In This Issue Current Issue Archives

February 2005

Recruitment and Retention February 2005 full issue PDF
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Recruiting Men: Finding the Right Gender Balance
When Robert Massa, vice president of enrollment and college relations at Dickinson College, arrived at the Pennsylvania campus in 1999, the gender split was 64 percent women and 36 percent men. Today, the number of men at Dickinson has risen to 45 percent, the national average. How did the private, liberal arts college do it?

Mental Health Means Academic Health: An Interview with Richard Kadison
Campus mental health services play a key role in student academic success, says Richard Kadison, director of Harvard University’s mental health service. That role is increasing as today’s students face a “multitude” of psychological challenges that previous generations didn’t have to confront, Kadison and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo assert in their recent book College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It. The book details the “steady and alarming rise” in student mental health problems that have overwhelmed many campus counseling centers. Written for parents and students as well as college counselors and administrators, it also advises families to compare campuses’ mental health services when choosing a college.

Marketing to Sophomores in a 36-Month Plan
In just five years, marketing to prospective students has changed dramatically. Students are starting their college search earlier, and many students have their “final choice” list drawn up by the fall of their senior year, if not sooner. Information gathered on PLAN and PSAT test-takers suggests that more than 40 percent of college-bound high school students are in the market for their college before their junior years. That means that the recruitment cycle, once 15 to 18 months long, is now up to 36 months long.

New Research
High School Transcript Study: GPAs on the Rise; Changes in Persistence and Degree Completion; AP Courses as Predictors of College Success; Both U.S., Canada Face Affordability Challenges

Newswire
Schools Get Tougher on Applicant Backgrounds; Students Donate Application Fees; FERPA, not HIPAA

Follow-Up
No Damages in Affirmative Action Case; Judge OKs Male Enrollment

Resources
Consistent, Reliable Application Review; Assessment and Retention Conference; Trends in College Pricing; Graduate Admissions Conference