Valdosta State University Dewar College of Education and Human Services Recruitment Plan Introduction The mission of the Dewar College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) is to prepare professionals for a variety of roles in educational settings and community agencies; foster a culture of reflective practice and inquiry within a diverse community of students, faculty and staff; provide leadership in the improvement of the education, health, and well being of citizens in this region, the nation and the world; and develop effective, responsive scholars and practitioners who use theory and research to enhance their work in a global, diverse, and technological society. The successful implementation of this mission requires the recruitment of high quality, diverse candidates who have the foundational knowledge, skills, and dispositions to make evidence driven decisions that have an optimal impact in the course of their professional practice. Additionally, changes in accreditation standards, national and state regulations and reform initiatives, and other accountability mechanisms have made it even more important that the College of Education and Human Services make greater efforts to attract academically strong candidates for its programs. The current higher educational environment presents challenges and opportunities for the COEHS. In order to be successful, the COEHS must work in tandem with the Valdosta State University Admissions Office and support the admissions organization in recruitment efforts. The support the COEHS proposes in the current Recruitment Plan is manifested in expanded and improved communication and coordination with VSU admissions, the provision of feedback that will help both organizations to more effectively target recruitment efforts on behalf of the COEHS, and expand the presence of the COEHS in multiple formats so that prospective candidates find both the College and the institution to be informative, interested, engaging, and accessible. In sum, this plan is intended to assist VSU Admissions in making the COEHS the first choice for prospective candidates. Recruitment Plan Summary The Recruitment Plan is structured to be implemented over a three year period of time, in cooperation with the Valdosta State Admissions Office and other appropriate campus wide organizations. The plan is intended to compliment current University recruitment efforts and is not meant to supplant current recruitment endeavors. The plan and its outcomes will be reviewed regularly and is subject to revision based upon the outcomes of the plan s goals and strategies. 1
Goals Goal 1: Establish New Collaborative Efforts between the COEHS, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, and Other Relevant Organizations in the Recruitment Process Goal 2: Work with VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, and Other Relevant Organizations to Recruit High Quality, Diverse Candidates Goal 3: Provide Greater and Higher Quality COEHS Presence through Traditional and Alternative Formats Strategies, Tactics, Partners, and Measures Goal 1: Establish New Collaborative Efforts between the COEHS, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, and Other Relevant Organizations in the Recruitment Process Strategy 1: Establish and enhance partnerships with the Valdosta State University Admissions Department and other campus organizations responsible for recruitment. Tactic 1: Establish a COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee charged with working cooperatively with VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, and other partners to address recruitment issues of importance to the COEHS, provide feedback on recruitment efforts, and offer recommendations for optimizing the recruitment of candidates for COEHS undergraduate and graduate programs. Partners: COEHS Executive Committee, COEHS Advisement Center, COEHS Diversity and Inclusion Committee, VSU Office of Social Equity, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, VSU Student Affairs, Academic Affairs Measure: The COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee is established by Fall 2014. Status: An ad hoc. committee has been established consisting of Dr. Shirley Andrews (ECSE), Mr. ScottGrubbs (MSRDE), Dr. Kelley Heckaman (ECSE), and Dr. Deborah Paine (MSRDE). This committee will increase in number and diversity as the plan is implemented. Funding for recruitment has been secured from the VSU Graduate School and will be allotted for recruitment activities. The committee has provided initial feedback and plan dissemination is in process. Tactic 2: Provide VSU Admissions with the recruitment academic, demographic, and regulatory information relevant to the needs of the COEHS and its programs. The information will be used to more efficiently and effectively target recruitment for the COEHS 2
Partners: COHES Center for Program Assessment, Analytics, and Evaluation; COEHS Center for Accreditation and Curricular Innovation; COEHS Executive Committee; COEHS Advisement Center; VSU Admissions Measure: Relevant data are conveyed to VSU Admissions by Fall 2014. Status: Demographic and academic data are gathered by the Center for Program Assessment, Analysis, and Evaluation. The data are made available to admissions through the Valdosta State University Office of Institutional Research. Goal 2: Work with VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, and Other Relevant Organizations to Recruit High Quality, Diverse Candidates Strategy 1: Undertake actions to make the COEHS a more attractive option for high quality, diverse candidates. Tactic 1: Incorporate relevant elements of the COEHS Diversity Plan into the undergraduate and graduate recruitment processes. VSU Office of Social Equity, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School Measure: Recruitment efforts for the COEHS reflect relevant elements of the Diversity Plan by Fall 2015. Status: In Spring 2015, the COEHS Diversity and Inclusion Committee undertook revision of the COEHS Diversity Plan. During the same term, the institution also revised the Valdosta State University Diversity Plan. Beginning in Fall 2015, COEHS recruitment efforts will reflect the most recent versions of these policies. Tactic 2: Identify and mitigate potential barriers for recruitment for all prospective COEHS candidates, with particular focus on prospects from diverse backgrounds. VSU Office of Social Equity, COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, VSU Office of Financial Aid, Academic Affairs, Student Services. Measure: Barriers are identified and mitigation processes are undertaken by Fall 2015. Status: For Summer 2015, the COEHS has made personnel available to analyze relevant data to identify recruitment and retention issues for all prospective COEHS candidates. During Summer and Fall 2015, the COEHS will outline possible measures to mitigate barriers to candidate recruitment. 3
