Chairs Zoom Info Session: Enrollment Planning for Programs - Lessons from Montclair Unbound Online
One task facing department chairs that traditional academic experiences do not help to prepare you for, is the business and operational requirements for effective enrollment growth planning. For many online program development efforts across the country, universities are turning to business managers and marketing experts to help grow enrollment in what is a highly competitive market. We are fortunate to have several experts here at Montclair within the Montclair Unbound effort which merges both marketing and enrollment management in ways that are not common to traditional universities. Marc Austin (Vice Provost and Managing Director) and Cristina Raecke (Senior Advisor for Marketing and Enrollment Management) will provide a picture of what it takes to create effective marketing messages, develop your enrollment funnel, and produce effective enrollment yields. They have found these strategies effective with both online and traditional campus programs.
- Date:
- Wednesday, March 18, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00pm - 3:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Online:
- This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
- Audience:
- Faculty Leaders
Cristina Raecke is a higher education leader with nearly 30 years of experience in digital marketing, communications, recruitment, and admissions. She currently serves as Senior Advisor for Strategic Marketing & Enrollment Management at Montclair State University’s Unbound initiative, advancing its mission to become New Jersey’s premier adult-serving institution. Previously, she was the inaugural Assistant Vice President for Strategic Marketing & Enrollment at Augusta University Online, where she launched and scaled new programs that drove more than 1,000 student enrollments in the first year. Cristina has also consulted for Wiley Education Services and held leadership roles at Florida International University and Miami Herbert Business School. She earned her MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond.
Dr. Marc Austin serves as the Vice Provost and Managing Director for Montclair Unbound, Montclair State University’s unit dedicated to extending the reach of the university through online and blended forms of education. Previously, Dr. Austin was the Associate Provost and Dean of Augusta University Online. Dr. Austin has spent the past two decades launching new, innovative approaches to online, executive and adult learning programs. Prior to Augusta, Dr. Austin served as executive director of Innovation and New Ventures at George Mason University where he oversaw the Continuing and Professional Education division. Much of Austin’s work has focused on skills-based learning and workforce outcomes. Dr. Austin has been a featured speaker for WCET, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ASU/GSV and others. From 2013-2022 Austin served as visiting professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he taught Corporate Strategy, drawing on over 15 years as a management consultant. Dr. Austin holds a PhD from Columbia University, a MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. LinkedIn Twitter
Dr. Vera Senina is a cross-disciplinary teacher and scholar in the humanities, critical theory, medical narratives, and computational linguistics. Vera has experience teaching in diverse modalities, designing innovative student-centered courses, and organizing conference panels and workshops on inclusive curriculum development, assessment strategies, and project-based learning. She also has top-company industry experience in language AI, team development, and project management.