INCREASING YIELD – DESIGNING AN INTERACTIVE RECRUITMENT WEEKEND BUILT ON YOUR STRENGTHS

TxGAP Workshop – June 12, 2015

Your Presenters

Philip Guerrero - University of Texas at Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences

Kathryn Meyer - Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government & Public Service

Dana Mordecai - University of North Texas, Toulouse Graduate School

Overview

You’ll hear an outline of our program events – Three very different ways to increase yield (two detailed department events and one Graduate School disbursement process to help departments hold their own events).

You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions.

You’ll receive a checklist that covers many of the moving parts of such an event to help you start or improve your own.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINJACKSON SCHOOL OF GEOSCIENCES

Prospective Student Weekends (PSW)

Purpose and strategy

Our Prospective Student Weekend (PSW) includes admitted students and some who are not admitted

PSW is held the last Sun-Tues of February annually

Usually up to 90 are invited We involve faculty and current graduate

students

Agenda

Faculty must submit an invitation for each student they wish to invite AND they must submit a participation survey

Students can visit individually if invited Current graduate students host the visiting

students and get them where they need to go Each prospect is reimbursed up to $500 in

travel-related expenses outside of the Austin metro area

All meals are provided while they are visiting All events take place in our buildings

Agenda

Budget

Not all 90 invitations are used, and of those, not all attend

For 2015 we spent approximately $25,000, but it’s

usually closer to $50,000o Travel costso Meals• Catering• Individual meals

Logistics

Our local business office processes prospects’ reimbursements

Current students hosting has shown to be more personal and enjoyed by prospectso Current students get to reap the benefits of a free

meal, so are usually eager to helpo Used to give students a stipend, but was

discontinued Our department has a fleet of vehicles at our

disposal, so they can be used to transport students around town

Events

The Saturday evening pre-event allows students to interact with other prospects and current students without the involvement of faculty.

Hosts pick up their prospies at the airport, and depending on their arrival time either unwind first or see some sights, or they go straight to the dinner.

Impact and ROI

Faculty response is mixed each yearo Some believe it is a cattle callo Others like that they don’t have to do mucho As a result this year was changed to make faculty

determine the prospects’ schedules This year all students indicated “satisfied” or

higher for all activities Of those admitted and attended PSW

o Fall 2012: 76% accepted our offer of admissiono Fall 2013: 67% accepted our offer of admissiono Fall 2014: 63% accepted our offer of admission

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYBUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SERVICE

Interview Conference Weekends (ICW)

Purpose and strategy

Interview Conference Weekends (ICWs) are for candidates who’ve applied & made it through an initial file review; none are yet admittedo Aids in admissions fit (we look for maturity, related experiences,

personality) o Aids in enrollment yield (shows we care with our time)

The ICWs are typically held the last two weekends in February; they run a half-day Friday and all day Saturday

We work backwards from our enrollment goal to figure invitations o We interview double what we desire (e.g., enroll 90 means interview

180+)o We expect half to 2/3 to attend our ICW; the rest we Skype/phone interview

Our ICWs are all-inclusive, involving nearly all our Bush School staff, most of the faculty for their weekend, 30-50 current students, and 3-5 alumni each ICW

Process

Summer: 1) Identify ICW dates; 2) Update our Admissions webpage; 3) Set priority application deadline.

Fall/Winter: 1) Reserve hotels and event locations; 2) Push students to apply by mid-Jan.

January: 1) Review files in mid to late January; 2) Notify every one of their status: Interview, On Hold, or Denied; 3) Send interviewees to hidden webpage with interview information (register for ICW or Skype/phone); e.g., our Int’l Affairs webpage: http://bush.tamu.edu/ic2015mia/

February: 1) Set up early interviews or plan for ICW attendance. o NOT ATTENDING: 2) Set interview w/ relevant faculty; they leave ratings &

comments o ATTENDING: 2) Emails include a reservation confirmation, a hotel pick-up list,

directions on where to be/when, updated agenda, parking maps, reminders; 3) Assign student volunteers/hosts; 4) Put on the event; 5) Have faculty submit comments about each candidate and whether a Strong Admit, Admit, Weak Admit, Waitlist, Deny; 6) Have staff and students submit assessments/comments, too.

March: 1) Meet to decide who to admit, considering academic merits, paper review, and interview notes; 2) Decide financial scholarships; 3) Email candidates with their results (Admit, Waitlist, Deny).

Agenda

Friday, February 27 2:50-3:20 pm Check-in & Facility Tour 3:30-4:20 pm Welcome and Introduction to Bush School 4:20-4:30 pm Career Services Overview 4:30-5:00 pm Leadership Program Overview 5:30-6:30pm A leadership assessment w current students OR a guest speaker

session 6:30-6:50 pm Ride to Texas A&M’s Recreation Center (optional tour 6:45-7:15) 7:00-9:00 pm Dinner/Intros (ride back after) Saturday, February 28 7:40-8:10 am Pick-up at hotels 8:00-8:30 am Continental Breakfast 8:30-8:50 am Introduction to Bush School Faculty Interviewers 9:00-4:20 pm Interviews, Writing Exercise, Student Panel, Interest Groups, Alumni

Panel, Tour(concurrent activities arranged by groups; interviews and writing are 1.5 hours; others are

