By Travis DeNeal 40

(Editor’s note:This is part one of a four-part series analyzing recruitment and retention policies of the eight SIUC colleges in light of the University’s overall increase in enrollment.

SIUC’s on-campus enrollment increased by 45 students this semester, stopping a decline in enrollment since 1992. This part of the series details the recruitment and retention policies of the two colleges whose enrollment increased the most this semester).

Although the College of Agriculture and the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts turned out a higher percentage increase in enrollment above all colleges this semester, administrators from both colleges say they do not plan to relax recruitment and retention strategies.

College of Agriculture enrollment rose from 870 in fall 1996 to 922 this semester, an increase of 52 students. College of Mass Communications and Media Arts’ enrollment jumped from 932 to 1,020, a gain of 88 students.

Both colleges use similar strategies in recruiting and retaining students by using a more personalized approach.

The College of Agriculture has used the same procedures for recruiting and retaining students successfully for the past 12 years.

Robert Arthur, College of Agriculture associate dean for academic programs, said the college will continue the same approach with some variation.

We basically have the same plan we’ve always used, and every year, except one in the past 12 years, we’ve increased the number of students enrolled in our college, he said.

Arthur said the personal attention his college gives to potential and enrolled students is the biggest factor in recruitment and retention.

We visit about 100 high schools and about 20 community colleges [a year], he said. We write prospective students at least two letters, and after they apply and are accepted, we send them two more letters.

Arthur said the letters show the students that his college cares about the well-being of its students.

Joe Foote, dean of the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts, says his college’s enrollment increase is the result of an intensive recruiting and retaining program in the past year.

The College of Mass Communications had the greatest percentage increase and actual increase in enrollment than all SIUC’s colleges.

The college’s cinema and photography program alone grew by 58 students, which Foote said gave it the highest growth rate of on-campus degree programs.

Now the cinema and photography program’s enrollment may be limited because of overcrowding, he said. The cinema and photography program has more than 200 students being taught by five professors.

Part of the change in his college’s enrollment in the past year, Foote said, was working with last year’s freshman class to encourage participation in Registered Student Organizations.

Our success started early last year with our freshmen, Foote said. We built on that this year.

Both colleges recruit new and transfer students extensively.

Arthur said College of Agriculture representatives visit various Future Farmers of America conventions throughout the United States.

FFA is a national organization with high school chapters that promotes agricultural careers.

Non-student representatives of the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts travel to Illinois high schools and community colleges and tell students about hands-on programs within the college such as student radio-and-television broadcasting opportunities.

The representatives also show a recently produced college video made by students as a way of displaying the skills College of Mass Communications and Media Arts students learn.

I talked to one student who told me that if students do that kind of work at our college, then he wanted to come here, Foote said.

Both colleges also have student ambassador programs to recruit new students and to support students already enrolled in the colleges.

The College of Agriculture has some of its top veteran scholars, called Agbassadors, contact new students after the first few weeks of school to lend support. A new mentoring program is extending the support from the Agbassadors and other experienced College of Agriculture students to new students.

Instead of one phone call at the beginning of the semester, new students get a couple or three other phone calls throughout the semester, Arthur said.

Arthur said this allows new students who might be having trouble in classes to get help from students who have been through similar classes.

The College of Mass Communications and Media Arts’ ambassadors function in the same type of capacity. Foote said they act as pillars of student support by contacting new students and offering a helping hand.

Foote said there likely is a relationship between student ambassador programs and increases in enrollment.

It’s interesting that the two colleges that experienced the highest growth have student ambassador programs, Foote said. I think student ambassadors have a decisive influence on new students.

Foote credits his college’s Hollywood Studies program, one of only four such programs nationwide, and having former U.S. Senator Paul Simon as a faculty member as two important recruiting tools.

The Hollywood Studies program allows cinema majors to delve into motion picture development and production.

In addition, Foote said the college will have its own floor in a residence housing area next year. The floor will be limited to College of Mass Communications and Media Arts majors, and is designed to promote camaraderie between the students.

Both colleges also have programs in place to increase retention by helping struggling students who are frustrated with poor grades.

The College of Agriculture’s program, which is about two years old, seeks to identify students considered academically at-risk and offer assistance to those students, Arthur said. The college reviews exam scores from classes to determine which students might have academic problems. Advisers and instructors contact those students to offer assistance.

Students at-risk receive a little more attention to make sure things are going OK, Arthur said.

The College of Mass Communications and Media Arts tries to identify at-risk students early in the first semester, Foote said.

His college offers a new program to ease new students into the college a one-hour class that gives tours of each degree program within the college. The class also concentrates on building students’ studying and time-management skills.

Foote said students who have trouble in the class can consult instructors and advisers to determine ways to increase academic performance.

Foote said that although the increase of students can be credited to recruiting efforts, sometimes the amount of recruitment is insignificant.

Some years, enrollment figures may be the result of trends totally beyond our control, he said.

Both colleges will maintain similar plans for recruitment and retention, although the strategies likely will be fine-tuned.

For example, a new initiative within the College of Agriculture is a tutorial service.

Seniors and juniors will tutor students who might come in and say, Hey, I need help in my plant and soil science class,’ Arthur said.

The College of Agriculture also is developing a plan to either include a series of workshops to improve study habits or make its students more aware of such existing programs.

The College of Mass Communications and Media Arts will analyze recruitment and retention efforts from this fall, and may polish certain aspects after its review.

Foote and Arthur both said that the level of personal attention their colleges give their students is one of the primary reasons for their colleges’ increases.

Foote credited faculty support as contributing to his college’s success.

We worked very hard, and the faculty has been very committed to this (recruitment and retention plan), he said.

Arthur also praised faculty backing.

The faculty has gotten behind us in our efforts, he said. It has to be a team effort to succeed.

In part two of this series on Wednesday, the College of Applied Sciences and Arts will be compared with the College of Education. Both colleges had a net gain in enrollment this semester. However, one college uses a departmental approach, while the other uses a centralized method.