CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Title of Study: Strategic Enrollment Management Goes International
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Dr. Clayton Smith, from the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor, along with other members of the research team, including Dr. Phil Ollenberg (Emily Carr University), Shaimaa Nabil Hassanein (American University in Cairo), Nada Al-Khaladi (Keyano College), and Brenley DiFranco (University of Guelph).
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact Dr. Clayton Smith at Clayton.Smith@uwindsor.ca or 519-253-3000 ext. 3802.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study aims to identify the perceptions of enrollment management professionals regarding the use and effectiveness of Strategic Enrollment Management at postsecondary institutions outside the United States.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in an online survey and to optionally participate in an interview with a member of the research team.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
Participation in this study involves minimal risk (e.g., data security, dual/multiple relationships). All efforts will be made to protect your privacy. Audio recordings will be securely stored on the University of Windsor OneDrive, deleted after transcription and verification, and the transcripts will include pseudonyms and have any identifying information removed. We will also ensure data security by placing all study data in the University of Windsor’s OneDrive and deleting it after transcription and verification. We will also ensure that interviews are conducted by a research team member unknown to the research participant.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
You may not receive any direct personal benefits from participating in this study. However, sharing your experiences may provide you with an opportunity to reflect on your engagement with Strategic Enrollment Management. The information you provide will contribute to a better understanding of how postsecondary institutions outside the United States use Strategic Enrollment Management to recruit and support student success.
COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not receive any financial or other form of compensation for participating in this study. There are no costs to you for participating, and the optional interview will be scheduled at a time convenient for you.
CONFIDENTIALITY
To protect confidentiality, all identifying information will be securely stored on password-protected devices or encrypted university servers, accessible only to the research team. Audio recordings will be transcribed using pseudonyms, and any identifying details will be removed. Final data will be de-identified before analysis or publication, and results will be reported in aggregate form.
Identifiable data—including contact details, consent forms, and recordings—will be kept for up to 3 months, after which it will be securely deleted or destroyed.
Your optional interview will take place online using Microsoft Teams. We must inform you that this platform has inherent confidentiality limitations. These include:
- The platform may retain its own records of who attends meetings.
- While the researcher will be the only one to receive and download the recording and transcript, there is a risk that staff from Microsoft, who are outside of the research team, could access the recordings and transcripts, even after they have been deleted from the researcher’s account.
The research team will minimize this risk by downloading the data to a secure, password-protected University of Windsor server immediately after the session and then permanently deleting it from MS Teams. However, the risk of access by platform administrators remains. By participating, you acknowledge that you have been informed of and understand these confidentiality limitations.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to answer any question, take a break, or stop the online survey or optional interview at any time without penalty. If you decide to withdraw, you may request that your data be deleted up to two weeks after your interview, before the information is anonymized and incorporated into the analysis. After this point, removal will no longer be possible because the data will be de-identified. The investigator may also withdraw you from the study if circumstances arise that make it necessary, such as unforeseen scheduling conflicts or technical issues.
FEEDBACK OF THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO THE PARTICIPANTS
Web address: https://www.uwindsor.ca/people/csmith/454/key-research-findings
Date when results are available: June 30, 2026
SUBSEQUENT USE OF DATA
These data may be used in subsequent studies, publications, and presentations.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact: The Office of Research Ethics, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4; Telephone: 519-253-3000, ext. 3948; e‑mail: ethics@uwindsor.ca