Instead of just issuing view books, admissions has implemented a new CD-ROM that will be used to help recruit students to attend Nicholls. “The way we have funded this promotional CD is we have raised some of the money, but we have also modified our existing publications in order to be able to afford it,” Courtney Cassard, assistant director of enrollment services, said.

Like many other colleges, Nicholls has a main recruiting publication called a view book. This publication states facts about the university and also gives prospective students applications for admissions and scholarship opportunities.

“We are also in the process of producing what is called a search piece, which is just a four-color brochure, that we never had before. It is a smaller version of the view book,” Cassard said.

The main goal of the CD is to help recruit better students to attend Nicholls, she said.

The CD will contain audio and visual presentations. It also has a moving slide show, pictures from around campus, admissions information, direct links to the Nicholls website, contact information and areas of excellence listed on it.

It is a digital view book, and it contains a lot of the information that students need to make decisions about attending college, she said.

The CD-ROM is in use, and many high school seniors have been giving feedback on the promotional CD.

“It [the reaction] is really positive. Students are very excited, especially because we don’t give them to just any student. We have specific students we target,” Amy Trainor, assistant director of admissions, said.

“This is another way for us to reach students and be more competitive as a university.”

Something that Nicholls is proud of is it is the only school out of The University of Louisiana System Schools that currently uses the promotional CD, Cassard said.

“Now with kids being a lot more computer-friendly, they are using the Internet a lot more. This connects people directly to our website,” she said.

With the purchasing of the CD, Nicholls was also given the opportunity to have the entire presentation on College Views website, which is one of the leading college search websites on the Internet.

“We have video and audio representation on their website,” Cassard said.

Admissions is targeting its approach of distribution. One of the goals that has been set, especially with the master plan in 2005, is to find more students who have completed college preparatory classes, and who have the ACT scores that meet the selective admissions requirements, Cassard said.

“What we are doing is targeting these CDs to people who pull a certain range on their ACT, but anyone can look at the presentation on College Views website,” she said.

A sales representative from Hobsons approached admissions about getting the CD. They did a lot of research on the company before deciding to gain this form of recruitment for Nicholls, Cassard said.

“In admissions, we realized early on that recruiting was going to get more technologically based,” she said.

“So, we decided to be proactive rather than reactive, and wait for everyone else to do it. So now, we are pretty much leaders among the state in electronic recruiting.”

Through Hobsons, Nicholls is allowed to have their entire presentation on a CD-ROM that Hobsons sends to every guidance counselor in the country so they can have some sort of access to the University, Cassard said.

“This was just part of the package that they included. They also send us inquiries from potential students, who we respond to,” she said.

Dr. Joanne Ferriot, former vice president for student affairs, took a big interest in having the CD made, Cassard said. It was however, a collaborative effort between admissions and the administration of the University.

Right now, the only school that is known of in Louisiana to use the CD-ROM besides Nicholls is the University of New Orleans.

“It makes us more attractive to students when you can portray and image that we do have advanced programs here which is represented by recruiting materials. It makes us stand out among other schools,” Cassard said.

She said they are excited to be able to have something new for top quality students.