Erika Orris is the Senior Vice President of Operations for APUS, where she is responsible for several support services outside the classroom, including the Student Support Center, Admissions, Academic Advising, Financial Aid Advising, the Military Assistance Team, and Student and Alumni Services. Ms. Orris is a veteran administrator with over 30 years of experience in marketing and enrollment management.
Since joining APUS in October 2022, Ms. Orris has focused on enhancing the student experience by launching initiatives such as straight-line degree plans for students; an improved net price calculator that suits non-traditional students; and consultative conversations with graduation date goals for admissions and academic advising. She has also implemented a more efficient transfer process and a new AI-driven career services platform called Career Link.
Previously, Ms. Orris was the Executive Vice President of ThriveDX, one of the fastest-growing Bootcamp companies in the United States. There, she implemented a scalable structure to improve the student journey.
Prior to that, Ms. Orris was the Chief Enrollment and Marketing Officer for the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) where she oversaw a complete rebranding of the institution (from UMUC to UMGC). There, she helped transform UMGC into a national institution, plus established the Student Success Coach program.
Ms. Orris was also vice president at DeVry University, and earlier in her career she served as President of a start-up branch school.
Ms. Orris earned her MBA from UMGC and received her B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.