How to Recruit Graduate Students
Getting the results you want
The Do’s, The Don’t, and the Absolute Musts
Graduate and Professional School
Enrollment Management Corp.
November 10 & 11 2008
• In order for a graduate student recruitment
program to work, it must be practical, doable,
affordable, and routinely evaluated.
• Successful graduate student recruitment
involves more than just providing information.
It also involves building relationships with
those recruits that you hope to convert to
enrollees.
Key goals and traits of a powerful graduate
recruitment program include:
• Step 1 - Generate as large of an inquiry pool a
possible.
• Step 2 - Convert inquiries into applicants.
• Step 3 - Convert your best applicants into
enrollees.
Prospects
Inquiries
Applications
Accepts
Enrollees
Short-term actions:
1. Evaluation of current program
Quantity
Quality
Mix
2. Determine optimal capacity
3. Develop clear and actionable written recruitment goals
4. Set a budget
Your program’s web status
A. Position in search result (page and rank)
• first-page traction is vital
B. Landing page
C. Quality of the site
Google search: graduate program in _________
Check on optimization status
30-Nov-08
Dept.
1st page
2nd page
> 2nd page
Amer. Studies
X
Anthropology
X
Botany
X
Chemistry
X
Comm & Jour
Ecology
English
X
X
X
Creative writing
X
Geography
Geol & Geophys
History
X
X
Interntl. Studies
X
Mathematics
X
Mod & Class Lang
Music
X
X
Philosophy
X
Physics & Astro
X
Political Science
X
Public Admin.
X
Psycology
X
Sociology
X
Statistics
X
Zoo & Physiology
X
General search
Example – focused search
Google search: university of wyoming english graduate program
Page one rank
link
1
uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/REGISTRAR/bulletin/2asengl.html
2
uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/uwgrad/info.asp?p=2240
3
graduate-school.phds.org/university/uwyo/program/profile/english/
4
www.gradschools.com/ListingFunctions/Program
5
www.gradschools.com/ListingFunctions/Program
6
www.hum.utah.edu/english/?pageId=24
7
www.uiowa.edu/~englgrad/incoming/index.html
8
www.tetonscience.org/grad_students_faculty.shtml
9
www.uwyo.edu/creativewriting/info.asp?p=3040
10
www.collegedirectory.els.edu/scr/SchoolInfo.asp?sid=3335&mjrgrp
goal: uwacadweb.wyo.edu/english/
Short-term actions (cont.):
5. Search engine optimization for your website
6. Collect data
What’s next??
Prospects
Inquiries
Applications
Accepts
Enrollees