June 15, 2026

Susan White is six months into her new position as registrar, a multifaceted role that includes managing and protecting all EMCC institutional records.

“It’s been busy,” said White, who worked for five years as an academic advisor on EMCC’s Scooba campus prior to her promotion.

The scope of records maintained by the Registrar’s Office is extensive and includes maintaining all EMCC student transcripts and evaluating incoming transfer students’ transcripts to determine eligible credits.

“We also do degree verifications for employers through the National Student Clearinghouse,” White said. “I’m also responsible for making sure all students have met their graduation requirements, assist with planning graduations and coordinate the ordering of regalia and diploma covers.”

Other duties include maintaining records of student withdrawals, changes of majors and grades.

In addition to data entry, the Registrar’s Office is responsible for helping coordinate the college’s academic calendar and inputting information found in Colleague UI, EMCC’s web-based enterprise resource planning software.

“That is a big job,” White said. “If that isn’t set up correctly then our billing is not accurate, and financial aid could be impacted as well.”

White is also responsible for ensuring the college meets mandates under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

“We are responsible for FERPA compliance and training faculty and staff on the federal guidelines,” White said.

White is half of a two-person team that includes Associate Registrar Karen Briggs, a longtime employee in the Registrar’s Office.

“Karen has been a great asset,” White said. “I have learned a lot from her. I also had the opportunity to work with Melinda Sciple, our former registrar, who came back and trained with me for a couple of months. That was a big help.”

Prior to working for EMCC, White was a school counselor for Clarkdale High School in Lauderdale County, where her duties were like those in her current position as registrar.

“I was responsible for keeping all the cumulative records for students, transferring those records to different high schools when students would transfer, monitoring graduation requirements and taking care of transcripts,” White said.

She served in that position for five years and previously taught English at Clarkdale Middle School.

A Southeast Lauderdale High School graduate, White earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree at Mississippi State University. White and her husband, Scott, an engineer with Flint Hills Resources, have two children, Cortney, and a son, Will.

Cortney is an EMCC graduate who attended school on EMCC’s Scooba campus where she was a member of the Mighty Lion Band. She earned a bachelor's degree from MSU, as well as a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from the same institution.

Will earned a degree in industrial engineering from MSU and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in English at the University of Alabama, with plans to apply for a doctoral program to eventually become an English professor.

“When our daughter was in band at EMCC, my husband and I would come up for the ballgames and I remember telling him that I could see myself working here,” White said.