Forum attendees gain ideas — and T-shirts

Attendees of a recent campus forum came away with black and gold "Reach Higher" T-shirts designed to build enthusiasm at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for embracing new approaches to recruiting and retaining students.

David Moon, senior associate vice chancellor of academic affairs, was joined by Steve Ellis, interim associate vice chancellor of student success; Barbara Gaddis, director of First Year Student Experience; Chris Beiswanger, director of admissions services; and Allison Swickard-Gorman, marketing director for university advancement. They explained a strategic enrollment management initiative, one of several efforts designed to boost UCCS revenue.

"The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success," Provost Peg Bacon said to begin the forum, paraphrasing composer Irving Berlin.

While UCCS has been successful in attracting students — growing almost 30 percent in the decade — the campus faces increased competition, Ellis said. It's also important that the campus move beyond tactics to recruit students and look holistically at the student experience, delivering on promises made during the recruitment phase.

"Strategic enrollment management is where the university's mission and student personal goals meet," Moon said. "It's about more students, but also more students who find success."

To achieve that goal, all parts of the university experience, beginning with recruitment to when a student graduates, must be high-quality and coordinated, Moon said.

"We recruit to retain," Moon said. "We retain to be sure students achieve goals."

To see the Power Point used in the presentation and samples of recruitment materials developed by Swickard-Gorman and Jeff Foster, multimedia marketing coordinator for university advancement, click here.