February, 2008

Why the Admissions Process Should Include an Honest Conversation about Limitations of Services
By Lee Burdette Williams
In our efforts to attract the strongest applicants to our campuses, we typically tout the various services that will be available to them when they are enrolled. But sometimes, an honest conversation with prospective students and their parents about what services we don’t have is even more important in setting the stage for academic success. In particular, we need to be very careful in managing the expectations they may have about the extent of the counseling and mental health services that we can provide.

Recruitment & Retention - February, 2008 - Full Issue pdf
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An Admissions Office’s Guide to Transition Programs
One of the trends in enrollment management that we are tracking is the increasing number of “transition programs” that college admissions officers need to be aware of. This chart summarizes four programs that are designed to help high school students enter postsecondary institutions.

Recruitment Renovation: How to Enroll Your Fair Share
By Lisa Orrell
Millennials are forcing college recruiters to think outside the box, rather than simply rely on the old strategy of showing up to a recruitment event with a few brochures and a pop-up sign. If your recruitment efforts don’t include a solid technology strategy, you’re missing out on reaching a lot of potential candidates.

Why Admissions Offices Should Be Interested in Early College High Schools: An Interview with Michael B. Webb
We asked Michael B. Webb, Ed.D., associate vice president of the Early College High School Initiative, to tell us about his program.

An Insider’s View on Early College High Schools: An Interview with Sean Callaway
For another take on this new initiative, we spoke with Sean Callaway, director of College Placement and Internships at Pace University’s Center for Urban Education.

Value-Added Testing is Back! Why You Should Be Skeptical and What Alternatives You Should Consider
Value-added testing is back. The Spellings commission and others who would like to see colleges "become more accountable" support the idea of testing college freshmen and seniors to measure how much they learn during their college years.

The Hierarchy of Student Decision Making
By Neal Raisman
Over the past two years, we have interviewed 618 students to better understand what they seek from going to college. We also sought to learn what motivates them to make their decisions to choose a school or to leave it.