Recruitment materials and presentations accurately represent the institution’s practices and policies. (Recruitment materials)

Judgment Compliance

Reinhardt University’s recruitment materials and presentations accurately represent the University’s practices and policies.  The Office of Enrollment Management works with the Office of Marketing and Communications to develop materials with accurate information obtained from the Office of Institutional Research. Recruiting materials include view books, brochures, and promotional pieces; Reinhardt’s official website; and the academic catalogs – the Reinhardt University Undergraduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017 and the Reinhardt University Graduate Catalog 2016-2017.

Official data

For 2016-2017, the Office of Institutional Research provides statistical information from the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) report for fall semester 2016 and from an exit survey for 2015 graduates about employment status. In addition, financial information about scholarships (institutional aid) is drawn from the 2016 Independent Auditor’s Report on Financial Statements. Throughout the promotional pieces four key facts drawn from these reports are as follows:

• The student population size – 1400+ (or 1484 from the 2016-2017 IPEDS [1])
• The student to faculty ratio – 12:1 (from the 2016-2017 IPEDS [1])
• Post-graduation status – 97% of undergraduates were employed or in post-baccalaureate study six months after graduation (from the exit survey [2])
• Scholarships - 9 million in institutional aid awarded to students in 2016-2017 (from the Independent Auditor’s Report, [3] the actual figure being $9,964,464 in scholarships)

In addition, from the IPEDS report, [1] the 2016 fall semester enrollment has the following student demographics:

• 92.6% undergraduate – 7.4% graduate
• 52 % male – 48% female
• 36% minority
• 12% distance education

View books, brochures, and promotional pieces

Sometimes, the first point of contact for a prospective traditional student is a view book, brochure, or promotional piece which presents basic information about Reinhardt’s student population and student to faculty ratio, along with pictures to represent campus life.  Statistical information conforms to the 2016 IPEDS and 2015 exit survey.  When it varies by one or two points, there is a notation that the statistic is from the 2015 IPEDS.   These recruitment pieces introduce academic programs, student life, student outcomes, scholarship opportunities, tuition and fees, the application process, and student testimonials.  The General Response [4] brochure includes student demographics and an introduction to academic and athletic programs. The Reinhardt Outcomes [5] piece focuses on costs, financial aid and employment.

The Admissions Office for traditional students has a well-developed communication plan [6] involving several different recruitment pieces used throughout the recruitment cycle.  These pieces include the recruitment/response piece, view book, outcomes brochure, postcard series, event invitations, and specialized program flyers.  Each year, the Marketing Office and the Admissions Office assess and update the pieces to reflect current academic program offerings and institutional policies for the campus.  The Marketing Office manages the recruitment materials, adding updates and revisions needed for accuracy through a tracking system called Brightpod.

In September 2016, the Admissions Office for traditional students launched a new recruitment software system called Jenzabar Recruitment Manager (JRM) which helps manage the communication flow to all inquiries, applicants, and admitted students.  With the system, Reinhardt has increased the variety of communication delivered to students through mail, e-mail, and telephone calling efforts.

For distance education and graduate programs, the first point of contact is more realistically the website.  However, Reinhardt does have a print brochure for prospective online students, [7] which includes information about the types and lengths of the professional programs along with contact information.  Similarly, Reinhardt has print pieces to introduce prospective graduate students to our programs—like the Master of Business Administration (MBA) [8] and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing. [9]

In 2016, the Office of Marketing and Communications introduced Project Guidelines [10] along with a centralized Marketing Request Form [11] for the development and approval of printed and digital materials. This process ensures that all materials are approved for accuracy in representing the institution.

The print pieces are designed to lead prospective students to the official Reinhardt’s website for more information.

The official Reinhardt website

In the 21^st century, most prospective students engage in web searches for an appropriate educational program. The Reinhardt website includes information about Reinhardt [12] and student demographics. [13]

The Reinhardt website also provides more in-depth information about individual undergraduate programs [14] and graduate programs, [15] application procedures, [16] tuition, [17] financial aid, [18] and faculty members of different disciplines like biology, [19] business, [20] and history. [21]

For online programs, the University has partnered with Savant Learning Systems and developed a website for Reinhardt Online Programs. [22] This site provides information on the degree programs, admission, and financial aid.  The site captures leads and applications as well.  The information on the website is subject to approval by the Reinhardt University Office of Marketing and Communications.

