Overview
What is the mission of USC's Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice?
The Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice (CERPP) at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles analyzes enrollment issues through the critical perspectives of social science researchers, policymakers, and college and university practitioners. The creation of the center is rooted in the belief that college admission, student financial aid, and degree completion processes must become better informed, more expertly practiced, and more equitable. Moreover, the impacts of these processes must be better understood. To these ends, CERPP brings together individuals and groups to examine college enrollment issues and practices and better meet the collective needs of students, institutions, and society.
USC’s Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice intends to facilitate a more knowledgeable, professional, and socially conscious academy through a number of activities. For instance, the center will provide forums such as organized events, on-line communities, and written publications that allow scholars and practitioners to share their perspectives and generate ideas beneficial to the study and practice of enrollment issues.
In addition, the center will conduct and sponsor research that is intellectually worthy and useful for practitioners. More specifically, CERPP will support research by renowned and emerging scholars and publish and disseminate findings from such projects to ensure these efforts have a direct and lasting impact on students, institutions, and society.
Further, the center intends to enhance the level of professionalism within the field of enrollment management. For too long, enrollment professionals have been without a formalized training mechanism, with many practitioners strictly learning from experience. CERPP will help to ensure that current and emerging enrollment professionals are well-versed with regard to enrollment issues and effective methods for traversing the ever-changing higher education landscape. This will take place by opening new educational avenues, potentially through distance education, for practitioners to develop and hone their professional skills. Both young professionals and seasoned professionals will have the opportunity to benefit from a learning curriculum created and implemented by educators knowledgeable of the opportunities and challenges within the field, as well as the best, newest, and most important practices.
Finally, USC’s Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice will serve as the nation’s central hub for information relating to enrollment issues with the capacity to inform related institutional, state, and national policy development. As such, CERPP will be at the forefront of collective efforts to improve access to higher education and maximize student success.