Addendum #6

SUMMARY

Board of Trustees

Recruitment and Retention Ad Hoc Committee

May 1, 2009

Members Present:  Mr. Gil Ziegler, Chair, Mr. Bill Bernard, Dr. L. Garnet Lewis, Ms. Cindy Paavola, Dr. Douglas Roberts, exofficio

The Recruitment and Retention Committee was called to order at 8:06 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the April 2, 2009 meeting were approved as prepared.

Mr. Ziegler indicated this is an information-gathering meeting.

Recruitment

Ms. Paavola summarized the current NMU recruitment process:

· Freshman Funnel – individualized for students as they come into the recruiting funnel

o View books

o Personalized mailings

o Campus visit

· Tools used to move prospective students into the funnel:

o Purchased ACT lists (80,000 current high school juniors and seniors)

o Purchased Pre-ACT lists (45,000 current high school sophomores)

· Geographical areas covered:  Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin; targeted interests (leadership programs, service learning)

· High school visits

· Attend college fairs

Ms. Paavola updated the members on new recruitment/marketing projects:

· On-line cost calendar

· Interactive cost comparisons with the ability to enter other schools

· Distribute cost calendar to career counselors and guidance counselors for use as a teaching tool with NMU’s cost comparisons included

· Admissions staff network of school counselors

· Annual Counselor Bus Trips (Lower Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota)

· Alumni liaison and representatives from targeted areas (career representatives)

· Children of alumni living out-of-state receive in-state tuition

· Consultant visits (Campus Visit, Dining Services, Communications)

· Annual focus groups with NMU students

· On-line resources – web site redesign, building customization, incorporating photos

· Mr. Bernard summarized what NMU is doing to attract community college students indicating we have two recruiters who visit all community colleges using similar practices and strategies as for freshmen.  Ms. Paavola indicated NMU has an index of school-to-school transfer equivalencies.

Retention

Mr. Bernard summarized current retention efforts:

· Freshman Probation

· College Transitions Program

· Undeclared majors

· Peer Assisted Learning

· First Year Experience

· Associate Degree FYE pilot program last year

· All-campus tutoring

· Academic Advising review

· Repackaging financial aid

· Support services that target retention

· Outcomes assessment

· At-risk students – academic, financial, first-generation, students of color

Four-Year Graduation Rates

The committee discussed four-year graduation rates. 

Mr. Bernard provided the monthly enrollment for transfer and freshman applications.

The Committee discussed future meeting dates and decided to reconvene via teleconference on an as-needed basis between this meeting and the next full Board meeting in July.

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.