Strategy 2: Increase COEHS efforts to actively target prospective diverse candidates. Tactic 1: Create a Task Force to research and review appropriate best practices for the recruitment of diverse students for undergraduate and graduate programs. COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, VSU Office of Social Equity Measure: Completion and dissemination of report on best practices completed by Spring 2015. Status: Efforts are currently underway to identify current recruitment efforts by individual EPP programs as part of the COEHS effort to identify best practices. During the Summer and Fall 2015 semesters, the information from the COEHS and other research will be gathered, analyzed and disseminated to the COEHS faculty, staff, and administration. Tactic 2: Design and implement recruitment outreach efforts tailored to diverse potential candidates based upon Task Force findings. COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, VSU Office of Social Equity Measure: Outreach efforts begin in Fall 2015. Status: In Spring 2015, the COEHS Diversity and Inclusion Committee, undertook revision of the COEHS Diversity Plan. During the same term, the institution also revised the Valdosta State University Diversity Plan. Beginning in Fall 2015, COEHS outreach efforts will reflect the most recent versions of these policies. Goal 3: Provide Greater and Higher Quality COEHS Presence through Traditional and Alternative Formats Strategy 1: More effectively leverage electronic, print, and face to face recruitment efforts to more effectively target prospective candidates for the COEHS. Tactic 1: Increase outreach to educator cadet programs throughout the state and region to better advertise the VSU COEHS as a viable, quality post secondary option. Partners: COEHS Advisement Center, COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee, COEHS Executive Committee, COEHS program faculty, COEHS candidates, VSU Admissions, High School Educator Cadet Program faculty and coordinators, High School Counselors 4
Measure: COEHS personnel engage in outreach efforts to high school educator cadet programs at the local, state, and regional levels by Fall 2015. Status: During the COEHS is in the process of identifying teacher cadet programs. During the Summer and Fall 2015 semesters, the COEHS will develop and implement outreach efforts to recruit candidates from teacher cadet programs. Tactic 2: Update and enhance COEHS publications to make them more engaging for potential candidates, and make the publications accessible in traditional and online formats. Partners: COEHS Program Coordinators, Printing Services, COEHS and Department Web managers, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, Information Technology Measure: Updated and enhanced publications are available in print and online versions by Spring 2015. Status: Individual COEHS programs have made individual efforts to update and enhance recruitment materials. Ongoing efforts will focus on ensuring that all programs update and enhance recruitment materials and on an overall enhancement of the COEHS s electronic presence. Tactic 3: Adapt and implement the Marshall University electronic correspondence model (available at http://www.marshall.edu/president/strategic/february%202010%20updates/recruitment.pdf) for prospective undergraduate and graduate COEHS Candidates. Partners: COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee, COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School Measure: A VSU COEHS appropriate electronic correspondence model is implemented by Summer 2015. Status: The Recruitment Advisory Committee has provided feedback on the idea of electronic correspondence regarding the feasibility of the model as presented. Further examination of the electronic model will occur in Summer 2015 to determine whether implementation planning should continue. 5
Tactic 4: Implement and enhance COEHS presence on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and other social network platforms frequented by prospective candidates. Partners: COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee, COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School, Information Technology Measure: Enhanced COEHS social media presence launches in Fall 2014. Status: The COEHS is currently participating with the rest of the institution as VSU enhances its overall web presence through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The COEHS will examine ways to enhance its own social media presence in the future. Tactic 5: Create 1 2 graduate assistantships to assist with the implementation of the online elements of the COEHS Recruitment Plan. Partners: COEHS Dean s Office, COEHS Recruitment Advisory Committee, COEHS Advisement Center, VSU Admissions, the Valdosta State University Graduate School. Measure: 1 2 graduate assistantships are created to assist with the implementation of the online elements of the COESH Recruitment Plan by Fall 2015. Status: The COEHS will review staffing for graduate assistantships and make personnel decisions contingent upon logistical and financial considerations. References Marshall University (2009). Appendix C: Marshall University Recruitment Plan 2009 2010. Retrieved from http://www.marshall.edu/president/strategic/february%202010%20updates/recruitment.pdf 6