Three R’s of Enrollment: Reaching, recruiting, retaining students

Fresh approaches are needed to catch, and keep, the eye of Generation Next.

Even for a group raised to multitask, recruiting students in the 2000s comes with a host of challenges, ranging from competition from other campuses to competition for attention posed by YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and the like.

In the last few years, Sac State has tried a variety of new techniques—and some tried and true ones—to attract and keep students. Multimedia, solid advising and good old customer service are all part of the strategy being deployed to get more students to come to Sac State and to get them to graduate once they get here.

Lori Varlotta, vice president for Student Affairs, says that enrollment at any campus is tied to both recruitment and retention.

“To maintain a successful enrollment management program, a campus must admit students who have the potential to succeed, provide academic support systems for those who need a little assistance, and offer quality programs that prompt students to get involved in the campus,” she says. “This type of continuity serves both the student and the campus.”

Getting them interested

But you can’t keep a student that you can’t attract. As part of a broad effort to draw today’s students, Student Affairs has created an outreach admissions counselor network called the Dream Team.

This vibrant group of recent graduates travels to high schools and community colleges around the state spreading the gospel of Sac State.

“Our primary responsibility is to talk to high school students to get them excited about Sac State,” says Dream Teamer Jasmine Murphy, whose territory includes 20 local schools ranging from Yuba City to El Dorado County. “We let them know about the admissions process not only at Sac State but for all 23 CSUs.”

Kylie Webb, who is responsible for 50 Northern California high schools, including ones in the East Bay, Napa, Sonoma and San Jose, says, “Fall is the big recruitment push. In spring we do a follow up with the ones who’ve applied to tell them the next steps in the process. And if they haven’t been admitted, we help them figure out what is missing.”

Both see the program as already having an impact.

“Students are excited to see us,” Murphy says. “I think the fact that we’re young makes them really receptive.” “We’re building the name of Sac State, and it really is becoming a destination campus,” Webb says.

Much of the contact at the high schools is pretty traditional: set up a table, meet with students and talk with guidance counselors. But this semester the admissions counselors got a new tool, a high-tech way to reach a generation that relies on the Internet for both information and entertainment.

The Voluntary System of Accountability, or VSA, website began as a way for universities to answer calls from legislators for accountability with standardized information about enrollment, graduation dates and financial aid.

Varlotta, who sits on the national task force, saw Sac State’s VSA site as an opportunity to address the campus’ recruitment needs.

“We’ve created a whole new website that supports the VSA,” Varlotta says. “It is a multimedia one that includes new text, YouTube-like video clips and photos. It’s lively, active and contemporary.”

The website—www.csus.edu/checkusout —uses catchy headlines that young people can relate to like “Fun” and “Need Money.”

Its design, provided by the University Public Affairs Office, carries Sac State’s “urban campus” feel. The information was inspired by members of the target audience.

“We decided, ‘Why not find out what our prospective students want to know and put together information in a style that they are more used to seeing on the web,’” says Ed Mills, associate vice president for Student Affairs. Mills conducted focus groups at two area high schools, asking students what questions they would ask on their first day on campus.

The results were a little surprising. They asked “Does the bell ring between classes?” and “What is there to do besides study?” They didn’t ask questions asked by parents, such as how to pay for college.

“It was a walk into their world,” Mills says. “Many were thinking about college for the first time.”

Another way the campus is reaching out to potential students is by participating in the CSU system’s Super Sunday program.

On Super Sunday, California State University officials speak during Sunday services at traditionally African American churches around the state. In the spring, President Alexander Gonzalez addressed the congregation at Saint Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento.

“Sac State has a long and cherished connection with the region, and outreach events such as Super Sunday help us fulfill our mission of providing opportunities for everyone who wants to obtain a college education,” Gonzalez says. “The people I meet during these events are passionate about the future of their communities, so we want them to help us tell potential students that they can succeed right here at Sac State.”

Getting them in

It’s one thing to get students interested, but how do you get them to enroll? One way Sac State is trying is by being more responsive more quickly.

With data showing that students are likely to enroll at one of the first universities that sends an acceptance, Varlotta says it’s essential to get applications processed and word to students as quickly as possible. “Our goal is to review applications within a couple of weeks of receipt and then to notify the applicants shortly thereafter.”

To make sure students stay interested, those who are not qualified for admission get a personal letter telling them what they need to do to be admitted at a later date. Rather than a “rejection letter,” it’s “you’re not quite ready yet.”

Getting them to stay

The retention part of the equation also got a closer look. National data indicates that one of the highest predictors of student success is good advising, so Sac State has instituted a mandatory three-stage advisement process, the only CSU campus to do so. New students see an advisor at orientation, in the fall and again in the spring.

“You can’t take it for granted that students know how to navigate the complex world of higher education. Our advisors provide new students with basic information that gets them oriented and keeps them on track,” Varlotta says.

The program has been so successful that advisors see about 700 students a week during peak times. “That’s exactly what we want,” Mills says. “If we can instill in them that this is a place they can come for help, the hypothesis is that they are more likely to seek help than walk away.”

The advisement they receive is not just course-specific, says Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph Sheley. “The new advising policy for campus focuses on developmental advising, not just checking off boxes. We are paying a lot more attention to needs of individual students.”

Varlotta says, “We’re teaching them to ask questions about their own values, their work ethic, their interests. Then we use that foundation to inform their choice of classes, major and career.”

One of the ironies is that as effective as individualized advisement can be, it can make students feel uncomfortable.

“This group of students is more ‘one-onone disconnected’ than previous groups. They are so used to being online or texting, that going into a one-on-one meeting isn’t as natural for them,” Mills says.

“But personal interaction is key for students to feel comfortable in a new environment.”

Academic Affairs and Student Affairs are also working on an early alert system to identify and help students, especially second-year students in danger of being put on academic probation.

“Second-year students can get caught in the middle,” Mills says. “If students come into their second year on probation, or post a bad third semester, they are in big trouble,” Sheley says. Keeping them happy

Student Affairs has also gone back to the basics to enhance customer service. The telephone tree in Admissions, Financial Aid and the Registrar’s Office has been restructured to be more user-friendly. And they have made a commitment to make contact with unhappy students.

“If we get calls from dissatisfied students, we get back to them within a 24-hour period to let them know that we are looking into their question or issue,” Varlotta says.

“After all, students do have a choice of colleges,” Mills says. “Being completely committed to student success means that we strive to provide the best service we can to all our students.”