Having read and heard a number of things recently about the new front door
I'd like to take the opportunity to make some observations. The first relates to comments that appeared in The Post suggesting that the concept of the front door stemmed from a lack of professionalism in Communications and Marketing. In reality, the front door is a pretty impressive tribute to their talents and their dedication to their jobs. The staff at C&M was charged by President McDavis with the creation of a distinctive front door targeted at prospective students. C&M staffers did exactly what they were asked to do in a short span of time during a period of major transition in their unit. They are professionals who have a genuine interest in helping the university achieve its goals. To suggest otherwise is misleading and unjust.
Many of the negative reactions to the front door seem to stem from its design, not its substance. Everyone connected to its creation recognizes that using Post-it notes and the device that scrolls text messages is gimmicky. Three years ago, I would have shared those objections. But I've learned from experience that sometimes using a gimmick can allow you to coax someone to pause long enough to catch your larger substantive message.
Three years ago, we were down to our last four-color brochures that featured beautiful pictures of Honors Tutorial College students. We faced budget cuts and could not afford to reprint them. We had to come up with something cheaper. I turned to a young HTC Clio Award-winning alumna who recently had started a public relations firm. The firm created an HTC recruiting piece that was a spoof on the SAT. Printed on inexpensive paper without any pictures and using only black and green ink, it was definitely cheap, but it was decidedly gimmicky. As I contemplated it, I looked at the recruiting materials of our competitors. Glossy brochures predominated. Clearly we were venturing into new territory, and I was nervous about turning from the tried and true to the offbeat and odd. But in the end, fiscal necessity tipped the balance.
Going with the gimmick proved to be a good decision. Every year since we began using the SAT-spoof recruiting material, our application rates have increased steadily. The materials might not be the only factor in this trend, but we know from conversations with applicants that our unusual mailings made some students pause before chucking our material into the recycling bin. Those precious seconds gave us the chance to tout the unique academic opportunities of the HTC. Likewise, if you look beyond the gimmicky aspects of the front door, the academic excellence of the university, its faculty and its students is evident in the short films and the changing stories located in the upper-left-hand corner. Having something distinctly different at the initial point of contact may trigger a pivotal pause that can be filled by the academic advantages of Ohio University that appear throughout the new front door.
President McDavis asked that the front door be dedicated to prospective students because we are in the midst of another recruiting season in which applications are down. Ninety percent of the funds that keep the university operating are related to student enrollments. Paying the bills for an excellent university requires a specific number of enrolled students. The front door should attract additional applications, but it also is designed to interest prospective students in the next recruiting cycle, which begins in earnest in the weeks ahead. Moving now is essential to preventing yet another year of declining applications. The current front door is a temporary, pragmatic way to address a serious problem.
Received wisdom about recruiting students indicates that one of the most critical factors in getting to yes is personal contact. Web sites are important, but hearing from someone who is invested in the educational enterprise of an institution can make a tremendous difference. Right now we have hundreds of admitted students who have not made a matriculation decision. Receiving a phone call or an e-mail or interacting with a professor, student or administrator in an Office of Admissions chat room could be the deciding factor. Your participation in this process would be a meaningful contribution. Faculty members should contact their deans; students and administrators should send an e-mail to Candace Boeninger (boeningc@ohiou.edu) in the Office of Admissions. Alongside the number of days that the new front door remains in place, the editors of The Post might also keep a running total of the number of individuals who step forward and volunteer their time to the task of bringing great students to OU.
-Ann Fidler is the dean of the Honors Tutorial College. Send her an e-mail at fiddler@ohiou.edu. 17
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