Flexible Futures: Collège Nordique Tackles Enrollment Challenges Head-On

From April 13 to 15, 2025, Mounir Barry, Director of Student Experience and Quality Assurance, and Steve Mbita, Student Services Coordinator, represented Collège Nordique at the annual Student Enrollment Management (SEM) conference, organized by the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC). The event took place at the Delta Hotel in Mississauga and brought together representatives from postsecondary institutions across the country.

Over the course of two days, participants discussed current challenges in enrollment management, particularly in light of new government policies aimed at limiting the number of international students. This context is prompting institutions to revisit their admissions strategies and rethink their entire educational offering.

Concrete avenues for reflection

Several strategies were proposed to better meet the needs of learners and enhance institutional adaptability:

• Restructuring programs to offer greater flexibility and support the success of all learners, regardless of background or profile;
• Integrating artificial intelligence into enrollment processes to streamline the experience for both administrative teams and students;
• Implementing best practices to help students transition into postsecondary studies;
• Assessing the impact of government requirements on enrollment objectives;
• Encouraging executive directors and institutional leaders to attend future SEM conferences, to engage in collective reflection and gain a better understanding of enrollment team realities.

Levers for action

According to Mounir Barry, the conference fostered valuable dialogue among enrollment professionals from across Canada:

“This event gave us a better understanding of the challenges registrars face nationwide. Issues are often similar from one institution to another. It's clear that we need to adapt our programs to offer more flexibility, which will ultimately enhance the overall experience for future students.”

For Collège Nordique

In a northern minority francophone context, offering flexible, accessible, and human-centered educational pathways is more than a management issue—it’s a responsibility.

In a territory where every path matters, Collège Nordique reaffirms its commitment to building a postsecondary education system that is more flexible, inclusive, and deeply rooted.