Shows
EMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do enrollment offices offer concierge admission at scale?How do enrollment offices offer concierge admission at scale? Maile Uohara and Jenna King join co-hosts Ari Betof and Christian Donovan to discuss how schools experiencing a high volume of admission applications organize a process where applicants and their families are individually assisted and supported through the admissions process so that they feel valued, seen, and known.2024-04-1740 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow should schools evaluate alternative transcripts?How should schools evaluate alternative transcripts? Mike Flanagan, CEO of Mastery Transcript Consortium®, joins co-hosts Ari Betof and Christian Donovan to trace the evolution of the typical American transcript and explore how enrollment professionals can best understand applicants when presented with competency-based, narrative, and other transcripts.2024-03-2844 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastIs the independent school business model broken?Is the independent school business model broken? How would we know? What are the myths and realities of the independent school business model? Join us as we explore these questions with Jennifer Osland Hillen, Chief Learning Officer, and Elizabeth Dabney, Director of Research and Data Analysis, of the National Business Officers Association (NBOA).2023-10-2454 min
The Enrollment Spectrum PodcastLive from AC23: EMA Podcast Hosts All in One Room!Welcome to a special episode of the Enrollment Spectrum Podcast, where we broadcast live from EMA's 2023 Annual Conference in Las Vegas. In this unique episode, we have gathered all your favorite EMA podcast hosts under one roof. This includes Rebecca Malotke-Mmeslin and Lynne Macziewski from 'Confidently You,' John Gentile and Rohan Arjun from 'Different Perspectives,' and Ari Betof and Christian Donovan from 'Impossible Questions.' Join us as we share memorable moments from our last podcast season, dive into the latest trends shaping independent schools, and provide a sneak peek into exciting episodes awaiting you in the...2023-09-2848 min
EMA's Impossible Questions PodcastAddressing Impossible Questions 2.0: An Enrollment Spectrum and Impossible Questions CrossoverWhat paradigm should you bring to your leadership when faced with an impossible question? Join us as we share highlights from season one of EMA's Impossible Questions podcast and dive into questions like this with Christian Donovan, Head of School at Friends School of Baltimore and the new co-host of the Impossible Questions podcast. In this podcast, we refer to the following Impossible Questions episodes: How do experienced enrollment leaders learn about unfamiliar markets? How should we involve others in conversations about enrollment?2023-07-0623 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do you drive strategic change from inside your school (without running out of political capital)?How do you drive strategic change from inside your school (without running out of political capital)? Join us as we explore this question with Victoria Muradi, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Durham Academy (NC) and a member of the EMA's Board of Trustees. 2023-07-0644 minThe Enrollment Spectrum PodcastAddressing Impossible Questions 2.0: An Enrollment Spectrum and Impossible Questions CrossoverJoin us for a special crossover episode of the Enrollment Spectrum Podcast and EMA's Impossible Questions Podcast. Guest co-host Ari Betof joins me today. Ari is the Co-Founder and Partner of Mission & Data and the host of EMA’s Impossible Questions Podcast. In this episode, we welcome Christian Donovan, Head of School at Friends School of Baltimore, as the new co-host of EMA's Impossible Questions Podcast. We will share some highlights and lessons learned from the Impossible Questions first season. Stick around to the end of the podcast to hear the exciting things Ari and Christian have lined up fo...2023-05-1223 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastAddressing Impossible Questions 2.0: An Enrollment Spectrum and Impossible Questions Crossover2023-05-1223 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastWhat Should Independent Schools Learn from Higher Ed?2023-03-1631 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastAre You Ready for the Next Big Thing?Are you ready for the next big thing? Will there even be a single next big thing? What have we learned from the last next big thing? That's the topic of our conversation with Jill Goodman who recently wrote a great blog post on this very topic!2022-12-2237 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow should we involve others in conversations about enrollment?How should we involve other adults in an independent school community in conversations about enrollment? That's the topic of our conversation with Christian Donovan, head of school at Friends School of Baltimore (MD).2022-11-0843 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do experienced enrollment leaders learn about unfamiliar markets?As a leader new to a school there is much to learn. You have experience, skill, and a valuable network but there is one thing you may not know: your new market. How do you go about learning about an unfamiliar market? That's the topic of our conversation with Christian Donovan, head of school at Friends School of Baltimore (MD).2022-09-0840 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do we build, influence, and impact school culture through the enrollment office?How do we build, influence, and impact school culture through the enrollment office? It's a great question submitted by a listener! Join us as we explore the answer to this question with Carney M. Heavey O'Brien, Co-Director