Recruitment Strategies for Industrial Technology Programs

Abstract

Today's competitive marketplace requires many colleges and universities to search for ways to maintain or increase their program enrollment numbers. One method is to focus on an enrollment management program with an emphasis placed on retention efforts for existing students. Although this is one important issue facing many colleges and universities, it is not the only method for maintaining or enhancing enrollment figures. The need is to focus on both retention efforts as well as the recruitment of prospective students to provide the foundation to build enrollment numbers. The interest in the field of industrial technology is evident, but it is imperative to make students aware of both industrial technology programs and career opportunities. Educators need to be proactive in recruiting students to meet society' increasing employment needs and for maintaining or strengthening their enrollment numbers and even more so ensure the quality of the students. In order to meet the challenging demands of student recruitment, industrial technology educators must leverage their recruitment strategies that specifically highlight industrial technology disciplines. The general focus of this article is to share a broad overview of several recruitment strategies that have proven effective at a regional university located in the Midwest. (Contains 2 figures.)