The great campaign for students
Preparing for the prospects by catering to the current
February 6, 2008
Todd Foley
Recruiting potential students has always been the backbone of growth for Trinity Western University. While the priority of admissions is apparent, where is the concern for current enrollees? This question is now being addressed through the Great Campaign for Students, a new initiative straight from President Raymond’s leadership staff.
TWUSA introduced the Campaign on Jan. 30 in a “Popcorn and Politics” session, hosted by Alison Fraser, VP of Student Relations. Attendees included Acting Senior Vice President of Enrollment Advancement Marilyn Crone, Freshmen Representative Tom Hunt, and a small number of students.
The goal of the Campaign is to indirectly attract new students as a result of catering to the needs of those presently enrolled at TWU. According to Crone, the TWU administration wants to actively communicate with the student body.
“The best thing that a first year student could do for us right now…is to say, ‘Here are the grade 12 and grade 11 students that I knew from my high school,’ so that we can make contact with them,” said Crone, noting the importance of student networking, but not neglecting the current student body.
“Do we want more students at the university?” she asked.
“Absolutely, but we want to take care of [the current students].”
“The heart of the administration is not just to get more numbers,” said Fraser. “Because we have that relationship with people at the school, [the administration] wants TWUSA to share that,” noting the importance of dialoging with students.
The TWUSA meeting served as a starting place to voice ideas, one being campus employment.
“[The] issue is that [students are] overwhelmed with having to pay for four years [of tuition],” said Hunt. He suggested that the school could split the student’s paycheck between the standard wages and set aside the rest as financial credit which would automatically go towards the following year’s tuition. He then mentioned that the credit could only be received if the student returns to TWU, acting as an incentive to encourage returning students.
“They’ll think, ‘I can get by frugally and still get an education,’” said Hunt, comparing the cost of a course with living expenses.
Third-year student attendee Taryne Lepp voiced her thoughts on the lack of community among upperclassmen, saying that they seem disconnected from the rest of the student body. She said that the school’s sense of community cemented her decision to attend TWU, which she believes sets it apart from other universities.
“How do we continue to build and improve this community?” she asked.
Other attendees felt the need to emphasize other aspects of the university when marketing the school to prospective students.
“Community is great, but we [also] have excellent teaching services,” said second-year student Jonathan Kintz, wanting to push the school’s academic realm.
“I think it’s important to remember that this is a university,” said Fraser. “We are a university that does create great leaders…but we’re here for academics.”
Crone noted that prospective students use the TWU website as a resource to study the school, but that the site is not adequate in its current condition.
“A lot of students do their [university] shopping online, and we never know they’ve been to our website,” she said. According to Crone, members of UComm are currently revamping the TWU website to make it more informative and accessible to prospective students.
Crone added that Dr. Raymond’s leadership team is now strategizing with faculty and colleagues to make them more integral in the recruiting process.
“When I came [to TWU], I would have loved to have known who my professors were,” said Fraser. “We have professors that are on par, if not better, than those at other universities.”
While there are many ideas in the works, Fraser mentioned that there has already been “fruit” from past student initiatives, citing examples like the recent allowance of social dancing and economy-priced housing options.
“This is our university,” she said, pledging to bring back to students the ideas that they came up with.
Fraser wants to “assure students that [TWUSA] will work the best we can on [the students’ behalf], but that the administration will have to meet us halfway.”
“I think what the administration is looking for right now are specific action points,” she added.
“There are many folks who don’t know what we’re already doing, so it has informed how we will run some informative sessions with going forward [with these ideas],” said Crone.
Together, TWUSA and the administration plan to put these various actions into practice.
“We’re always looking for students to engage with what’s going on,” said Fraser, “but [there’s] always the question of, where do we go from here?”
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