Year Round Recruitment - Planning

The students are away and now is time to start planning for the next round and updating your year round recruitment plan.

What worked well this year? Were the birthday postcards a success? Did you get the welcome letter from your Superintendent sent? Did you send as many texts as you had planned?

How about your events? Were they well publicized? Were they well attended? What was your ROI? Are there other events needed to fill in the gaps and do any of the events we are doing need to be eliminated?

Don't forget about social media. Is it inclusive in your plan? Are your website, Facebook and Twitter page all integrated? Do you even have them?

These just some of the questions you and your enrollment management staff should be asking about your recruitment plan. Start reviewing your plan and become prepared for next year.

STEM and Scouting

Today I read about a new program within the Boy Scouts of America called the NOVA and SuperNova program. The program is open to Cub Scouts (1st through 5th grades) Boy Scouts (6th grade to age 18) and Venture (men and women, from the age of 14 years old or 13 years old and completed eighth grade through 21).

It consist of Scouts earning different academic pins, activity badges, merit badges and more in depth projects of STEM. These awards are designed to increase interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and recognize superior achievement in these areas.

Much like Scouting CareerTech is an opportunity for technology centers to interact with Boy and Girl Scouts through various interest projects and merit badges, the NOVA and Super NOVA program are an opportunity for technology centers to interact with potential STEM students and get them interested in STEM areas.

The program could even lead to a STEM Fair where Boy Scouts could earn the Robotics Merit Badge, Engineering Merit Badge and others, while Girl Scouts can complete Imagine Engineering and Science in Action.