A College Board study shows that the most effective recruitment mailings go first class, are direct, thorough and spirited, consistent in tone and genuinely sympathetic to student concerns. Gimmicky presentations, exaggerated claims, and emphasis on recreational features should be avoided. (Author/LBH)

Although college trustees have traditionally had limited interest in institutional financial aid policy, they should increase their awareness in this area. As competition for students intensifies and federal and state aid policies change, governing boards must realign policies with institutional mission. Merit awards are used increasingly to…

A marketing plan from the Young Presidents' Organization Task Force is offered: define the market; identify the target student; clarify the college selection process; assess the competition; define the college in terms of market needs; develop a recruiting strategy; develop objectives for the year; spell out the tactics; and manage for results.…

Attitudes about college marketing have hindered its progress. It is an informative process with strong feedback, including such elements as information gathering, travel, development of a marketing or public relations plan, organizational communication, institutional adaptation to the current market, and administrator input. (MSE)

The negative side of academic scholarships, often considered a form of healthy collegiate recruiting, is that they are usually in the form of discounts in student costs, affecting cost in most areas of college expenditure, including faculty salaries, and causing institutions to have operating deficits. (MSE)

Buying students with academic scholarships is self-defeating. It is unfair to students paying full price, unjust awards undermine reputation, competition can spiral, students are counseled to choose schools for aid alone, and parents are offended when scholarships are not offered and when their "scholarship" students get average grades. (MSE)

The experiences of a black woman trustee for the University of Illinois are described. Public institutions of higher education are discovering that their viability during the next few decades could rely heavily on attracting and nurturing minority students. (MLW)

Marketing of higher education does not have to include gimmicks, and promotion is only one segment of such a program. Marketing means understanding the institution's strengths and weaknesses, determining the kinds of students it can best serve, and deciding where these students can be found. (Author/JMD)

Defining the college or university in terms of a shared vision of what distinguishes it from others can help unite constituencies and build a more effective student recruitment campaign. During declining enrollments, such unity of purpose can be crucial to institutional survival. (Author/MSE)

Problems of collegiate athletics are identified: failure to prepare athletes for employment, underfinancing of women's sports, and inadequate athletic recreation for many students. A monitoring system on recruiting, financial aid, academic eligibility is suggested along with institutional cooperation to reduce the competitive pressure. (Author/MLW)

Channeling the energy of volunteer boards of parents and community members can produce unexpected dividends. At Alma College (Michigan), a parent board raises $250,000 annually and helps recruit new students. A formal and communicative relationship between advisory board and governing board is essential for effective operation. (Author/MSE)

Ten marketing concepts to consider are discussed including: assigning a protagonist, understanding of institutional mission, testing purpose against constituencies, planning effectiveness, positioning, politics, prioritizing, promotion and publicity, choosing representatives with a sense of passion, and performance or delivery of promised…

There are a variety of ways in which governing boards and board members can help create opportunities for successful enrollment management, through institutional policy, personal action, or support of faculty efforts. (MSE)

College athlete recruiting, admissions, athletes' student life and education, health and financial aid policies, athletic conferences, budgets and revenues, review and control--key questions that trustees should be asking themselves about the state of athletics at their institutions--are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Changes occuring in the student body of small private liberal arts colleges between 1975 and 1983 include shifts in college choice factors, the perceived importance of the school in getting a job after graduation, and cost considerations. Colleges must carefully develop new markets before crises occur. (MSE)