The Enrollment Management Association

What The Enrollment Management Association does

The Enrollment Management Association (EMA), now operating as E3n following its March 2026 merger with the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), is a nonprofit membership association serving K-12 independent school enrollment leaders. Founded in 1957 with the creation of the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT), the organization has grown to serve more than 1,300 member schools across the U.S., Canada, and international markets. Its product portfolio centers on the gold-standard SSAT assessment, the Character Skills Snapshot, the Standard Application Online (SAO) common application, the Student Prospect List of 40,000 candidates, Admission.org search, and the Open Seat List — delivered through a web-based SaaS platform with self-service member portals (portal.ssat.org, community.enrollment.org). The technology stack is a traditional assessment-administration and application-processing platform; no AI/ML capability is disclosed in the input data.

EMA's revenue model combines recurring annual membership dues, usage-based SSAT testing fees, per-transaction application processing charges, and one-time conference and event registration fees. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: acquisition flows through the flagship Annual Conference (Enroll26, San Diego, September 2026), pre-conference institutes (ATI, ADI, FLI), regional seminars, peer referrals, and content assets including The Yield magazine, special reports, and podcasts. Customer segments span independent schools (K-12), families and students seeking admission, and enrollment management professionals, with vertical concentration in the U.S./Canadian independent school market.

Under former CEO Heather Hoerle (2011-summer 2025), EMA expanded its operating budget by 67 percent, grew membership 27 percent after its 2016 rebrand from SSATB, more than doubled Annual Conference attendance, and underwrote $16.2 million in SSAT fee waivers serving 57,000 students. The March 2026 merger with ERB created E3n — combining roughly 170 years of independent-school expertise under one nonprofit — and added the ISEE assessment to the product portfolio. E3n is governed by a Board of Trustees, is not venture-backed or publicly traded, and is currently undergoing CEO succession led by Korn Ferry following Hoerle's retirement.

Name

The Enrollment Management Association

Legal name

Enrollment Management Association, Inc.

Website

https://enrollment.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Enrollment Management Association (E3n) is a nonprofit membership association serving 1,300+ K-12 independent schools with gold-standard admissions assessments (SSAT, Character Skills Snapshot), the Standard Application Online common application, recruitment tools, professional development, and the world's largest enrollment-management conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent School Admissions

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Standardized Assessments & Benchmark Exams Prep (State tests, MAP, ISEE/SSAT) (EDANABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 SIS & District Administration Platforms (EDAFAEAA), Compliance, State Reporting & Education Data Exchange (Ed-Fi/SIF) (EDAFAEAO), Gradebook, Transcripts, Credits & Academic Records Management (EDAFAEAG)

Keywords

• Independent school admissions
• Admissions assessment testing
• Enrollment management services
• School application processing
• Educational professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Skillman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for independent schools and enrollment professionals, providing access to tools, resources, professional development, and community.
2. Assessment Testing Services: Fees for SSAT registration and scheduling, practice tests, and related testing materials.
3. Conference and Events: Registration fees for Annual Conference, pre-conference workshops (ATI, ADI, FLI), and regional events.
4. Application Processing: Fees for Standard Application Online processing and related admission services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

EMA delivers a suite of enrollment management products and services for K-12 independent schools, anchored by the SSAT admissions assessment, the Character Skills Snapshot non-cognitive assessment, the Standard Application Online (SAO) common application, the Student Prospect List recruitment database, data dashboards, and the Annual Conference. These tools are packaged within an annual membership that also includes professional development programs, community forums, and The Yield magazine, supporting schools from initial family inquiry through enrollment decision.

Product overview

The Enrollment Management Association (EMA), now operating as E3n following the merger with Educational Records Bureau (ERB), offers a unified platform of enrollment management products and services for independent schools. The core product portfolio centers on admissions assessments (SSAT since 1957 and Character Skills Snapshot), application processing (Standard Application Online), and student recruitment tools (Student Prospect List, Admission.org Search, Open Seat List). These tools are complemented by professional development programs, the annual conference, data dashboards, and The Yield Magazine. The combined entity brings nearly 170 years of expertise to provide schools with an integrated view of student data from initial inquiry through graduation, removing barriers between enrollment and academic functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SSAT: The gold standard for secondary school admission testing since 1957.
• Character Skills Snapshot
• Standard Application Online (SAO)
• Student Prospect List
• Admission.org
• The Yield Magazine
• E3n

Products and services

• SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) The gold-standard standardized assessment for secondary school admissions, used by independent schools worldwide since 1957 to inform admissions decisions.
• Character Skills Snapshot

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million students served with services during Heather Hoerle's tenure (2011-2025)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Educational Records Bureau (ERB)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026ERB and EMA completed their merger in March 2026, officially creating E3n (a nonprofit organization serving independent schools). The combined entity brings together nearly 170 years of expertise and continues offering key admissions assessments including the ISEE and SSAT, along with enrollment tools, conferences, and professional development resources.
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMA has built rich partnerships with NAIS, ensuring strong connections between national flagship associations. This partnership supports advocacy and professional development for independent school leaders.
• National Business Officers Association (NBOA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMA has established partnerships with NBOA, creating strong connections between national associations serving independent schools. This relationship supports financial and business leadership in the independent school community.
• Korn Ferry InternationalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEMA partnered with Korn Ferry International executive search firm to lead the CEO succession search following Heather Hoerle's retirement announcement. Contact: Becky Graham at [email protected].

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ravenna Solutions: Ravenna is a K-12 admissions and enrollment management platform used by independent schools to manage inquiries, applications, and enrollment workflows. Directly comparable to EMA's SAO and enrollment toolkit offerings for the same customer base.
• SchoolAdmin (by Finalsite): SchoolAdmin is an enrollment management CRM and admissions platform built specifically for K-12 independent and private schools. Competes directly with EMA's SAO and student prospect list products in the independent school admissions market.
• OpenApply (Faria Education Group): OpenApply is a school admissions platform serving international and independent K-12 schools with online application management. Closely comparable to EMA's SAO and international recruitment offerings, especially for international schools.
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS): NAIS is the flagship membership association for U.S. independent schools, offering advocacy, research, and professional development. Directly comparable membership model and customer base to EMA, and an existing strategic partner.
• NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling): NACAC is a membership association for college admission counseling professionals with similar professional development, conference, and standards-setting functions. Comparable membership-driven GTM and event-centric model to EMA.
• IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association): IECA is a professional association for independent educational consultants serving families navigating K-12 and college admissions. Comparable professional membership model and customer overlap with EMA's enrollment management professional segment.
• National Business Officers Association (NBOA): NBOA is a membership association serving business officers and operational leaders at independent schools. Comparable nonprofit membership model and customer base to EMA, and an existing strategic partner serving the same schools.

Broad incumbents

• Blackbaud: Blackbaud provides broad school management, fundraising, and admissions software solutions to independent and private K-12 schools. Its enrollment management suite overlaps with EMA's tools but as part of a much wider K-12 administration portfolio.
• FACTS (FACTS/RenWeb): FACTS provides K-12 school administration platforms including admissions, enrollment, tuition management, and SIS functionality for independent and faith-based schools. Overlaps with EMA's enrollment toolkit but serves a broader school operations footprint.
• College Board: College Board administers the SAT and PSAT standardized assessments and operates a higher-ed admissions ecosystem. Comparable standardized testing operations to EMA's SSAT but at significantly larger scale and serving a different education segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-enrollment-management-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Enrollment Management Association