Academic Career & Executive Search is pleased to assist Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in their search for a highly accomplished Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success (VPEMSS).

This is a remarkable opportunity for a results-driven strategist and change agent to serve as the inaugural Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success in this newly created division.

Central New Mexico Community College shines as an exceptionally strong and innovative institution well-positioned to meet the demands of the changing higher education landscape. With significant capital investments geared towards student success including building a new student services facility, and the implementation of a new ERP/SIS, CNM is committed to the development of an even stronger student experience. The VPEMSS joins a motivated and dedicated team in an institution with strong brand recognition, a great reputation and a history of innovative solutions including the first to introduce block chain transcripts for students and now a leader in block chain learning networks.

The new VPEMSS must be a data-informed decision maker who embraces a collaborative and transparent leadership style. Additionally, the successful candidate displays cultural competence along with creating an approachable and caring environment for students, faculty and staff.

Leading a newly-created division focused on the student journey from pre-enrollment through program completion, the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success will lead departments and teams focused on enrollment management, student success, and student affairs at Central New Mexico Community College. The VPEMSS is charged with designing and implementing plans to strengthen student enrollment, increase student persistence and completion, and further student workplace and academic success while upholding the College’s mission, vision, and values. Consistent with the College’s status as a Hispanic-serving and Native American-serving institution, the VPEMSS works closely with College students, faculty and staff and community leaders to promote the success of all students, particularly underserved populations, and foster a diverse workforce.

Essential Responsibilities

• Works closely with the president, vice president of academic affairs, vice president of finance and operations, and vice president of workforce and community success to create and implement an integrated strategic enrollment management and student success plan to meet the College’s mission.
• Oversees a $52 million budget that includes about 275 staff focused on student recruitment and retention, student enrollment operations and compliance, student and campus engagement, student health and wellness advocacy and student support.
• Leads the College’s efforts in using data and all tools available (including enterprise resource planning/student information systems, constituent relationship management system, and media tools) to develop and assess student recruitment and retention campaigns, services, and outcomes.
• Serves on and coordinates with a multi-institutional team implementing a shared services system, including implementing an enterprise resource planning/student information system (ERP/SIS) (Summer 2021 through Summer 2024); serves as the College’s executive sponsor for the ERP/SIS student services team and coordinates with Academic Affairs and the Offices of Information Technology and Data Strategy on this effort.
• Creates, assesses, updates, and implements a strategic enrollment management system that is data-informed and aligned with the mission and vision of the college. The plan shall integrate the entire student experience from recruitment and retention, including assessment, registration, advising, counseling, financial aid and scholarships, and student life.
• Provides vision and leads efforts to support new and existing student-centered programming and processes related to recruitment and admission; enrollment; financial aid, student engagement and support, including disability resource services; and academic and career advising.
• With enrollment management and marketing and communications teams, designs, executes and assesses a comprehensive annual recruitment and retention plan that is consistent with the College’s image, mission, and values.
• Acts as a voice and advocate for students and staff regarding matters related to enrollment at the college; establishes collaborative relationships with campus and administrative departments and community stakeholders to advance and promote student services and both degree and non-degree programs;
• Collaborates with campus leaders and faculty to determine the best placement methods for students to ensure success in their studies.
• Works collaboratively across the college’s degree and non-degree program leaders to align and strengthen for-credit offerings to meet evolving student and community needs
• Works with other leaders, particularly those leading equity and inclusion efforts, to ensure a welcoming, accepting and fair campus environment.
• Participates collaboratively on the college management team to integrate educational, fiscal, technological, data, facility, and personnel planning and further the strategic plan of the college.
• Directly supervises administrators in the Student Success Division and indirectly supervises support staff, faculty, and part-time faculty members on projects and initiatives.
• Directly and indirectly supervises those who manage student issues, including complaints, conduct, academic integrity, instructor concerns, and student government and club activities.
• Ensures compliance with applicational federal (eg., Title IX), state and local laws, policies and regulations in relation to Board and College policies, including reports as required in areas of resource allocation and management systems.
• Works with the Office of Data Strategies and direct staff to analyze and report on statistical data related to enrollment, advising and student engagement functions and propose and implement appropriate action plans in response.
• Manages associated budgets in cooperation with assigned Student Success staff; provides guidance budget preparation for all areas of responsibility.
• Maintains open communication with the President and, at her direction, serves on college and community committees and councils.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to build and motivate high-performing, student-oriented teams
• Ability to provide dynamic and proactive educational leadership
• Ability to design integrated systems and processes
• Ability to lead enterprise resource planning/student information system transition; has implemented enterprise systems previously
• Ability to establish successful outreach programs to ensure area residents have opportunities in higher education and workforce training
• Ability and commitment to working collaboratively with an emphasis on college-wide approaches and effective involvement of faculty
• Experience developing and assessing a strategic enrollment management plan and managing division resources to desired results
• Demonstrated commitment to supporting equity, diversity, and inclusivity with a higher education environment
• Ability to successfully implement effective recruitment and retention programs that recognizes the community’s diversity
• Commitment to promoting diversity in student employee populations
• Commitment to mission of a comprehensive community college
• Demonstrated knowledge of administrative support areas including fiscal, human resource management, and information technology
• Proven effectiveness in allocating and managing resources for results
• Strong communication and technology skills
• Evidence of ability to use data and research to improve student success and retention
• Expertise in using data to develop policies and long-range plans that inform allocation of funds

