StARs attract students to ASU

This News by You article was submitted by Corey Schubert, manager of media communications for ASU's College of Public Programs.

A group of six students at Arizona State University's College of Public Programs is using new media in unique and creative ways to recruit students to the college at the Downtown Phoenix campus.

The students are in the Student Ambassador for Recruitment program, which provides them with an unedited student voice as they work in concert with staff recruiters to assist in the recruitment and retention process.

This is the first and only program of its kind at ASU. It's among only a handful of similar social-media-focused recruitment programs across the nation, including Cornell University.

The StARs each have an interactive blog linked through the college's Web site, and they frequently answer e-mails from potential students who have concerns and questions about student life in Downtown Phoenix. The team members also make videos for YouTube to show examples of what they're learning and how much fun it is to take classes at the college.

Social media is a great vehicle to meet potential students but is only one step in developing an overall relationship, according to StAR student Samuel Richard.

"The Internet and social media are one piece of a larger puzzle that leads to a more holistic recruitment experience," Richard said. "It's not only about MySpace, and it's not only about tabling high school campuses. The magic happens somewhere in between."

Since the program began in January, freshman enrollment has increased in all three schools at the college. For example, freshmen enrollment more than doubled this academic year in the Non-profit and Leadership Management Program.

Among the team's biggest successes is the recruitment of a student who was accepted to Harvard and Yale but chose to enroll at ASU in the College of Public Programs based partly on the personal connection she felt with the StARs, who traveled to Tucson to meet her before she made her decision.

The StARs represent each of the schools within the college: Social Work, Public Affairs, and Community Resources and Development. Topics on their blogs primarily are related to their academic major.

"You're getting an almost real-time perspective from students who are in the college and in the programs that potential students are interested in," StAR student Edward Jensen said.

The StAR Web site is at http://copperstar.asu.edu.

Corey Schubert can be reached at 602-496-0406 or corey.schubert@asu.edu.