Kathy Kurz

Professional development is an important component of any leader’s career. Ongoing professional development and growth not only benefit the individual leader, but also the university. When leaders are intentional about developing themselves, the ripple effects can be powerful. A professionally developed leader will quite often result in a professionally developed staff. Kathy’s last post provided a comprehensive list of conferences and other training opportunities enrollment managers should consider attending. As she noted, not only do conferences provide great content, but they also will give attendees opportunities to rub shoulders with other individuals who do similar jobs. I’ve often found the networking and, in some cases, commiserating…Read more

We are often asked what we would recommend for professional development opportunities for new enrollment managers (or those aspiring to be enrollment managers). To some extent this depends on the skill set the new enrollment manager already brings to the job. If they are already well steeped in recruitment and admissions, but need to learn more about financial aid, we often suggest that they start by spending a day with us to get an overview of key issues in financial aid and an understanding of data driven financial aid leveraging. Then for those who feel the need to get more in the “weeds” on compliance and financial aid management issues, the annual FSA conference sponsored by the Department of Education is probably the best option. (Note,…Read more

I just experienced the ultimate in relationship marketing and it wasn’t in higher education. My daughter is getting married next February, and we were looking for a photographer. We did a web search and found a photographer whose images on her web page showed the style of photography my daughter was looking for, so we scheduled a meeting. With no sales pitch at all, this woman sold us through stories. First she asked for my daughter’s story – how did she meet her fiancé? What kind of wedding experience did they want? Basically, she took the time to get to know my daughter. She even got me telling stories about my first encounter with the fiancé! (Note: she engaged the parent with the checkbook! Like higher education, wedding purchases…Read more