To keep the Reinhardt official website updated, faculty program coordinators submit updates for the academic program information.  However, the website is managed by a software system, Cascade. [23]  Only authorized accounts may submit revisions, and each submission goes through a work flow that ends with approval from the Office of Marketing and Communications.

Academic catalogs

Although the academic catalogs are designed for accepted and current students, prospective students and parents may also consult them since these documents are published on the Reinhardt University official website. As shown by its Table of Contents, the Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017 [24] presents general education and degree requirements as well as University policies.  The undergraduate academic catalog, which is published annually by the Registrar’s Office, is updated annually in consultation with the provost, the school deans, the program coordinators, and faculty senate curriculum approvals so that it includes the most current degree program information. Similarly, the Reinhardt University Graduate Catalog 2016-2017 [25] includes admission, program, and degree completion requirements. The graduate academic catalog is updated and published annually by the Office of Graduate Studies in consultation with the provost and the graduate faculty.  Reinhardt publishes the undergraduate catalogs for the past eight years, and the graduate catalogs for the past five years, since inception, on the Academic Catalog web page [26] of its website.

Recruiting presentations

Traditional students

Face-to-face recruiting, which takes place on campus and off campus, includes opportunities to interact with admission staff as well as with current Reinhardt students and faculty. For example, “Experience Reinhardt” events invite prospective students to campus. [27] Reinhardt’s admissions counselors and recruiters are trained yearly to give accurate presentations on Reinhardt as they recruit at college fairs, high school visits, special open house events, or with business and community organizations.

Adult students – online and graduate recruiting

Reinhardt has a Director of Recruitment who promotes the adult, online, and graduate programs in the business community, at technical colleges, at graduate fairs, and through special programs.  In addition to the Director, recruiters through the Savant partnership promote some of the online programs.  Reinhardt also recruits and communicates with prospective adult students regarding our policies and practices through electronic communication like e-mail campaigns, social media outreach, search outreach, and video presentations.

Training and assessment for the enrollment staff

The Enrollment Management Division provides yearly training through a lunch-and-learn series with program coordinators, financial aid staff, athletics, and student life personnel on updates or changes to their areas to ensure our representatives in the field provide prospective students with accurate information. The Reinhardt admissions staff also attend annual conferences through professional organizations like GACRAO (Georgia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers), SACAC (Southern Association of College Admission and Counseling), and JAM (Jenzabar Annual Meeting).  In fact the Vice President for Enrollment Management, the Director of Admissions, and the Assistant Director of Admissions are Registered Enrollment Professionals [28] through GACRAO.  These professional development opportunities inform the admissions team of relevant best practices in admissions and the current landscape in higher education.

Conclusion

Reinhardt University uses a variety of online and print materials in recruiting to successfully reach prospective students. The Office of Marketing and Communication, along with the Office of Admissions, obtains accurate and complete institutional data for use in recruitment materials with the assistance of the university registrar, the director of institutional research and effectiveness, and program coordinators. The IPEDS surveys, graduate exit surveys, and official financial reports serve as the official sources for the institutional data. All print and online recruitment materials must be approved for accuracy by the Vice President for Enrollment Management, the Vice President for Advancement and Marketing, and the Chief Marketing Officer.

[1] IPEDS 2016, pp. 20 and 35-37

[2] 2015 Exit Survey of December graduates

[3] Institutional Aid, 2016 Independent Auditor’s Report on Financial Statements, p. 24

[4] General Response brochure

[5] Outcomes-Values brochure

[6] 2016-2017 Written Communication Plan for Traditional Admissions

[7] Distance Education brochure

[8] MBA brochure

[9] MFA brochure

[10] Marketing Project Guidelines

[11] Marketing Request Form

[12] “About” on the Reinhardt website

[13] Student demographics on the Reinhardt website

[14] Undergraduate Majors

[15] Graduate Studies webpage

[16] Application Process

[17] Business Office website

[18] Financial Aid website

[19] Biology faculty—Dr. Zach Felix

[20] Business faculty—Dr. Dana Hall

[21] History faculty—Dr. Ken Wheeler

[22] Online Programs website

[23] Cascade login

[24] Reinhardt University Undergraduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, Table of Contents

[25] Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, Table of Contents

[26] Academic catalog webpage

[27] Experience Reinhardt invitation brochure

[28] “Enrollment Professionals” letters and certificate