Associates Phillip Kotler, who wrote the seminal book Principles of Marketing, coined “the 4 ‘P’s’ of Marketing” to describe the four key elements of...
October 2, 2017
Pitch Practice: Creating Starters and Closers Across a School Community
Mike Kinnealey, Director of Admission, The Governor’s Academy, MA While the title is baseball-centered, the purpose of this presentation is to show how one school used Daniel’s Pink’s argument...
September 29, 2017
Advice from a Road Warrior
Ins and Outs of International Student Recruitment by Joshua D. Clark, Director of Admissions, Hawaii Preparatory Academy Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) is a K-PG school on Hawaii’s Big Island....
September 26, 2017
Ushering in a new age in admission
My life seems to be dusted with irony and here’s a fun personal story to that end. Many years ago, when I applied to Westtown School in Pennsylvania, there was significant concern during the...
August 15, 2017
Data and Its Use: Bringing in the Experts
“If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” - Jim Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape Since joining the profession of enrolment management, the...
August 14, 2017
My Journey with the Certificate Program – Rethinking Admission
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...
July 25, 2017
Quantifying the Shifting International Market
The Supreme Court’s recent lifting of the legal blocks on the Trump Administration’s travel ban—although temporary and partial—has kept the issue of international student enrollments on the...
July 21, 2017
Institutional Support: It Has to Be More Than Just One Office
The Leadership in Enrollment Management certificate program from USC: Rossier School of Education was one of the most powerful programs that someone working at a school could participate in....
July 21, 2017
Effective Leadership in Enrollment Management
Over the years, my work experiences have afforded me opportunities to work in large and small teams in subordinate and leadership positions. These varied positions have given me perspective and a...
July 6, 2017
Summer Recommended Reading
Summer is the perfect time to relax with a good book. While beach reads and escape novels are great ways to unwind, the Admission Leadership Council (ALC) also has some suggestions to enhance...
June 22, 2017
Equity in Independent Schools
by Kat Sullivan, Director of Admission, The Bay School of San Francisco (CA) and Ed Thompson, Director of Secondary School Counseling, Far Hills Country Day School (NJ) Admission offices across...
June 22, 2017
ROI & Measurables
I suspect that most of us are guilty of this scenario: Add another initiative or event to attract and convert families. New events will create interest, drive applications, improve...
June 15, 2017
Crafting a Mission-Oriented Admission Model
When I began my work in admission three years ago, I was a complete novice with no experience or network on which to rely. Through the Enrollment Management Association's Annual Conference, the...
June 13, 2017
Advancing a Revolution: The Institute on Character and Admission
By David Holmes American education is on the cusp of a revolution. Recent years have brought serious concern about the pathologies of American education: resentment of “high-stakes” testing;...
June 13, 2017
Restructuring for Enrollment Management
As enrollment management becomes a more prevalent strategy on independent school campuses, it also raises staffing and logistical questions. Tom Sheppard recently transitioned from a role based...
June 13, 2017
EMA Welcomes Our Newest Board Members
The EMA board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of four new trustees beginning their terms this July 1. Laurel Baker Tew, governance committee chair, expressed “We were thrilled...
June 13, 2017
An Interview with Rachel Skiffer
Rachel Skiffer is the dean of policy and strategic planning at Phillips Academy Andover (MA) Strategic planning in independent schools hinges on multiple facets of enrollment management, ranging...
June 13, 2017
School Profile - Hargrave Military Academy
School Overview: Location: Chatham, VirginiaEnrollment: 225Type of school: Single Sex; Male Boarding/DayGrades 7-PG Hargrave hired you this past year as the director of enrollment. Can you...
June 13, 2017
The Enrollment Manager as Lead Institutional Researcher
By Jason Giffen Institutional research or “big data” at the school and collegiate levels has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, with larger organizations even opting to devote...
June 13, 2017
3x3: International Student Recruitment
According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), in 2001, 2.1 million students studied outside of their home countries. At that time, the U.S. commanded an impressive 28% of market...
June 13, 2017
Acting on Character: The Character Skills Snapshot
The Enrollment Management Association’s testing and research team is pleased to announce the initial release this fall of the Character Skills Snapshot (formerly the...
June 13, 2017
Member Spotlight - Lydia Hawkins
Lydia Hawkins, Director of Enrollment, Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School, Alberta, Canada Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? I belong, because I couldn’t imagine not...
June 13, 2017
Admission and the Importance of a Multi-Talented Faculty
By Dr. Greg Martin As the independent school market tightens due to increasing costs and decreasing applicant pools in some regions, both day and boarding schools must approach admission...
June 13, 2017
Independent Schools, Immigration, and the Trump Administration
by Debra P. Wilson International visa issues are complex on a good day. Recently, visas, international students, international employees, undocumented students and families, and the Trump...
June 13, 2017
Tracking the Stealth Applicant: Sourcing and Recruiting Students in the Internet Age
In a changing independent school enrollment landscape, there is one constant—to stay viable, schools must continue to recruit and retain mission-appropriate students. Typically, this has meant an...
May 18, 2017
Supporting College Access and Success: How NPEA Can Help (Video)
with Karin Elliott and Zeva Levine, National Partnership for Educational Access The National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA) supports schools and programs in the college access and...