of the Roberts Field School (NY).2022-09-0141 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do you authentically differentiate in a crowded marketplace?How do you authentically differentiate your school in a crowded marketplace? It's a complicated question and one many independent schools consider. That's the topic of our conversation with Mark Devey, Head of School at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, PA.2022-08-111h 02EMA's Impossible Questions PodcastAre Independent Schools Selling a Product Today’s Parents Want?Are Independent Schools Selling a Product Today’s Parents Want? That's the topic of our conversation with Dr. Jennifer Zaccara and Dr. Greg Martin from Vermont Academy.2022-06-2342 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow Should the Board Engage With Enrollment Management?What is the right level of engagement at the board level with enrollment management? How should the board think about DEI initiatives? These are the topics in this special episode of EMA's Impossible Questions Podcast featuring an excerpt from our popular Learning Pass course Board Reports, Board Presentations, and Managing Up.2022-05-1236 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do schools quantify the seemingly “unquantifiable”?It's not always simple to measure your yield from inquiry to application to enroll, but you can do it. How about measuring if you are achieving your school's mission? That's the topic of our conversation with the Executive Director of Maret School’s Center for Institutional Research in Independent Schools Eric Heilman. Read his recent article on this topic here.2022-04-0740 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastDo you want to be a head of school? [Part 2]Have you been asked this question? Have you ever asked it? In this second part of a two-part series, we'll unpack what it's like to be asked this question if you're quite sure the answer is 'no'.2022-03-1038 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastDo you want to be a head of school? [Part 1]Have you been asked this question? Have you ever asked it? In this first part of a two-part series, we'll unpack what it's like to be asked this question if you think, just maybe, one day, the answer is 'yes.'2022-02-2446 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastWhen should a school collaborate and when should it compete?It’s hard work running a school. On the one hand, you compete for students, teachers, and other resources. On the other hand, you want to collaborate with schools in your region. When should a school collaborate and when should it compete? Featuring Debra Wilson, President of SAIS, and Darryl Ford, Head of School at William Penn Charter School.2022-02-1044 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastIs financial aid as we know it broken?The business model of independent schools is unsustainable. We charge a price that is lower than the cost and further discount that price using financial aid. Is financial aid as we know it broken? Featuring Mark Mitchell, vice president at The National Association of Independent Schools.2021-11-1848 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do we not burn out in an endless admission cycle?Join us for a conversation with Jennifer Moss. Jennifer is the author of The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It coming out on September 28. Jennifer is also a Harvard Business Review contributor and nationally syndicated radio columnist. She also sits on the Global Happiness Council—a small group of leading scientists and economists that support the UN’s sustainable goals related to global well-being and the Annual Global Happiness Policy Report. Moss has also worked in Silicon Valley, eventually joining Barack Obama’s California social team during his historic presidential campai...2021-08-2641 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastAre kids who look like me welcome here?Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Rodney Glasgow. Rodney is an educator, speaker, facilitator, and activist in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. He has been a Chief Diversity Officer, Middle School Head, he founded The Glasgow Group, and he is currently the head of school at Sandy Springs Friends School in Maryland. Let’s say you work in admission and you’re sitting with a black applicant. The campus tour is done and you’ve just concluded the interview and the student has one more question, “Are kids like me welcome here?” Wh...2021-08-1949 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastHow do we avoid blind hope and make the tough calls?Independent schools are enduring institutions but they also need to have a clear understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. In this episode, we’ll consider ways schools should look at themselves and their futures.2021-08-1246 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastWhat is the purpose of Independent School?Sometimes the best conversations happen after the podcast recording is over. For the first time, we keep the tape rolling and ask one of the biggest questions of them all: what is the purpose of independent school?2021-08-1237 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastWill we snap back and forget the lessons we’ve learned?We’re all looking forward to a time when our work can return to something like normal. But should we simply go back to the way things were? In this episode, we’ll consider what we should carry forward with us and what we should leave behind.2021-08-0546 minEMA's Impossible Questions PodcastWhat do we do when we're asked an impossible question?What do you do when you’ve been asked an impossible question? In this episode, we’ll explore frameworks for addressing impossible questions.2021-08-0552 min