FROM: Interim President Joseph S. Wood
Newsletter #7: Recruitment
October 25, 2007
Dear Colleagues:
Yes, we have tough work in front of us to make short-term cuts in expenditures, but it’s important that we not lose sight of the investments we’re making to generate new revenues and help transform us into a stronger institution.
Recruitment, retention and marketing are the three targeted areas for strategic investments. All three are integrally linked. Earlier this month, I addressed retention (http://www.usm.maine.edu/mcr/update/). Today, I want to update you on our recruitment efforts.
Our fall 2007 numbers have been finalized, and there are bright spots. Our total headcount is down just a fraction, 10,453 this year compared to 10,478 in 2006. Graduate headcount is up, 2,066 from 1,927, while total undergrad headcount is down, 8,133 from 8,287 in 2006. More important, however, is that our total full-time enrollment is at a record 5,996, compared to 5,972 last year. (Remember our full-time enrollment has increased during nine of the last 10 years.)
What this says to me is that we have to push harder to retain those students we have, while being even more strategic about recruiting new students.
To that end, we have formed an Enrollment Council to recommend short and long-term enrollment goals, which will be aligned with our institutional priorities and resources. As part of that planning effort, a Tuition and Pricing Ad Hoc Committee has been established to recommend tuition levels, pricing strategy and financial aid investments.
That’s important work but our financial situation dictates that we continue to ramp up student recruitment efforts while engaged in this longer range planning. Our admission staffs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels are doing just that.
With our new director of undergraduate admission, Scott Steinberg, on board, we are on track to visit more high schools (up four percent over last year, with the same number of staff), and to realize a 16 percent increase in visits with prospective transfers.
Speaking of transfers, there has been a lot of discussion about attracting additional transfers from the Community Colleges. Active articulation agreements between the Universities and Community Colleges exist. (Check them out at the link on http://www.usm.maine.edu/admit/transfer.html.) We need to do a better job of leveraging those agreements.
To accomplish that we’re sharing a position with Southern Maine Community College to promote faculty-to-faculty relationships and to better align curricula. We also have a transfer advisor at the Community Colleges numerous times during the year. In addition, USM has taken the lead role for the System in managing AdvantageU, the program that guarantees successful graduates from the Community Colleges’ Associate in Arts in Liberal Studies admission to any institution in the University of Maine System.
Provost Mark Lapping and Vice President of Enrollment Management Rosa Redonnett are visiting five of the Community Colleges to learn firsthand what obstacles, if any, exist in their students’ transfer to and success at USM. We’ll also be using market research to get at this issue.
On the graduate admission front, there are significant increases in visits to campuses throughout Maine and northern New England. Staffs at the undergraduate and graduate levels also are developing a joint recruiting plan that reaches out to area businesses.
It’s also worth noting that at the end of November, we will be opening a Portland office for undergrad admission in the Abromson Community Education Center. (Details to follow.) This should provide a boost to our efforts to showcase the Portland campus.
Plans also are under way to increase and improve our communications with prospective students. More on this in a future Moving Forward, when I update you on marketing.
Finally, I want to commend and thank the admission staff, along with many other faculty and staff members, who participated in last Sunday’s very successful Open House for prospective students. We attracted a record 1,016 prospective students and their family members. I’m equally excited and energized by the fact that for the first time we had 100 percent participation from representatives of schools, colleges and departments who were invited.
The positive feedback from attendees speaks volumes as to why successful student recruitment depends on the work of many, not just the admission staff. That work is even more important at a time when we’re competing for fewer full-time students in an increasingly competitive market.
Sincerely,
Joe
For more information, please click on http://www.usm.maine.edu/mcr/update This site includes the breakfast speech; the latest digest of ideas e-mailed to movingforward@usm.maine.edu; our work plan; and notes from the recent series of town meetings.
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