There are two keys to effective student recruitment: creativity in seeking applicants and mobilization of institutional support for the admissions program. To survive the 1980s unscathed, the small college must have a talented admissions director and a president who can marshall the college's resources behind the admissions program. (MSE)

Many small liberal arts colleges nationwide are facing unprecedented challenges in finances and demographics. Unless they have name recognition, a sizeable endowment, or especially strong academic offerings, most struggle to attract students from outside their regions. To survive, colleges have been urged to expand adult education and distance…

College marketing is seen as a comprehensive approach to college management and resource generation that focuses on service and flexibility. Key concepts of college marketing are explained; and ways that an advancement officer can apply simple marketing practices to strengthen the college are described. (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)

Many small private colleges are gaining in enrollments because of aggressive marketing tactics, more long-term planning, and innovative educational programs designed to appeal to nontraditional students. (MSE)

A small liberal arts college's program of home visits for recruitment and admissions was evaluated. Forty students and several parents receiving home visits were classified by grades and eventual enrollment in the college, then surveyed. Results indicate the visits were the reason most applied. However, other factors were more strongly related to…

Strategies used by small liberal arts colleges to maintain adequate enrollment levels were assessed, with attention to colleges that were classified as private liberal arts II colleges by the Carnegie Commission. The baccalaureate degree was the highest degree offered by the colleges in programs in the arts and sciences and in teacher preparation.…

This handbook was designed to offer a low-cost, local, and practical approach to working with re-entry women college students. It is intended for use by staff in small colleges (under 1,000 students) where women's centers and on-campus child care are rare and where the needs of re-entry students have not been adequately addressed. The information…

A survey of one college's freshman and transfer students was used to test a five-component model of college choice behavior. It looked at the relationships between students' perceived decision influences (recruitment strategies) and student gender, residency status, and religious affiliation. (MSE)

Students in the Southwest Baptist University's speech and debate program actively participate in recruiting and contribute to the small college's culture. While scholarship on peer recruitment is scarce, the literature suggests two foundational principles that can serve as guides: colleges and universities must be willing to develop personal…

Solutions to specific problems associated with intercollegiate athletics, primarily men's spectator sports and particularly football, are proposed in order to enhance the values of the sports programs at small colleges. After a historical summary of recurrent problems, recent proposals are noted. It is argued that most proposals for dealing with…

Misconceptions regarding the work of college admissions officers and the role of admissions in expanding access to education prompted this review of applied research in college admissions. Focus is on two areas of research and evaluation: college staff visits to schools and college choice decisions made by applicants who were offered admission.…

A former high school counselor and college basketball referee who has visited many colleges has transformed this experience into a career as consultant to high school guidance counselors. He often favors out-of-the-way liberal arts colleges, and is known for being student-oriented in his commentaries. College recruitment and admissions officers…

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)

A report examining the conditions facing Williams College in the 1980s is excerpted. The committee was to emphasize strategies to serve two major institutional goals: maintaining a large pool of well-qualified applicants, and maintaining a faculty that is talented, well compensated and professionally committed. (MLW)