Best Practice Solutions Enrollment Management Symposium
July 23 & 24, 2026 | Philadelphia, PA
Enrollment leadership isn’t inherited.
It’s built, strengthened, and passed forward.
The Best Practice Solutions Enrollment Management Symposium brings today’s decision-makers and tomorrow’s leaders together to share insight, build capability, and shape the future of enrollment and financial aid, together.
The Best Practice Solutions Enrollment Management Symposium is designed to bring together institutional leaders and practitioners to align strategy, operations, and execution across the enrollment lifecycle. The symposium creates a collaborative space to engage in meaningful dialogue, share best practices, and explore data-informed approaches to improving enrollment outcomes.
Through targeted sessions and peer exchange, the symposium helps participants translate institutional goals into actionable strategies, strengthen cross-functional alignment, and accelerate the adoption of effective practices that drive sustainable enrollment growth and student success.
Building the Future of Enrollment Together
July 23 & 24, 2026 | Philadelphia, PA
The BPS Symposium is a leadership-forward experience that creates space for advanced strategic dialogue, intentional skill-building, and meaningful connection across career stages, all focused on strengthening the future of enrollment.
What’s New in 2026?
This year’s symposium has been thoughtfully redesigned to meet professionals where they are in their careers, while strengthening how enrollment leadership works across institutions as a whole. Participants engage in one of two purpose-built learning experiences – The Veteran Leaders Track or the Rising Leaders Track – each designed to deliver depth, relevance, and meaningful takeaways.
The experience then brings both perspectives together in a collaborative roundtable designed to mirror how enrollment leadership actually happens; across roles, experience levels, and functional boundaries. This shared session connects strategy with execution, pairing experience with emerging insight to reinforce shared ownership of outcomes, leadership continuity, and the future of the enrollment profession.
Two Perspectives. One Purpose.
Engage with peers in high-level strategic discussions shaping the future of enrollment and financial aid.
Gain the insights, frameworks, and skills needed to step into leadership conversations with confidence.
“If you have to choose between a national conference and coming to the symposium, come to the symposium. There are topics you’re not going to get anywhere else. You’re with like-minded folks having the same conversations you’re having at your institution, and you’re getting perspectives you don’t normally get at other venues.”
—Dr. Yosmeriz Roman
Assistant Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, University of Delaware
Scott Van Pelt, Keynote Speaker
Scott Van Pelt, along with Arthur Levine (President, Brandeis University), is co-author of "The Great Upheaval: Higher Education's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future" and its sequel, "From Upheaval to Action: What Works in Changing Higher Ed." Drawing on the trends explored in these books, Scott has presented on the factors shaping the future of higher education to state education systems, faculty associations, and colleges and universities across North America.
Professionally, Scott has held a diversity of roles across higher education in areas such as academic advising, admissions, instructional technology, and teaching and learning. Currently, he is the Director of Research and Faculty Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. In this role, Scott designs programs and initiatives to support faculty success at Penn GSE. He is also an experienced educator and facilitator and has taught courses, workshops, and other learning engagements for organizations such as the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn GSE, and the Fulbright Scholars Program.
This year’s sessions are grounded in the real challenges institutions are working through right now. Each session is designed to move beyond ideas and into how the work actually gets done, with space for discussion, shared experience, and practical application. This is just the starting point. As the symposium nears, we’ll continue to add sessions and details.
2026 Sessions
Institutional Alignment for Enrollment and Fiscal Health Assessment
Together we'll explore how colleges and universities can strengthen enrollment outcomes and long-term financial sustainability through institutional alignment. Drawing on Best Practice Solutions’ framework for modern Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), participants will examine how shared ownership, data-informed decision-making, integrated planning, financial aid strategy, budgeting, and operational excellence work together to support enrollment and fiscal health.
Today's Enrollment Funnel: Prospect Cultivation - Onboarding
A crash course in modern Enrollment Management. Participants learn how admissions, financial aid, recruitment, operations, and retention fit together; how EM drives institutional health; and what “best” practice looks like.
Managing the Enrollment Cycle: Timelines, Tools & Tactics
A practical overview of the annual cycle of recruitment, aid, operations, and retention. Rising leaders learn the rhythm of the year, how to work with SEM plans, how to manage projects, and how to understand basic budget components relevant to their roles.
From Despised to Inspired: IPEDS Data
IPEDS data can often feel overwhelming, complex, and difficult to translate into meaningful action. This session will demonstrate how institutional leaders can move from simply reporting data to leveraging it as a strategic asset. Participants will explore practical approaches for analyzing and interpreting IPEDS metrics, identifying trends and benchmarks, and transforming data into insights that inform enrollment, student success, financial planning, and institutional decision-making.
Recruitment & Financial Aid Essentials: The Core Levers You Influence
A “crash course duet” on recruitment and financial aid fundamentals. Participants learn the basics of territory planning, communications and marketing ROI, and visit experience strategy—paired with foundational concepts in aid optimization, discount rate, compliance, and student support.
AI in Enrollment
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how colleges and universities attract, engage, and enroll students—and how they prepare graduates for an AI-driven workforce. This session explores practical applications of AI across the enrollment lifecycle. Beyond recruitment and marketing, participants will examine how institutions are adapting academic programs, research initiatives, and workforce development strategies to embrace AI and equip students with the skills needed for the future. Attendees will gain insights into leveraging AI not only as an enrollment tool, but as a catalyst for institutional innovation and long-term relevance.
Systems, Data, and Operations: How the Work Gets Done
This session clarifies the technology ecosystem, shows where key data lives, and illustrates how systems and people interact. Participants get a primer on data sources (IPEDS, Common Data Set), workflows, and the operational structures supporting EM.
Data-Informed Decision-Making: Turning Information Into Action
Participants learn how to read and interpret enrollment data, distinguish operational vs. strategic metrics, and use market research or surveys responsibly. Includes a simple framework for turning raw data into recommendations.
Retention Success Case Study: "Catch & Release" is only for fishing
Improving student retention requires more than isolated interventions, it demands a coordinated, data-informed approach that supports students throughout their educational journey. Join us for a case study discussion on how to successfully strengthen retention and student success outcomes through strategic planning, cross-campus collaboration, and targeted student support initiatives.
Working With & Through People: Teams, Talent, and Campus Partners
A people-centered session covering how to contribute to a healthy team culture, build campus partnerships, support onboarding and training initiatives, and know when to explore external support.
Leading Change You Don’t Control: How Enrollment Leaders Influence Institutional Outcomes
Enrollment leaders are frequently held accountable for outcomes that rely on decisions made across the institution. This session focuses on how to lead effectively in that reality. Participants will work through a realistic institutional scenario where enrollment goals, financial strategy, and campus dynamics are misaligned. Using a practical framework, they will identify where breakdowns occur – where in leadership alignment, institutional structures, or day-to-day behaviors – and apply those insights to their own campus context.
A guided, applied learning track for emerging enrollment professionals who are ready to grow their influence, confidence, and leadership capacity.
A peer-driven experience designed for seasoned enrollment and financial aid leaders to explore strategy, innovation, and the evolving landscape of higher education.
Why Attend the BPS Enrollment Management Symposium?
The BPS Symposium creates space for advanced strategic dialogue, intentional skill-building, and meaningful connection across career stages, all focused on strengthening the future of enrollment.
Participants Leave With:
→ A deeper understanding of how enrollment systems work together
→ Practical leadership frameworks they can apply immediately
→ Cross-functional and cross-generational perspective
→ New professional connections grounded in shared purpose