Institutional, Chair Challenges in Recruiting Faculty in STEM Disciplines
For many years, those in higher education have been hearing about the aging of our faculty members and the new hiring that should take place, if resources allow, to replace those who leave. The mass exodus predicted has been blunted to some degree by the end of age-related mandatory retirement and health care issues for faculty whose spouses and children require health insurance coverage. Years of poor salary increments and low investment yields, which have resulted in slow growth in retirement accounts, have made it difficult, from an economic perspective, for some faculty to retire on time. Although all of this together has reduced the bolus of retirements predicted, there are vacancies occurring that need to be filled.
5 Reasons to Keep Loving Your Job in Admissions
In 2000 I wrote an article for the Journal of College Admissions called “Admissions: The Job You Keep.” It was a tribute to the difference my admissions counselor made when I was choosing a college in the early 1990s and a reflection on everything I appreciated about the admissions profession after three years in the field. In the article, I told the story of how I helped advocate for an applicant in a way that took me full circle back to my own college search experience.
Tailoring the Admissions Experience
I remember that when I started my first job as an admissions counselor, one of the interview questions was, “Do you see the role of admissions counselors more as counseling or as sales?” I had no experience, so I really didn’t know the right answer. Since the word “counselor” was in the title of the position, I imagine I said something about counseling students.
Rise of the Transfer Student
Transfer students were second-class citizens. Although they always had a place at regional public institutions, many private colleges and universities largely ignored them. Admissions offices were built to work with freshmen, and transfer students were messy. They brought credits that were viewed as inferior and that did not fit into the curriculum smoothly. They generated questions about housing. They were also often viewed as backdoor students who were either not competitive enough to gain admission as freshmen or were trying to get around paying regular tuition.
Outreach to Students from Underserved Communities
For a large number of teenagers, the possibility of earning a college degree still seems out of reach due to lack of adequate financial resources, guidance, and support. Each year, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 34.1 percent of high school graduates fail to enroll in college. Many colleges and universities are ramping up their efforts to target students in traditionally underserved communities, particularly following last year’s College Opportunity Summit hosted by the White House.
Attracting Environmentally Conscious Students
Edgewood College’s beautiful wooded campus is situated on Lake Wingra in Madison, Wisconsin, in a mixed-use neighborhood not far from the western edge of the University of Wisconsin engineering campus. The college’s neighbors include middle-income homeowners, university students and other renters, and small businesses and restaurants.
“Madison is a more progressive city, so environmental issues are important to the neighbors,” says Denis Collins, a business professor at Edgewood who teaches business and management ethics.
Internal Perspective on Data Analysis
Positive recruitment efforts lead to tighter retention numbers, and both spheres operate as a couple in a complementary relationship. The institution cannot graduate students without having students. Likewise, schools cannot recruit students without having retained students.
10 Student Recruitment Tips for Department Chairs
Student recruitment is not the exclusive domain of admissions staff. There are many things that department chairs and faculty can do to promote their programs to potential major and minors. In an interview with Academic Leader, Victor Vallo, Jr., chair of the music department at Newberry College, offered the following recruitment techniques at the program level:
What Students Are Looking For In An Institution
One of the most difficult decisions for upper leadership in a university is how to apportion funds for capital improvements and new and ongoing academic programs. Often, the decision comes down to perceptions of what students are looking for in the admission process. However, data about what factors students seek when choosing a college often comes from qualitative reports from the admissions department and perceptions about what leaders expect students and parents to prioritize. For example, many leaders believe that students look for the nicest residence halls, the best meal plans, and easy access to workout facilities when selecting their institution, a perception that might not be true.