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Five (5) or more years of related experience in higher education leadership
• Senior level experience in enrollment management
• Minimum 5 years of directly managing one or more programs aimed at improving student success and retention

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university
• Ten (10) years of related experience in higher education leadership
• Experience in financial aid management as well as marketing and communication principles
• Experience overseeing technology development and/or deployment tools
• Bilingual skills

About Central New Mexico Community College:

Founded in 1964 as Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, a locally supported vocational school, the College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (now the Higher Learning Commission) in 1978. Degree-granting power was approved by the New Mexico Legislature in 1986, signaling the College’s transformation into a comprehensive community college. In 2006, the institution changed its name to Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) to better reflect the breadth of offerings and the service area. CNM currently offers Associate of Arts, Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees, as well as many certificate programs and non-credit certifications and licensures. Over the last decade, CNM has consistently enrolled the largest undergraduate student body in the state.

In U.S. Department of Education statistics, CNM regularly ranks among the top five two-year colleges nationwide for the number of associate degrees and certificates awarded to both Hispanics and Native Americans. CNM also regularly ranks among the top 10 for total associate degrees and certificates awarded to all students.

CNM served more than 33,100 students during the 2019-20 academic year – there were 23,096 students taking credit classes in the 2019 Fall Term. Despite the various impacts and challenges presented by the pandemic, more than 20,000 students took credit classes in the 2020 Fall Term. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, CNM also served more than 4,100 individuals through non-credit workforce training and industry testing for credentials/licensures; and more than 1,800 individuals participated in CNM’s Adult Basic Education non-credit programs, such as English as a Second Language and High School Equivalency prep courses.

CNM’s student body reflects the diversity of the community it serves. CNM is both a Hispanic Serving Institution and a Native American Serving Institution. CNM also serves more than 1,000 military veteran students who receive federal education benefits, the most in the state.

In 2014, CNM started CNM Ingenuity, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization created under the New Mexico Research Park Act. CNMI supports a new approach to education that provides accelerated educational and training opportunities in key workforce areas, wrap-around support for aspiring entrepreneurs, and cooperative ventures that foster economic development and job creation in the region. Through CNMI, the College has been providing an innovative, non-traditional higher education environment that helps spur economic growth in New Mexico. National higher education publication “Education Dive” named CNM the 2018 “Innovator of the Year” for becoming the first community college in the country to issue digital diplomas to graduates through blockchain technology, an effort driven by CNMI.

In 2020, CNM Ingenuity’s 12-week Deep Dive Coding program was selected as the 2020 Higher Education Program of the Year for the New Mexico Excellence in STEM Awards, which is managed by the Air Force Research Lab New Mexico.

Also in 2020, CNM was presented with the Excellence in Workforce Development Award from Albuquerque Economic Development for the outstanding impacts of the College’s longstanding and highly regarded Nursing program. CNM is heavily relied upon to support the regional economy’s workforce development needs across many sectors, from the healthcare industry to the state’s booming film industry to the IT industry to the trades.

CNM also has a well-earned reputation for providing outstanding service to our students, both in the community and nationally. In 2013, CNM won the national Student Success Award from the American Association of Community Colleges for significant gains in graduation numbers and the implementation of an innovative student support model.

The CNM Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, has raised more than $44.8 million dollars to fund 33,000-plus student scholarships and program support since its inception in 1992. CNM formed the Foundation to leverage private funding resources and opportunities to support students and the College.

