Leadership in Enrollment Management Certificate
Program Highlights
The curriculum covers enrollment management in institutional and societal contexts, information and knowledge management, pricing and aid policy, college admission policy and practice, retention, leadership, legal issues in EM, and case studies.
The curriculum covers enrollment management in institutional and societal contexts. Content includes admissions model, securing institutional support, demonstrating value, setting enrollment goals and targets, data driven decision making, legal issues in EM, financial aid philosophies and policies, recruitment, selection, retention, hiring, and more. The program culminates with a case study project that brings the concepts together into a strategic plan.
By participating, you will gain:
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Intensive training for insightful leadership
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Live sessions for enriching discussions with your cohort and faculty A national network of dedicated professionals
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Faculty/practitioners with robust experience and knowledge to support your growth as a leader
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Opportunity to meet your peers and faculty in-person with complimentary registration to annual CERPP Conference
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Complimentary registration to the annual CERPP Conference held in February
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A USC Certificate in Leadership in Enrollment Management to acknowledge your achievement
Application Process
Applications for the 2025-26 year are now being accepted on a rolling basis for higher education and independent school professionals.
Please note: all applicants should have at least two years of experience in enrollment management or a related field.
The deadline for applicants is Friday, September 19. Applications will be accepted later should we have enough space in the program.
The online application consists of three parts:
- Basic information;
- Resume (or full LinkedIn profile); and
- Letter of recommendation.
The letter of recommendation should be from a professional reference and address these questions:
2) How would you describe the applicant’s capacity for leadership?
3) Would the applicant excel in an online program that may require greater motivation and organization than a traditional course?
4) What aspects of enrollment management would you like to see developed in the applicant?
You may choose to submit your resume and letter of recommendation via email as attachments if you prefer. Generally, higher education participants will be notified of admission status within 3 weeks of the receipt of the application.
Tuition
Tuition for the program is $8,000 and is payable by the first day of the course, unless otherwise arranged. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to secure your space. An interest-free, two-part payment plan is available upon request.
Team Discount
For institutions enrolling teams of 2 or more participants, we can offer a team discount of $2,000 (per team). Enrolling participants that span the department or across departments is a highly effective way to build a strong enrollment management team.
NAGAP Member Discount
We have partnered with NAGAP, the Association for graduate enrollment management and are delighted to be able to offer a limited number of $800 discounts for NAGAP members of good standing.
For Independent School Professionals
Scholarships are available from The Enrollment Management Association
EMA’s Balmer Scholarship 2025 deadline is Monday, September 8
Balmer Scholarships are in the amount of $4,000.
Any independent school professional who is a current EMA member for at least two (2) years is eligible to apply to this scholarship after receiving admission into the USC program.
Program Dates
For the 2025–2026 academic year, the schedule will be:
- September 22, 2025: Program start date
- November 24–28, 2025: Thanksgiving break
- December 15, 2025 – January 5, 2026: Winter break
- April 19, 2025: Program end date
Faculty Spotlight
Amber Evans is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Marketing at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She has served 7 different colleges and universities over the past 25 years, most of them being regional public universities experiencing enrollment decline and budget problems. These colleges and universities include the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Western Illinois University, Edgewood College, St Cloud State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, University of Minnesota Crookston, and Winona State University.
As AVC for Enrollment and Marketing Amber oversees Admissions, International Admissions and Student Services, Marketing, Financial Aid, Career and Professional Development, New Student Programs, Retention, Enrollment Data Analytics, and Pre College Programs. She reports to the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Student Success.
Amber has a strong track record of stabilizing and increasing enrollment at universities experiencing budget deficits and staffing cuts. Amber implements best practice and leads Enrollment teams through positive change in order to achieve results including implementing recruitment and retention CRM’s, leveraging vendor contracts, structuring and restructuring enrollment divisions and collaborating campus wide to increase enrollment.
Amber is an alum of the USC LEM Certificate, has an earned doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Policy Analysis from the University of Minnesota, a Masters in Education Administration from Winona State University and Bachelors in Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse.
DJ Menifee is the Managing Director of Client Success at MARKETview Education Partners, an organization that aims to improve higher education access and outcomes through a proprietary combination of data, context, and expertise. Prior to joining MARKETview, DJ served 17 years in enrollment having recently served as a chief enrollment officer and chief enrollment & marketing officer at private institutions. Through his journey he has served at regional and national liberal arts, a national private comprehensive, and regional public institutions.
As the Managing Director for Client Success DJ leads the client success team serving 150+ institutions by intimately aligning with their enrollment goals and identifying critical elements to put them in competitive position for success in addition to serving on the leadership team. As a former practitioner, he has overseen admission, financial aid, marketing, and student accounts, while also serving on presidential leadership teams, administrative leadership teams, international initiative working groups, pricing working groups, and university council.
DJ has served in leadership roles across many higher ed organizations throughout his career. He served as a board director for the Common App, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and has been a member of the College Board’s Middle States Advisory Board and the Colloquium Planning Committee.
Given his passion for leadership, DJ and his wife launched the Hues of Leadership podcast in 2023.
DJ holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Lees-McRae College and a master’s in Instructional Design & Technology from Western Illinois University.
Dr. Tony Bourne earned his Ph.D. in Engineering – Cognitive Systems from Wright State University in Ohio and his research is focused on the development of success pathways from market to enrollment to graduation. He applied that research to his roles in enrollment management to improve student success while reforming class enrollments at institutions across the higher ed spectrum.
