recruitment
The PIO can significantly aid faculty in recruiting students to their department by managing strategic communication planning, media relations, and content creation. This includes crafting comprehensive communication plans, producing engaging digital and multimedia content, and developing consistent messaging that highlights the department's unique strengths. The PIO also oversees social media management, engaging with prospective students, and promoting recruitment events, ensuring a cohesive approach to attract a diverse and talented student body.
Marketing Materials
Print and digital marketing materials are a standard part of student recruitment. Combining these materials with other recruitment methods ensures broad outreach, caters to diverse preferences, and reinforces key messages through multiple channels. This integrated strategy enhances visibility and engagement with prospective students, making it a highly effective approach in recruitment.
Print
Print materials such as brochures, flyers, and tear sheets provide tangible resources that students can take with them, creating a lasting impression.
Tear Sheets
Department tear sheets provide a comprehensive overview of the department, including details about the discipline, reasons for student interest, available degrees, club opportunities, contact information, and more. Perfect for tabling events, these sheets allow prospective students to take valuable information with them.
The PIO office creates and maintains these tear sheets, and departments are welcome to request them as needed. Specialty tear sheets, such as those for specific degree programs within the department, can be made upon request.
Course Flyers
These flyers include key information such as course objectives, unique content, benefits to students, prerequisites, and instructor details. Designed to capture interest, they are perfect for distribution at tabling events and informational sessions, allowing prospective students to take away detailed descriptions of courses they may wish to enroll in.
The PIO office is pleased to create course flyers and digital signs for you. These flyers will adhere to UAF branding guidelines and can be distributed on your behalf. Simply send us an email at cla-pio@alaska.edu. If you prefer to design them yourself, visit our Flyers page for required language, UAF branding guidelines, and templates.
Swag
Swag creates a memorable impression among students and visitors. Branded items like pens, notebooks, and tote bags enhance department visibility, foster community, and remind recipients of departmental offerings. Swag also adds a fun, engaging element to events, increasing student engagement.
The PIO office must be involved in swag design and ordering to adhere to the University's strict guidelines. These guidelines ensure equitable and cost-effective ordering, high-quality materials, and compliance with branding requirements. Ordering swag can be a lengthy process, so it's best to start early. Contact Sarah Manrique, CLA PIO, at cla-pio@alaska.edu to schedule a meeting to discuss your needs.
For more information on the process, please visit our Swag page.
Digital
Digital materials, including websites, social media content, and email campaigns, offer dynamic and interactive ways to engage with students online.
Recruitment Webpages
Each department has several webpages focused on recruitment. The primary ones are the "Why...?" pages on your department's website. These pages highlight the key benefits and unique features of your department, explaining why students should be excited to study your discipline specifically at UAF.
It's important to review and update these pages annually to ensure they contain the latest information and opportunities available in your department. To request updates, please email Kat at cla-pio@alaska.edu.
The UAF course catalog includes recruitment pages for each degree program within each department. These pages are managed by University Relations, not the CLA PIO. However, you can still request updates by contacting the PIO office at cla-pio@alaska.edu.
Please note that not all of these pages are currently created in the catalog. If your department is missing any pages, let us know so we can notify University Relations.
Course/Program Trailers
Course trailers provide an engaging and visually appealing way to highlight the key features and benefits of specific courses, capturing students' attention more effectively than traditional text-based materials. These trailers can showcase course content, instructor expertise, and real-world applications, giving prospective students a clear and enticing preview of what to expect.
A PIO can enhance college student recruitment through course trailers by coordinating content creation, ensuring alignment with university branding, and optimizing effectiveness with data-driven insights and distribution strategies.
UAF Photo by JR Ancheta
Social Media
Social media provides a platform for engaging, real-time interaction with a large, diverse group of prospective students, answering questions, and showcasing campus life, events, and achievements. Through targeted advertising and organic content, social media can help departments highlight their programs, faculty, and student experiences in a visually appealing and relatable way. It fosters a sense of community and connection, making students feel more informed and excited about the opportunities the university offers.
The CLA PIO manages multiple social media channels to feature department achievements and news and can assist departments in maintaining and growing their social media presence.
UAF Photo by Leif Van Cise
Letters to Undecided Students
Letters to undecided students can help with college recruitment by providing personalized information and encouragement, highlighting the unique benefits and opportunities of the university, and guiding them towards making informed decisions about their academic future. These letters can address common concerns, offer insights into various programs, and create a sense of connection, thereby increasing the likelihood that undecided students will choose to enroll.
We can support faculty by creating personalized, persuasive letters to undecided students, ensuring alignment with university branding, managing distribution, tracking responses, and refining future communication strategies to boost recruitment effectiveness.
