Changing populations will raise new issues for higher education student recruitment. Some changes include population sizes, characteristics, geography, and enrollment patterns. Steps to take include redefine the problem, make more out of less, improve student distribution, learn from the past, understand limitations, and recognize that each…

Strategies to recruit Hispanic students at Vassar College, California Lutheran University, and Arizona State University are described. Some suggestions include find out what current students think so you'll know your strengths, develop ongoing relationships with high schools with significant Hispanic populations, work with families, etc. (MLW)

College and university initiatives to recruit students through the Internet are described. Issues discussed include the kind and quality of information made available, different means of accessing it, and responding to user requests. Techniques for publishing on the World Wide Web and reaching the appropriate Internet audience are offered. (MSE)

Parents can offer a college time, loyalty, and money. Leading roles currently played by parents in campus programs include recruiter, career counselor, political supporter, and fundraiser. Keeping track of parents, organizing and orienting them as volunteers, funding the programs, and assessing the efforts' effectiveness are important elements.…

College campus "tours" offered online have evolved to include 360-degree views, live video, animation, talking tour guides, interactive maps with photographic links, and detailed information about buildings, departments, and programs. Proponents feel they should enhance, not replace, real tours. The synergy between the virtual tour and…

An informal statewide coalition of institutions from Missouri, Missourians for Higher Education (MHE), undertook a 2-year, $250,000 public information campaign. MHE focused on four goals: to elevate state support of higher education; to increase gifts from private sources; to develop new markets for Missouri's institutions; and to stimulate…

One of the most effective ways to evaluate student recruitment campaigns is by conducting research among admitted applicants. Effective planning begins with obtaining three types of knowledge: accurate self-knowledge; sound understanding of the competition; and understanding of the marketplace in which the institution operates. (MLW)

Rapid turnover is posing a threat to fund-raising efforts. Suggestions on how to find a more systematic way to reduce it are provided including: define needs of the institution, define type of person needed, prepare the job description, match professional backgrounds, and characterize the ideal person. (MLW)

Nontraditional students are identified as evening students, older adults, part-time students, blue-collar workers, the handicapped, etc. Two reasons to attract nontraditional students are money and mission. The challenge is to develop the unreached and not-yet-served students. (MLW)

A study to provide some measurable benchmarks of the advancement process at small colleges is described. Data are presented on budgets, spending per function, professional staff, chief advancement officer, support staff, recruitment costs, fund-raising revenues and costs, and developing institutions. (MLW)

When students choose a college on the basis of underlying values--rather than pretty publications--they get what they bought into. These are the students who are the ones who stay, succeed and ultimately become devoted and generous alumni. To recruit students, institutions must identify and communicate their values. (MLW)

To recruit from the multicultural and lucrative international student market, colleges and universities are advised to develop a strong marketing plan; develop publications tailored to this population; and make a personal visit to targeted countries. (MSE)

As the shrinking pool of applicants forces colleges to adapt new approaches to recruiting, media campaigns are emerging as an effective way to send key messages to target audiences. Media relations can lend credibility (news coverage is considered more credible than advertising); save money; reach targeted areas; and communicate key themes. (MLW)

Designing publications to recruit graduate students is a far different task from designing materials for undergraduates. Syracuse University has found three principles helpful: relying on the expertise of the institution's academic units; providing useful information, not a sales pitch; and using desktop publishing to produce targeted…

For college admissions and publications officers, a focus group of college-bound high school students can offer quick, anecdotal information about the general effectiveness of recruitment materials as well as about specific messages, themes, or design approaches. The insights gained by one publications specialist through the use of focus groups…