University Business - September 2010 - (Page 38)

Approaching Admissions Today and off campus, responding to e-mail queries and phone calls, and sending out good old-fashioned letters. We don’t believe that some of the crowding onto Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking outlets is likely to have much of an impact on admissions results, especially compared to the work of finding and creating, and then responding to, appropriate admissions audiences for your institution. The latter efforts can require serious data gathering and analysis on the front end, evaluating and understanding your institution’s unique mission and position in the educational landscape, and, over the long-term, careful relationship building in key communities that will be the source of your future matriculants. Reconsider the Waiting List Finally, a plea for ratcheting down one of the most insidious elements of the current admissions process and turning toward a more productive approach. Instead of creating massive waiting lists each year with the expectation of accepting a limited number, if any, at the end of the process, why not offer more of the applicants you were impressed by the opportunity to enroll in January or the following fall? We have found that those students with such an option have appreciated this offer and have, in time, understood what a unique advantage they have had to work, travel, pursue special interests, and mature. We suspect that the on-time graduation rate is statistically higher for this cohort of enrolled undergraduates. We’d love to see some data from institutions such as Harvard, Cornell, Hamilton College (N.Y.), Middlebury College (Vt.), Colby College (Maine), and others that have engaged in this practice. For those who are highly unlikely to be offered a spot from the waiting list in any event, please deny them outright. They will appreciate it more in many cases, and this will move the admissions process to completion more quickly. Focus on Families It’s our hope that colleges will not only take institutional priorities into account when considering their admissions goals and tactics, but also will focus on what is best for students and their families. In our experience, such an emphasis will more than pay off, so to speak, in terms of positive long-term outcomes for colleges. Howard and Matthew Greene are independent education consultants. To contact them, visit www.greenesguides.com. universitybusiness.com down on the ever rising number of inappropriate student applications, and in the long run save on your office budget. Such productive interaction is challenged by the turnover in both high school counseling and college admission offices, let alone the lack of adequate counseling in many public high schools in the first place. Many students are being served instead, or additionally, by independent counselors or third-party non-profit groups with a variety of missions to support college access and success. These contacts can be the source of other crucial long-term relationships. Be Career-Track Conscious We believe that the more colleges promote the idea of admissions work as a long-term career track, the better they will be able to attract and retain talented individuals who will build alliances with their school and non-school counterparts. Many admissions officers begin their careers as recent graduates who find a place where they can continue working at their alma mater. They may be “people people,” with backgrounds in communication, English, psychology, business, marketing, or any number of fields. The admissions career requires a mix of many such disciplines, from the sales and human resources interviewing tasks of traveling the world to see many high schools, to the crunching of numbers, forecasts, and enrollment management models, to the writing of admissions materials in print and online, and the reading and interpretation of applications and essays. It’s not an easy job, especially as application numbers have jumped in recent years, and many admissions offices have cut staff or frozen hiring in the wake of the economic downturn and its ensuing budget constraints. We have watched as attendance at educational and association conferences has declined in many instances as colleges have cut support for professional development and networking. We encourage every admission office to take a close look at its budget and raise questions about where the money is being spent and to what effect: Where, when, and why is admissions travel taking place? Are more applications better, or are better applications worth more? As the Tip O’Neill adage has it, all politics are local. So is the choice of the right college and the admissions process for the several million young men and women each year who have to decide what their educational future will be and where it will take place. The more personal the process as suggested here, the more likely there will be a win-win result. This holds true for accessibility in terms of interviewing on 38 | September 2010 http://www.greenesguides.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2010

University Business - September 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
Sense of Place
Internet Technology
Approaching Admissions Today
Three to Degree
Have College Brands Delivered on Their Promise?
Honoring Efficiency
EduComm 2010 Roundup
View from the Summit
Independent Outlook
What's New
End Note

University Business - September 2010