Recruiting Events
Tabling Events & Conferences
Tabling events and conferences are invaluable for student recruitment as they provide direct interaction between university faculty and prospective students. These events allow faculty to showcase their department’s programs, achievements, and opportunities, answer questions in real time, and build personal connections. By offering informational materials and engaging presentations, faculty can effectively communicate the unique benefits of their programs, fostering interest and enthusiasm among potential students.
New Student Orientation/Meet Your Major
The UAF New Student Orientation/Meet Your Major event is incredibly helpful in student recruitment for university faculty. It provides a dedicated platform for faculty to introduce their departments, discuss their programs, and highlight unique opportunities directly to new students. By engaging with students early, faculty can answer questions, address concerns, and build enthusiasm about their majors, helping students make informed decisions about their academic paths and increasing departmental enrollment.
Community Partnerships
Community partnerships play a crucial role in broadening recruitment efforts, fostering student interest, and strengthening ties between the university and its surrounding community. They benefit departments in several ways:
Enhanced Visibility and Access: Partnerships with local businesses, schools, and community organizations increase the university's visibility within the community. This exposure makes it easier for prospective students to learn about the university and its programs.
Resource Sharing: Collaborating with community partners allows university staff to leverage resources such as facilities, expertise, and networks. This can enhance the attractiveness of the university's offerings and provide unique opportunities for students.
Student Engagement Opportunities: Community partnerships often lead to internship opportunities, collaborative projects, and community-based learning experiences for students. These engagements can attract students who value practical experience and real-world application of their education.
Recruitment Events: Partnering with community organizations can facilitate recruitment events such as career fairs, open houses, and information sessions. These events provide direct interaction between university staff and prospective students, allowing for personalized communication about departmental offerings and opportunities.
Support and Advocacy: Strong community partnerships can lead to advocacy for the university within the community. Community leaders and organizations may actively promote the university to potential students and their families, further boosting recruitment efforts.
How can the PIO Office help my department build community partnerships?
The PIO can help build community partnerships by leveraging communication expertise to promote departmental initiatives and successes within the community, facilitating networking opportunities with local businesses and organizations, coordinating collaborative projects that benefit both the university and the community, and showcasing the university's commitment to community engagement through strategic messaging and outreach efforts.
If you would like help building or showcasing community partnerships, please email cla-pio@alaska.edu.
School Outreach
School outreach programs benefit universities by engaging with younger students early, fostering interest in higher education from a young age, and creating a pipeline of potential future students. These initiatives help universities build connections with local schools, particularly with underrepresented communities, which can lead to a more diverse student body. By actively participating in and supporting educational activities in the community, universities enhance their reputation as institutions committed to academic excellence and community development. This proactive engagement not only expands the pool of prospective students but also strengthens the university's standing among families, students, and community leaders.
Other Opportunities
External Advertising
External advertising, also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising, targets consumers when they are outside their homes. Digital OOH (DOOH) uses digital screens and interactive kiosks in public places. Point of Sale (POS) displays include in-store and window displays promoting products. Event and experiential advertising feature event sponsorships and pop-up shops. Guerilla marketing employs creative ads in unique locations. Radio advertising includes spot ads, sponsorships, and live reads on radio stations. Television advertising consists of commercials, product placements, and show sponsorships. Promotional items, or swag, encompass branded merchandise and giveaway items. Print media advertising includes ads in newspapers, magazines, brochures, flyers, and direct mail.
The advantages of external advertising are numerous. It offers high visibility, reaching large audiences in high-traffic areas. It provides constant exposure, maintaining a continuous presence in consumers' daily lives. It allows for effective geographic targeting of specific locations and demographics. Additionally, it helps build brand awareness and recall through repeated exposure.
If you are interested in creating an external advertising campaign for recruiting in your department, please fill reach out to us at cla-pio@alaska.edu.
For more information, visit our External Advertising page.
Articulations
Articulations serve to enhance educational opportunities by creating structured pathways for students to advance in their academic and professional pursuits across different institutions or programs within a university system. They can be helpful in recruiting students by offering clear pathways for academic advancement and transfer. These agreements ensure that students can seamlessly transition between educational institutions or programs while retaining academic credits and progress.
For faculty, articulations attract motivated students who are already committed to specific academic paths, thereby facilitating more focused engagement and tailored advising. They also enhance the visibility of specialized or advanced programs by providing structured routes for students interested in these areas. Faculty can also benefit from collaborative opportunities with colleagues from partner institutions, fostering joint research projects, interdisciplinary exchanges, and shared resources that enrich the academic experience and appeal to prospective students seeking comprehensive educational opportunities.
If your department offers articulation agreements with other universities and would like those advertised, email us at cla-pio@alaska.edu so we can help spread the word.
UAF Photo by Sarah Manriquez
UAF has two recruiters... maybe? through admissions office. one is responsible for 1/2 of the states, the second for the other half. they travel the country. we can give them marketing materials to take.