May 17, 2017
No longer just admission
As a newbie to the independent school sector and to the United States, during my first weeks in the job I scoured numerous websites and quizzed multiple colleagues about how best to establish a...
May 17, 2017
Leadership, Admission, and the Power of Narrative
A few weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with a colleague who had just returned from chaperoning a tour of east coast colleges with twenty-some high school students. The group visited...
May 1, 2017
The Political Arena of Enrollment Management
by Dr. Susan Emery I took a leadership assessment years ago that suggested politics is my area of weakness, so I steered clear of governmental careers. Instead, I harnessed my areas of strength –...
April 21, 2017
Immigration Policy and Independent Schools - Video
International visa issues are complex on a good day. Recently, visas, international students, international employees, undocumented students and families, and the Trump administration have...
April 13, 2017
We're all in this together: embracing a new understanding of enrollment management
by Beth-Sarah Wright, PhD, Director of Enrollment Management, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (GA) One of the first things I said to my school community in my annual report as the interim...
April 13, 2017
Even when it's over...it isn't over.
Even as you're finishing phase 1 of your admission decision-making process, phases 2 and 3 are underway...and this time of year often involves a good deal of data gathering and analysis. While...
April 11, 2017
April – in like a lion, out like a…well, it depends.
by Carson Roy, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, The Potomac School (VA) While we all know what most admission offices look like in January and February, the scene is far less predictable...
March 6, 2017
Enrollment "Loco Moco"
by Dr. Philip Ballinger, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions, University of WashingtonMany people know "loco moco" as a "local grind" at diners and lunch trucks in...
March 6, 2017
Return on Investment: Why an Independent School Education is Worth the Cost
by Doug Lyons, Executive Director, CAIS In the past two decades, dramatic advancements in neuroscience have given researchers a better understanding of how children, adolescents, and adults...
March 6, 2017
Customers and Competition: Today's Family and New Educational Choice
by Aimee Gruber, Senior Director of Outreach, The Enrollment Management AssociationEducational innovation is exploding across the continent and around the globe. Academically rigorous schools...
February 13, 2017
Member Spotlight - Darlene Fountaine
Darlene Fountaine, Director of Admission, Westside Neighborhood School (CA) Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? I learned of the association after attending a regional...
February 13, 2017
Getting Your Faculty on the Admission Team Bus
by Bruce Mutch The expression “we are all admission officers” is often heard in school meetings and presentations, but is it truly understood by the faculty and staff at your school? Research...
February 10, 2017
3x3: Managing a Head Transition
When a new head is announced, it can bring on feelings of excitement, anticipation, and worry. How can enrollment and admission leaders approach a new head transition in a manner that will...
February 10, 2017
All Access Pass—More CBOs Join SAO Program
Access. For children and their parents who are dually confronted by little familiarity with the independent school world and the challenges of a disadvantaged background, the word "access" can...
February 10, 2017
Leadership Lessons: My Experience at the First Admission Directors Institute
Ever considered what a tragic wildfire in the Montana desert has to do with admission work? I certainly hadn’t before walking into the inaugural Admission Directors Institute (ADI) in September....
February 10, 2017
School Profile: Oregon Episcopal School
School Overview Portland, Oregon Day and boarding 865 students in grades PK-12 In each issue, The Yield profiles a member school, asking how its admission office tackles process and procedures...
February 10, 2017
Making Better Admission Decisions
by Nathan R. Kuncel, Ph.D. Making admission decisions at any level, from preschool to the Ph.D., is frightfully complex. We are faced with numerous sources of information including prior grades,...
February 10, 2017
Bringing More Science To Our Art: Why Data Is Essential For Admission
by Lauren Zeimer Gold Until a few years ago, if you told me that I would be considered a “data expert,” I would have chuckled and quickly changed the subject. Math is not easy for me, but despite...
February 10, 2017
Students Embrace New SSAT Practice Online Program
More than 12,000 SSAT registrants are getting much-needed help practicing for the test with our new SSAT Practice Online program. Early feedback indicates this new study resource is helping...
February 10, 2017
Eight Enrollment Management Strategies that Work
When I think about managing enrollment, key indicators like inquiries, visits, and applications naturally come to mind. However, much more is required in order to achieve...
February 9, 2017
An Interview with Donna Orem
National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Interim President Donna Orem was named president of the association in late November 2016. With a wealth of experience in the independent school...
February 9, 2017
The International Market: What Independent Schools Need to Know
As the world becomes ever more interconnected and as economic dynamics shift, the demand for English-language education is exploding. This demand is resulting in significant changes in existing...
February 9, 2017
A Snapshot of Recent Trends in Merit Aid
by Mark J. Mitchell What’s the story with merit aid these days? It’s a hot topic among more and more schools as they debate the value of investing in building application demand and quality...
February 9, 2017
On Its Own Merit: The Role of Merit Aid in Enrollment Management
Simultaneously embraced as a useful enrollment management tool and questioned as a misuse of aid funds—even dubbed “vanity” or “cocktail party” scholarships—merit aid is in wide use in higher...
February 8, 2017
The Difference Between Management and Leadership
Several years ago, a friend asked me,”What’s the difference between management and leadership?” She felt that I would have a ready answer, having just stepped over the proverbial line to...
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