Bourne currently serves as Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of Memphis. With over two decades of experience in higher education, he has also served as Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing at Heidelberg University, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at Rhodes State College in Ohio and Director of Enrollment Management in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University, where he developed an advising and curricular platform that increased the retention of underprepared students and put them on a path to graduation.
The participants from our 2012-2022 cohorts represent over 140 institutions from across the country and the world:
Higher Education Institutions
• Abilene Christian University
• Barry University
• California Lutheran University
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• California State University, Fullerton
• California State University, Long Beach
• California State University, Los Angeles
• City University of New York, Baruch College
• Daemen College
• Dallas Baptist University
• DePaul University
• Dillard University
• Drexel University
• Framingham State University
• Franklin & Marshall College
• Gannon University
• Institute for Clinical Social Work
• Life Pacific College
• Loyola University Chicago
• Marquette University
• Mercy College
• Merrimack College
• Metropolitan State University of Denver
• Nazareth College
• NHTI, Concord’s Community College
• Northcentral Technical College
• Northern Arizona University
• Northwestern University
• Oral Roberts University
• Palo Alto University
• Pepperdine University
• Princeton Theological Seminary
• Purdue University Fort Wayne
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Rutgers University
• Rutgers University-Newark
• St. Cloud State University
• St. Francis College
• Saint Joseph’s University
• Salus University
• Santa Clara University
• Southern New Hampshire University
• Stetson University, College of Law
• Stonehill College
• Stony Brook University
• Thiel College
• Troy University
• Tulane University
• University at Buffalo
• University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Florida
• University of the Fraser Valley (Canada)
• University of Illinois at Chicago
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• University of Michigan
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
• University of North Carolina, Greensboro
• University of North Dakota
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Richmond
• University of San Francisco
• University of Southern California
• University of Texas at Tyler
• University of Virginia, School of Continuing and Professional Studies
• Ursuline College
• Vanderbilt University
• Warren Wilson College
• Wentworth Institute of Technology
• Western Illinois University
• Wright State University
• Yavapai College
K-12 and Independent Schools
• Alexander Robertson School
• American University Preparatory School
• Appleby College (Canada)
• Army and Navy Academy
• Avon Old Farms
• Baldwin School
• Bayview Glen Independent School (Canada)
• Beijing City International School (China)
• Bishop Strachan School (Canada)
• Brentwood Sunshine Preschool
• Buckley School
• Catlin Gabel School
• Catholic Memorial School
• Chandler School
• Concordia International School Shanghai (China)
• Crane County Day School
• Crossroads College Preparatory School
• Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
• Dalton School
• Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
• Durham Academy
• Dwight-Englewood School
• Francis Parker School
• Greenhills School
• Grier School
• Gulliver Schools
• Hawaii Preparatory Academy
• Hockaday School
• Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School
• Hotchkiss School
• International School of Indiana
• Jakarta Intercultural School (Indonesia)
• Kadima Day School
• Lake Forest Academy
• Lakefield College School (Canada)
• Lakeside School
• Latin School of Chicago
• Lawrence Academy
• Lawrenceville School
• Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School
• McDonogh School
• Miami Country Day School
• Montclair Kimberley Academy
• Mulgrave School (Canada)
• National Child Research Center
• New Mexico Military Institute
• Oak Grove School
• Oakwood School
• Orme School
• Overlake School
• Park School
• Pine Crest School
• Presbyterian School
• Princeton Day School
• Randolph-Macon Academy
• Ridley College (Canada)
• Rosseau Lake College (Canada)
• Saddle River Day School
• St. Andrew’s Schools
• St. Anne’s-Belfield School
• St. George’s School (Canada)
• St. Mark’s School (MA)
• St. Sebastian’s School
• St. Stanislaus College
• St. Stephens Episcopal School
• Sonoma Academy
• Stanstead College (Canada)
• Summit School
• Tenacre Country Day School
• The Carey School
• The Derryfield School
• The Knox School
• The Westminster Schools
• TMI-The Episcopal School of Texas
• University Prep
• Viewpoint School
• Villanova Preparatory School
• Westland School
• Westminster Schools
• Winchendon School
• Winsor School
• Windward School
Upcoming Webinars Summer 2025
FAQ
Scholarships
For K-12 independent school professionals, we have partnered with The Enrollment Management Association (EMA) to provide this program. The Balmer Scholarships are named in recognition of the exceptional contributions of the late Dr. Stephanie Balmer, who was a beloved member of our USC certificate faculty as well. In support of this program, EMA has committed $20,000 in annual scholarship funds for independent school professionals who are current EMA members for at least two (2) years. Each year, EMA offers five Balmer Scholarships in the amount of $4,000. Participants must first apply to the Leadership in Enrollment Management program in order to apply for Balmer Scholarships. For more information on the Balmer Scholarships, please visit EMA’s website.
Payment Plans
Tuition for the USC Leadership in Enrollment Management program is $8,000. A deposit of $500 is required to secure your space. The tuition is payable by the first day of the course unless otherwise arranged. A two-part payment plan is available upon request.
We believe that the intensive 26-week certificate program is a worthy investment of time and money. If you have further questions or concerns regarding cost or need a different arrangement for payment of tuition, please contact us directly.
Technology Requirements
In order to participate in the program, you will need a computer and high-speed internet access.
Various elements within our online environment will require free and downloadable software, such as Adobe Reader and Quicktime. When such tools are needed, we include the download links in our online classroom.
Contact Us
Please contact us here.