Making Difficult Decisions: Student Exceptions - S5 E2

Enrollment managers are often forced to confront difficult student situations and make tough decisions regarding how to enforce or apply a policy (or not). How do we make fair and defensible decisions when students ask to be the exception to the rule? In this episode, The NAGAP Report co-host Lauren McGowan interviews Josie LaLonde, Director of Student Experience at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto, and Nicola Woods, Director of Academic Services and Registrar for the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, as they share their guiding framework for making difficult decisions. 

Their “Four P’s” framework is an easy-to-remember tool to employ when you find yourself feeling unsure of where to start. This will help all enrollment professionals to reexamine the way they think about making decisions and how they connect to our institutional mission and personal values. 

About the guests:

Josie Lalonde
Josie Lalonde is the Director, Student Experience in the Registrar’s Office and Student Experience (ROSE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and is a senior higher education professional with over 25 years of experience in university leadership and administration. 

Josie joined OISE in January 2023 and is proud to be part of the largest and highest-ranked School of Education in Canada, with a diverse community of innovators, collaborators and leaders that have been advancing education, human development and professional practice globally for over a century. In her current role, Josie directs the activities of three broad areas: records and registration, financial aid and awards, and student experience, including career advising, wellness counselling, and academic communications and writing support. Previously, Josie helped develop and implement systems solutions as a Business Analyst in the University of Toronto’s central IT department, and led the student academic services team as the Director of Student Academic Services in the School of Graduate Studies.

Josie completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Toronto while raising her family. She is driven by a commitment to make the University a warm and welcoming community for all our graduate students, supporting the success of students, regardless of their background or life circumstances. 

You can contact Josie at josie.lalonde@utoronto.ca.

Nicola Woods
Nicola Woods has over 25 years of senior higher education leadership experience and is currently the Director, Academic Services and Registrar in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As Registrar, Nicola is responsible for all aspects of student records, grades, course evaluations, enrolment, exams and convocation for more than 1400 professional masters students in graduate business programs.

Additionally, Nicola led the recruitment and admissions operation in the University’s largest undergraduate faculty – Arts & Science. In this capacity she created innovative admission strategies to attract and admit highly qualified students from across the globe and spent many years giving high-level recruitment presentations in key markets in Asia, South Asia and across North America.

You can contact Nicola at Nicola.Woods@Rotman.Utoronto.Ca. 

This episode of The NAGAP Report was hosted, produced, and edited by Lauren McGowan.

Learn more about NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management, at www.nagap.org.