Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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StudSnt Ambassador Donna Davis gives a prospective student and her family a campus tour. Ambassadors were required to work four office hours each week and help with University events. Photo by Ron Alpough CodinQ lead cards is an important part of the recruiting process. Student Am- bassadors Steve Whitt and Darcy Darrah put high school code numbers on cards returned by prospective students. Photo by Ron Alpough New offices provide more space for Lori T ( ' ner-Weddle and Dale Montague. The staff moved to the Mabel Cook Admissions and Visitors Center during the fall semester. Photo by Ron Alpough Lori Bartruff discusses Northwest ' s programs with a Maryville High School stu- dent. Admissions counselors spent a great deal of time talking with seniors about their college search. Photo by Ron Alpough Recruiting 23

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Selling Northwest The personal touch pays off in the numbers game by Mike Dunlap Our admissions process was a University-wide effort.... We all worked together to create a positive infipression. -Lori Tyner-Weddle Theirs were the faces of Northwest for hundreds of high school students. Though their jobs often entailed driving hundreds of miles and speaking to scores of people each day, the University ' s admissions counselors could see the effect of their efforts: a 40 percent increase in freshman enrollment since 1986. Credit for that phenomenal increase went to both the counselors and the admissions staff who had made an art and a science out of selling Northwest. While the counselors concentrated primarily on assisting stu- dents with their college search process and preferred the ' ' soft sell approach, the personal contact they had with high school students often meant the difference in their college choice. Lori Tyner-Weddle, assistant director of admissions, said the per- sonal touch was something Northwest had over other institutions. ' ' We found that it was important to have the counselors out there visiting schools, Tyner-Weddle said. The personalization of hav- ing an actual human being talk to them made a difference. Admissions Counselor JayDe Leonard said that when he talked to students, he stressed the importance of just going on to college, whether that meant Northwest or not. Still, both Leonard and Tyner-Weddle said that once students toured Northwest, most were sold. The touring process was where the counselors on campus and Student Ambassadors came into the process. Nearly 2,000 cam- pus tours were given each year In fall, the counselors were moved to the newly remodeled Mabel Cook Admissions and Visitors Center, from which all campus tours were coordinated. Besides selhng the campus, the staff also used projects like the Electronic Campus and the Culture of Quahty to appeal to par- ents and guidance counselors. In fact, the University held several events during the year for high school counselors and administra- tors to discuss Northwest ' s programs. Geographically, recruiters saturated the four-state area. Dale Montague, director of enrollment management, said Nebraska and northeast Missouri had been especially good areas for recruiting. Tyner-Weddle said one of the reasons Northwest did well out-of- state was that its recruitment program was more sophisticated than those of most Nebraska and Iowa schools. Our admissions process was a University-wide effort, Tyner- Weddle said. From the admissions counselors to the faculty mem- bers and even the maintenance people, we all worked toward creating a positive impression. Whether on campus or on the road, the concept of making a good impression dominated the recruitment concept. Along with ambitious academic programs and a friendly atmosphere, that im- pression made it easy to sell Northwest. K l 20 Recruiting

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Hort ' SSSOming Queen Lisa Robison reigns l . i kntasyland. She was the 13th menVoer of her family to attend Northwest. Photo by Mark Strecker Pi Beta Alpha wins first place in the independent house dec category. Ermal Wil- son worked on the Disneyland scene lo- cated in front of the Wesley Center. Photo by Debby Kerr 22 Homecoming Finishing a section of a grass skirt, Tri Sig Gary Boatman adds yet another gre en pomp. Because Homecoming was early, groups were forced to work longer hours. Photo by Carol Parks