Strategic Enrollment Management

Welcome to Strategic Enrollment Management at Sonoma State University

At SSU, we understand that Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) can look different depending on the institution, its goals, and the environment in which it operates. Just as our recruitment and retention strategies are tailored to meet the needs of individual students, our SEM approach is designed specifically for SSU’s unique context and future vision.

In its simplest form, SEM is a coordinated set of strategies aimed at achieving our institutional enrollment goals. But at SSU, SEM is evolving. The post-pandemic landscape has brought changes to student expectations, competition, technology, and the university itself. To meet this new environment head-on, we’re building forward-thinking strategies that reflect where SSU is headed—not where we've been.

To the right, you’ll find the current 2025-26 to 2026-27 SEM Plan along with a few enrollment updates and the activities of our recruitment team. For previous plans and documents that laid the foundation for our current work, reference the Archived Documents link.

While many of the resources linked at the bottom of this page highlight new student recruitment efforts, we’re also actively focused on retention. Our colleagues in Student Affairs and Academic Affairs are leading important initiatives to support continuing students, and our academic units are deeply engaged in academic master planning. You can learn more about that work on our academic master planning site.

We invite you to explore our goals, strategies, and progress. If you have questions, suggestions, or ideas—or just want to talk enrollment—please don’t hesitate to connect with us.  

For questions, please contact Paul Edwards, Interim Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management at [email protected].