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From the seat I sit... January 2016

By Janice Crampton posted 02-02-2016 07:28 PM

  

I was recently on a call with our Planning Committee reviewing our program content for this year’s Annual Institute . While the discussion was primarily focused on sessions and Cornerstone Speakers, a review of overall goals of the program were top of mind as many of us reminisced about our favorite moments from Institutes gone by.  
 
Serving as a backdrop to all of this was the acknowledgement that as professionals we have entered into another enrollment management season, time for Application Review! While many do this alone, for others it is a process that involves a committee structure. No matter; it is a season that is not for the faint of heart—this is show time! This is when your outreach efforts have resulted in applications filed. This is when budget and mission appropriateness must intersect, yet they don’t always do so. This is where the art and the science that is at the core of our work needs to shine.
 
But it is also the season that can take the most out of us. In fact, this became the thrust of our conversation. One professional commented, “I can’t help but think of how exhausted and completely depleted we all feel when we finally say, Here is the class. They have been recruited, interviewed, assessed, admitted, and welcomed. Families have been re-enrolled and shown that the school they entered still offers that added value, year after year. Then, without really taking a breath, we turn them over and begin again.” Someone else chimed in and said, “It’s like the airlines—put the mask on yourself before your child—but how many of us do in fact take care of ourselves before we take care of others?” My guess: not that many.

This got me to thinking, having just gone through another crazy, hectic and yes, joy-filled season of giving, that the greatest gift we can give ourselves may not come wrapped with a bow! What lasts are in fact the cherished times when we are with our colleagues and those who “get us.” These are the moments when we may take stock of where we are in our professional development journey as well as pause and reflect on what worked, did not work. How can we be better, and how can we find more balance in our personal as well as professional lives? I know that what makes me better are oftentimes the things that challenge me. I continue to be a student; I continue to want to learn and grow and this takes time. I know that if I do not give this time to myself, no one will give it to me. But I seek to make it a priority, and I hope you will as well. 

From the seat I sit I know that time for reflection and renewal is a luxury. I also know that in order for us to continue to strengthen ourselves both personally and professionally we must make the art of admission and enrollment management be in balance with the science. This profession is not for everyone. It is not for the faint of heart. If enrollment management were just a science, then the data and the metrics that we need to sustain our schools through mission and finance would have been figured out a long time ago. It is the art of our professional work and strategies, the nuances, that make each one of our schools different from the other and our task of articulating this in an authentic way that makes this profession not just a job but a calling. In fact, I feel that much of what makes us successful cannot be taught—but it can be managed, fostered, empowered, and in the end celebrated.
 
On January 31st we will make history. Our Certification for Admission and Enrollment Management Professionals, Level 1 (CAEP, Level 1) will be launched. While under separate cover you will learn more about this exciting opportunity, I ask that you give yourself the gift of, at the very least, considering this professional development experience that is focused on strengthening you as a leader, as a professional, as a member of a community of colleagues who get you! 
 
While for some this CAEP experience may not “fit in” at this time (despite the fact that you can complete it when you have time as it is a-synchronous), it is important to consider what will you do just for you? Make this the season that you will enter and then emerge from in the spring excited what you have accomplished rather than exhausted by what you have endured.
 
As I have said, the job of enrollment management is not for the faint of heart—you need plenty of heart to do it well and with a feeling of satisfaction! As you create your next class and sustain your community, put the oxygen mask on yourself first. Make sure you are being taken care of, so you can take care of others.  And know that we at AISAP are here to celebrate your successes, support you in your challenges, and forever advance you as you lead.
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