Colleagues:
The end of January and start to February has definitely reminded us that Southern Ohio does experience winter weather on occasion! Once we slip past what I hope is a brief interlude of winter weather, we will quickly turn to an important season for us as we attempt to secure commitments from potential students. Although I know that school directors, undergraduate directors, and the Harris Student Center team are all making plans for these events, I think it is also important for all faculty to be aware of our yield efforts in case you might be able to help.
OHIO Up Close:
Open house designed for admitted first-year students. Expect to see students and families on campus and in Schoonover throughout the day.
- Monday, February 18, 2019
- Friday, March 1, 2019
- VisCom portfolio reviews will be held in conjunction with this program
- Friday, March 8, 2019
- Friday, March 22, 2019
- Friday, March 29, 2019
- VisCom portfolio reviews will be held in conjunction with this program
- Friday, April 12, 2019
- Friday, April 26, 2019
Cultural Connections
:
Overnight visit for admitted students from underrepresented populations and their families. Families take part in OHIO Up Close activities and then stay for a banquet Friday evening. They have breakfast and some admissions activities on Saturday morning before heading home.
- Friday, March 22, 2019 - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Daily Campus Visits
: Every weekday and Saturday—many daily visitors at this time of year are admitted students!
In addition to those events, we are planning an early April “surge” in Cincinnati. On April 4 or 5, we will have teams consisting of Dean’s Advisory Council members, college faculty, and some students visit five high schools in the greater Cincinnati area. Those visits will be focused on relationship building with students and teachers, but will also include some discussion of “career pathways” in communication, opportunities available in the Scripps College, and potentially select demonstration or training related to specific interest expressed by individual schools (these appear to range from speech and debate to specific journalism and media topics). On Thursday, April 4, we will partner with our Scripps Foundation friends to hold an alumni event where we will also invite admitted students in the Cincinnati area.
These yield activities are critically important. One of our strongest assets, historically, has been a higher yield rate than the rest of the university. As applications decrease (the university is down in applications from 2017), we must yield students at a higher rate to maintain enrollment. This is especially important for our college, as our key revenue driver at the moment is nearly exclusively our undergraduate residential student population. Please do what you can to help with on-campus yield activities!
Before ending, I want to also give you a quick preview of the college celebration event that will launch Communication Week on March 25. Sarah Logue, Sarah Roush and I visited Zenner House in Athens, which will be the location of the event. Some of you may know that Zenner House was purchased by ITS alumnus Jeffrey Chaddock. Zenner House is a historic and unique part of Athens—you will be amazed! Invitations will be coming soon—this year’s theme will focus on our international engagement, which will be very exciting.
Stay warm!
Scott
