“Come here… Go Far!” This is the new tag-line that Nicholls is presently promoting to increase admission numbers while trying to reach outside areas that are sometimes overlooked.
The campaign has been posted on four billboards throughout the southern Louisiana area, and will soon be displayed in local telephone directories and various Nicholls brochures. The billboard uses the new tag-line and features a picture of several Nicholls students.
University Relations and the Office of Admissions have worked together to create and promote the new campaign. Michael Delaune, director of University Relations, researched tag-lines used at universities across the country and narrowed his options down to a select few. The choices were solicited to get input from administration, faculty and students, and “Come here… Go far!” was the ultimate decision.
“Using our students in the recruiting is critical to our success,” Delaune said. “No one can sell our university better than our students because they’ve lived it and they know what Nicholls is about.”
Nicholls officials are also hoping that the new campaign will allow high school students to look toward their college aspect choices. With the Board of Regents set to raise admission standards in the fall of 2005, the campaign is trying to push students to work hard and focus early on the ACT testing.
“Because we are moving to selective admissions,” Becky Derocher, director of Admissions, said. “We realize it is essential to get to students earlier to make certain that they are taking the classes that are necessary in high school and are becoming prepared for the ACT.”
To enhance the admisssion process beyond the new campaign, Nicholls officials are reviewing ideas from the Nowel Levitz consulting team. The Board of Regents hired the consulting company to assist universities in Louisiana to come up with recruitment strategies.
In an effort to strengthen recruitment, officials are planning a Multi-Cultural Day on Feb. 11 on the Nicholls campus. Over 300 minority students from area high schools will be invited and will be exposed to free ACT preparations. A Spring Preview on March 12, an information view book that highlights financial aid and academics are also in the works.
To get students involved in the recruitment process, Nicholls is starting a new telecounseling program. The program involves enthusiastic Nicholls students that are willing to phone prospective high school students with targeted messages about the opportunities that exist for them at Nicholls. Anyone that is excited about the Nicholls experience is asked to stop by the Office of Admissions for an application.
A new student ambassador program is another effort by Nicholls officials to enlighten others about the Nicholls campus. Those that are ambassadors will be available to meet with prospective students when they come to campus, will sometimes do campus tours, and will assist in anything that involves recruitment.
“Probably one of the most positive things about our job in working in the Office of Admissions is getting to work so closely with Nicholls students,”Derocher said. “They keep our office motivated, and they keep interest level high to prospective students.”