45 min each) 11:40-1:00 pm Lunch (staggered according to schedule; 41st Club, outside tables) 4:20-4:30 pm Report over to Presidential Conference Center, Rm. 1011C 4:30-5:30 pm Q&A Session with Faculty 5:30-5:40 pm Foreign Language Overview 5:40-6:10 pm Admissions and Funding Overview & Wrap up 6:30-7:30 pm Dinner at Presidential Conference Center (ride back to hotels after)

Budget

ICW Cost:o Food (2 Wed lunches for volunteers, snacks, drinks, 2

Friday dinners, and 6 Saturday meals): $10,000o Transportation (for 2 weekends: hotels/tours/dinner):

$1,200o Event space (both dinners): $3,300o TOTAL for both : $14,500

Travel Reimbursements: o Cover travel costs (mileage gets a lower %), plus hotelo Consider between 25-33% of their out-of-pocket costs o We reimburse a total of $11,000-12, 000 per year

Logistics

The time invested in setting interviews is immense for our ICW, but if those are not desired, you can still set an event of interactions, panels, mock classes, etc.

Additional staff help w/ setting alumni, running the writing session, and helping with catering/hospitality; our GA coordinates student volunteers.

We set a few host hotels at state rate (w/ a student call-in to reserve) where we’ll pick candidates up, but those with a car can stay anywhere. A half-dozen students might also host candidates.

We use our Bush School building for most events, but dinner has to be off site due our size. We also use our Bush School vehicle and a bus rental to coordinate tours and hotel/dinner transportation. We drive in shifts as needed.

Candidates submit receipts up to three weeks after the event. We reimburse according to a scale of 25-33%. We cap at about $300 each. Not all eligible candidates submit receipts (this year, 172 attended both weekends; only 72 submitted)

Impact and ROI

Admissions Surveys: Our ICWs are always mentioned as one of the reasons students enrolled, particularly out-of-staters or stealth applicants. We provide them… o a personal touch point from admin, faculty, staff, and studentso an opportunity to hear from alumnio a chance to meet their future classmates (they will know someone)o a variety of perspectives to have their questions answered

Faculty: Have buy-in because they play a role in determining their own studentso Admissions Committee – 5-7 faculty serve throughout the

Jan-April processo Interviewers – ALL faculty have a role in interviewing and

leaving notes on their candidates. Most conduct 5-12 interviews in February. Faculty who interview at the ICW will add 10-15 more that day.

Impact and ROI

Each year we make offers based on a 70% enrollment yield avg.

ENROLLEES: Of those admitted AND attended one of our ICWs by mid-Feb:

o Fall 2015: MPSA: 84% MIA: 86% accepted our offer o Fall 2014: MPSA: 79% MIA: 83% accepted our offer o Fall 2013: MPSA: 78% MIA: 78% accepted our offer

Of those admitted AND conducted a phone interview by Feb: o Fall 2015: MPSA: 37% MIA: 50% accepted our offer o Fall 2014: MPSA: 45% MIA: 56% accepted our offer o Fall 2013: MPSA: 44% MIA: 55% accepted our offer

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXASTOULOUSE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Graduate Recruitment Events

Purpose and strategy

55 departments can submit proposal for Graduate

Recruitment Event Fund – selection focuses on doctoral

programs (36)

Allows departments to select their own timeline/agenda

Invites vary from applied to admitted

Few as 5 prospects, as many as 35

Some programs use for interview for admissions, others for

enrollment yield

Started in 2011

Process

RFP calls in October – awards in November Events run from late January to April Departments manage entire event Average event is 2 days Changes to program

o Initial structure was one weekend for all departments⁻ Held one focused plenary event

o Changed for planning flexibilityo Added incentive for attending Graduate Exhibitiono Added additional GREF awards for university

fellowship recipients

Budget

Support from provost office and office of research

$20,000 from grad school

$.50 to $1.00 required match, up to $2000 per

department

o Some departments may get ½ match from their

college

Average number of department awards: 20

Average cost per student: $344

Logistics

Invitation acceptance runs ~50%

Logistics vary by department

o Grad student host, but most choose hotel option

o Transportation varies, but lean on grad students Hotel blocks get tricky when multiple

departments host events Utilize campus tour guides tram for tours

Events

Graduate Exhibition – campus wide research

showcase Prospects get to see diversity of research The energy creates excitement Use prospects as judges Lunch provided as incentive for departments to attend Casual presentation by grad school dean to prospects

Departments host typical events: Interviews, faculty presentations, campus tours, exit

interviews, grad student social activities (i.e., bar hopping!)

Some departments include tours of Denton for spouses

Impact and ROI

Average of 83 each year students attending since 2011

Average of 20 departments participate

FINAL THOUGHTSBRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER!

TxGAP Workshop – June 12, 2015

Outline for your successful event

Basics

Develop your strategy – faculty buy-in, why bring them in

Determine a budget – include travel, food, giveaways

Create an agenda

Master your checklist

Determine what you have to overcome to sell your school

Outline for your successful event

Expect Changes

What happens when you add more prospects?

How to deal with budget reductions

Improve each year!

Collaboration opportunities

Outline for your successful event

Start Early!

Faculty and administration buy-in

Logistics matter!

Involve as many campus resources as

possible

TxGAP Workshop – June 12, 2015

philipg@utexas.mail.edu

kjmeyer@tamu.edu

dana.mordecai@unt.edu

Your Questions?