INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / JUNE 5, 1990

 

Competition:
A Recruitment Strategy

As many of our schools suffer from declining enroll-
ments, we are forced to look at ways to encourage
students to register in our programs. Some people may
fool themselves into thinking that this is a task for the
marketing department. But I believe marketing to be
the domain of each faculty member, working in con-
junction with the marketing department. After all,
who better than faculty for telling students what their
programs are about?

Our faculty agreed that we would accept marketing
as one of our responsibilities. The problem was getting
the high schools to invite us to tell their students about
our college and what we had to offer. We needed a
reason for them to want us there, and we created one—
a typing contest! Because our main target audience
was anyone who had typing/keyboarding skills, we
were able to include all grade levels and speak to
anyone who would listen to us about our contest and
about our Office Administration program. ( We real-
ized that once we were in the school, students would
have questions about other programs; someone from
the college’s marketing or admissions office joined our
Office Administration group.)

One advantage of the contest was having the oppor-
tunity to work with the high school teachers directly:
They work with the students on a daily basis; and the
more they know about the Office Administration
programs, the better.

We contacted a major supplier of college equipment,
Olympia International, and asked that it sponsor the
contest. Olympia agreed to support our effort and
provided us with the first prize—an electronic portable
typewriter. Second and third prizes—cash and/or
gifts—were offered, as well.

Format

The format of the contest was simple. We had four
categories for participants: grade 9, grade 10, grade 11-
13, and general public. While our contest was aimed
primarily at high school students, we acknowledged
that, with so many adults returning to college, it was
important to include the general public. (This is a very
“safe” way for some hesitant adults to return to school.
Once there, they can receive information on other
available studies.)

Because high school students enjoy competitive
sports and work hard on team spirit, our contest was

well received. We awarded the winning school a
beautiful trophy, which they kept for the next year. In
addition, we awarded a Spirit Award to the school
having the most participants.

Advertising

The amount of advertising will depend, of course,
on the budget. Sault College decided to involve the
media by having a separate contest for them. The only
prize awarded was a trophy for the best speed, but it
served our purpose and earned us some media cover-
age, also.

Evaluation

I shared this idea with a colleague from another
college, and she conducted her first contest this year.
Recently, she informed me that applications to their
Office Administration program have increased by 29%.
Our program, too, has experienced a significant
increase.

Should you decide to hold your own contest, be
prepared for a lot of involvement, hard work, and fun!

Rose Caicco, Co-ordinator, Office Administration
Programs

For further information, contact the author at Sault
College, P.O. Box 60, 443 Northern Avenue, Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, CANADA P6A 5L3.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

April 27, 1990, Vol. XIl, No. 14

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1990
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
institutions for their own personnel.

 

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