August 2004

August 2004 Recruitment & Retention in Higher Education full issue in PDF format

The Best Retention Strategy: Providing a Meaningful Education
The primary reason why students persist is because they find their educations meaningful, says Wendy Powers, director of student retention at West Virginia State University. Financial and personal considerations do come into play, but students’ connections with their institutions—particularly the faculty—matter most in student retention. Recruitment & Retention in Higher Education recently spoke with her about how and why department chairs, academic deans, and individual faculty members can and should make student retention a priority.

Software Developer Pilots Holistic Review Alternative
An assistant professor of computer science and software engineering at Auburn University in Alabama has created a tool for admissions offices he calls Applications Quest. He hopes the software will provide a less-costly alternative to holistic review and be able to survive U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny.

Nine Mistakes in Marketing Learning Communities
The details of marketing a learning community to students and faculty depend on campus culture and the availability of marketing resources among other factors, say Jacque Mott, associate professor of interior design at William Rainey Harper College, and Sylys Knackstedt of The Evergreen State College. There are some common pitfalls to avoid, however.

Counselor Perks -- Where Should Campuses Draw the Line?
A June 8 New York Times article takes a look at what some campuses, mostly small, private institutions, offer high school guidance counselors who visit to learn more about the schools. The list of perks includes airfare to campus, luxury hotel rooms, golfing, a trip to the race track (with $50), a thank-you event held in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and time in a flight simulator.

Personal Touch Counts in Boosting Graduation Rates
A multifaceted effort helped Louisiana Tech boost a 35 percent six-year graduation rate to 55 percent — nearly 10 percentage points higher than the median rate among peer institutions — in just five years. Pamela Ford, Tech’s dean of enrollment management, gives part of the credit for Tech’s increased rates to the 1992 advent of selective admissions and subsequent increases in admissions standards. But that doesn’t account for all of the increase, she said.

Newswire
Entrepreneurship Programs Expand; Release of Non-Directory Student Information; Affirmative Action Update; Suit Claims Student Data Sold Without Consent; Applications Required; Maryland Merit Scholarship; New England Greek Revivial; Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants; September SEVIS Fee Start Likely; Income and Attendance Rates

Resources
Steal These Marketing Ideas; Contract Law and Student Issues; Living-Learning Programs and Residential Colleges; Legal Issues in Higher Education; Essays on Diversity Strategies; Higher Education Quotations; Higher Education Leaders of Color; Faculty Advising; Distance Learning, Reconsidered; Student Migration to Community Colleges