Reflections from “The Hottest Seat on Campus” Presentation at NACAC

Following up on last month’s post on what I learned from Jeff Selingo’s presentation at NACAC, this month, I can say I actually finished reading Angel Perez’s book and am therefore able to make notes from it (versus Jeff’s which I have not finished).  In a word, it rocked – ok, so two words.  First, just a shout out thank you to Angel for giving me the opportunity to review the book.  Second, thank you in advance to Angel for agreeing to be our keynote speaker at year two of the Academy for Emerging Enrollment Leaders event we are holding at the University of Miami on January 14-15.  Finally, thank you Angel for being you – your authentic, real self – and for not shying away from telling hard truths and your story on the work you do to find joy while remaining resilient.   

From his NACAC presentation, one of my primary takeaways was during this tricky time in higher education, where the landscape continues to shift and we continue to face headwinds, it is essential to focus on the principles of why we do the work we do.  To me, it is about keeping your eye on the principles of enrolling diverse student bodies, and I mean diversity in all its forms, regardless of the policies or practices being implemented.  Focusing, to the degree we can, on institutional missions, on seeing students achieve their hopes and dreams is the work that brings me joy.  This is part of the reason why the foundation work I have been afforded the opportunity to be involved with has been so energizing and meaningful. 

Building on the above, and while this is more operational, it is equally important, as one of the NACAC panelists said, we have to continue to do work, “to make the case for the why”.  This means advocating for the budgets needed to do the work we have been tasked to do.  The panelist also shared, and this is something I experienced, being able to do more with less and continuing to have successes has drawbacks.  Other senior administrators then take your work for granted, “John’s always been able to deliver, so we can make budget cuts here and he will still figure it out.”  At some draconian point, we will not be able to deliver – so being communicative and transparent is critical here.  Being a good storyteller, using data with anecdotes to color in the lines in communicating the narrative is essential. 

Angel made the good point; he uses the acronym ABCD – Always Be Connecting Dots – with his team in describing how what they do makes an impact.  As a college counselor, making a phone call to an admission counselor on a student’s opportunities for admission encourages the student to apply, and then subsequently if the student is admitted and enrolls is a transformative connect the dots action that changes the student’s life.

More broadly, as part of storytelling, using ABCD with senior administration on why decisions are made, and the implications, are critical.  Requiring standardized tests as part of the admission process will serve as another hoop to jump through as a barrier for enrollment, so the number of applications received will decrease as well as the overall standardized testing average.  This will likely make the institution less selective and appear less prestigious, from an admission perspective.  This will impact the institution’s market position as well as US News rankings – if this is an institutional priority.  And oh, by the way, as standardized tests have shown to bias against students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, the enrolling class is likely to be more homogeneous socioeconomically.  ABCD. 

Reflecting on Angel’s NACAC presentation, I can authentically articulate that I enjoy, and have always enjoyed, navigating change and being a disruptor to improve processes and practices.  People who know me have shared that, to some degree; I always seem to be on some sort of vision quest to build a better mousetrap versus approaching our work with a rinse-wash-repeat mindset to maintain the status quo.  I can attest that this entrepreneurial creative approach has served me well at many institutions where we had to be either scrappy or innovative to be successful.  For instance, at one institution, I experienced four presidents in eight years and another three presidents and three provosts in ten years all while we were able to build solid fundamental data-informed practices that resulted in reduced student indebtedness at graduation and the highest first year persistence rates in institutional history.

On the other hand, I have also been penalized for this approach as ruffling the feathers of sacred cows or those more entrenched in what they have always done has been perceived as a threat.  While I accept this and own it, I’ve had to learn, in some cases the hard way, that not every place is a good match for the mindset and approach I offer.  This will be for another post at a later date, as this topic intersects meaningfully with how to approach the change process.  Stay tuned…