Christine L. Corsello, MS

President and Founder

Christine (Chris) Corsello has worked in higher education for over 30 years and has broad leadership experience in institutional accreditation, program development and accreditation, student affairs, enrollment management, organizational structure and  strategy execution. 

Chris has successfully guided her current institution, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, and past institutions through accreditation, reaffirmation and substantive changes, without findings or recommendations for the past 20 years. Her accreditation expertise lies in academic and student support services, student achievement, administrative organization, educational policies, procedures and practices, financial and physical resources, and safety and security.  She has also served as a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accreditor for 10 years for on-site substantive change and reaffirmation visits, including off-campus sites. Chris prides herself on providing clients with strategies to support compliance for all components of the accreditation process with an unwavering focus on personalized customer service.

Chris’ love of higher education, student affairs in particular, began during her undergraduate years when she worked in residence life while earning her Bachelor of Science in community recreation with a sports emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA. Chris went on to earn a master's degree in counseling with a student personnel emphasis from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and did her doctoral work in higher education policy research and administration at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.

Chris has been the Dean for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in Concord, NC, since 2012. Cabarrus College is an affiliate college of Atrium Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in the country. Chris’ knowledge of and implementation of marketing tactics and recruitment strategies has led the college to unprecedented growth, with record enrollment in the last seven years despite the COVID-19 pandemic. During the last five years alone, the college has seen a 133% increase in applications and a 25% increase in enrollment stage rates (e.g., yield, etc.) without third party assistance. Chris has also led the college through multiple annual financial aid audits with a default rate of less than 1% and no findings. Other accomplishments include establishing a successful student engagement program with programs, services and activities from entry to exit, along with retention and student success services resulting in collegewide undergraduate retention above 80%.

Before joining Cabarrus College, Chris served as the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, as well as the Athletic Director, at the University of Maine Presque Isle (UMPI). Prior to her position at UMPI, Chris spent three years as a private higher education consultant specializing in organizational structure and efficiency and doing executive (vice president and president level) searches for colleges and universities. Other roles included serving as the Dean of Students and Chief Student Affairs Officer at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, MA, as Associate Dean of Students at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, MA, and working in residence life at Stonehill College in Easton, MA, at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, and at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

When she’s not working with students, boosting enrollment, immersed in an accreditation or handling one of her hundreds of other duties, Chris is actively engaged in philanthropic and community service activities, including serving as Board President for 1Can, Inc. (a nonprofit organization committed to addressing food insecurity, a Board member for Cabarrus County Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the North Carolina – National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

In her downtime, Chris enjoys spending time with her wife, Joy, and their West Highland White Terrier, Aspen. Dedicated sports and outdoor enthusiasts, Chris and Joy are avid golfers, and you’ll often find them biking or somewhere in the woods (camping, hiking or fly fishing).