CNM has nine locations for easy student access across CNM’s District, including five campuses. The campuses are located in each quadrant of Albuquerque, and one in nearby Rio Rancho. The campuses include Main Campus near downtown Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico; the Joseph M. Montoya Campus in the Northeast Heights; the Westside Campus; the South Valley Campus; and the Rio Rancho Campus. The College also offers programs and services at the Advanced Technology Center and Workforce Training Center in north Albuquerque, and the STEMulus Center and FUSE Makerspace in downtown Albuquerque. Each of the locations has had recent upgrades to facilities, technology and signage.

The largest classroom building, Max Salazar Hall located on Main Campus, recently reopened after a major renovation. In addition, a new Education Collaborative building opened on Main Campus in August 2019. This building represents an exciting collaboration among CNM, Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) and the Native American Community Academy (NACA) charter school. The College & Career High School (CCHS), a highly successful dual-credit high school that’s operated through a partnership between CNM and APS, is located in the new building, as is CNM’s Teacher Education programs and NACA’s high school students.

CCHS students typically spend half of their day taking APS classes, and the other half taking CNM classes that count for both college credit and high school elective credit. Many CCHS students graduate from the high school with a CNM associate degree and enough college credits to enter a university as a junior. For the 2018-19 school year, CCHS posted a 98.5 percent graduation rate, the highest in APS and one of the highest in the state. The high school’s graduation rate and overall performance has consistently ranked among the state’s best since it opened in August 2013. CNM’s dual credit courses are available to high school students across the region.

CNM operates on an annual budget with a fiscal year beginning on July 1. However, the budget and resource allocation processes are a multi-year activity which assures that funding from all sources is continuously consistent with long-range policies, programmatic goals and specific campus roles and objectives of the College. The budget process is based on criteria established by the New Mexico Higher Education Department for the purpose of ensuring consistency in the development and reporting of budget information among institutions of higher education.

CNM’s major sources of operating revenue are state appropriations (41%), local mill levy (39%) and tuition and fees (17%). In 2013, the HED implemented a performance–based funding formula model which now serves to distribute state appropriations to institutions of higher education in New Mexico. The College budget is developed with input from the College and is guided by financial policies approved by the CNM Governing Board.

CNM is in sound financial health and fiscally responsible. In the most recent review of CNM’s finances for a bond rating in summer 2018, Moody’s Investors Services, Inc. reaffirmed the college’s credit rating as Aa1, and Standard and Poor’s Corporation reaffirmed CNM’s AA+ rating. For four straight years from the FY2016 through FY2019 fiscal years, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to CNM for its comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFR). CNM’s well-managed cash balances and strong budgetary management contribute to and are indicators of a positive financial direction and strong, stable management.

Living in the Area:

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, sits in the high desert. Set in the high desert of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque is New Mexico’s largest city and gateway to the striking natural beauty and cultural diversity of the state. With over 300 days of sunshine a year, low humidity, short commute times, and a relaxed pace, Albuquerque is easy to live in and offers an endless mix of Native culture, lively entertainment, dining, and shopping. Adding to that are a favorable tax climate and the state’s strong fiscal health and a cost of living nearly 9% below national average.

Its modern Downtown core contrasts with Old Town Albuquerque, dating to the city’s 1706 founding as a Spanish colony. Old town is filled with historic adobe buildings, such as San Felipe de Neri Church, 5 museums, and shops selling Native American handicrafts. Nearby, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center traces the area’s tribal history.

From the Sandi Mountains bordering Albuquerque’s eastern edge to the Natural Center State Park near the Rio Grande River, the area offers exceptional outdoor recreation. From the modern sensibilities of downtown to historic Old Town, history, culture and nightlife await. And from proud traditional ranging from the annual International Balloon Fiesta to the luminaria walk each holiday season, Albuquerque is a unique place with varied treasures.

To Apply:
Applications will be reviewed as they are received and should include a cover letter and CV.

Inquiries and nominations are treated confidentially and can be sent to Jennifer Muller, Managing Partner with Academic Career & Executive Search at: Jennifer@Acesrch.com.

Equal Opportunity Statement:
It is the policy of Central New Mexico Community College (the “College”) to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to age, ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, serious medical condition, sex, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, veteran status, or any other protected class in any of its policies, practices, or procedures in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, nor will it condone any act of illegal discrimination or harassment on the part of its employees. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment and prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on an employee’s protected class.

The College confirms that this provision of the handbook by its reference to applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibits and condemns any retaliation or interference of any kind against any employee engaging in the exercise of free speech or in activities protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Upon request, the College will provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities with regard to conditions of employment as provided by applicable federal, state, and local laws.