OREM — Corey Rowley became aware of Utah Valley State College's recruitment efforts after he began receiving weekly e-mails from the school.
UVSC officials e-mailed the Provo High School senior newsletters and requests to visit the school's Web page. The e-mails began, he said, after he gave UVSC recruiters his address at a college information fair.
"I think, like once every two weeks, they should send stuff out so it lessens, but they can get the information out and keep it fresh," said Rowley, who ultimately decided to move away from home and attend Snow College.
UVSC administrators are amping up recruitment efforts after experiencing an 8 percent decrease in full-time student enrollment in October.
Utah's other colleges and universities have seen enrollment decreases, too, and are competing with each other for students.
"Historically, in the recruitment area, we have done very little," said Derek Hall, associate vice president of marketing and communications, whose office is involved in the recruitment effort. "We are new to the game compared to other institutions."
Enrollment climbed through the 1990s, when the school transformed from a junior college to a college that offered four-year degrees.
During that time, UVSC, which now counts nearly 25,000 students, didn't do much more than attend college-information fairs and mail brochures to students in the 17 "feeder" high schools in and around Utah County that provided the school's enrollment base. If students mailed back information cards, UVSC sent them a follow-up letter and a post card asking them to apply, Hall said.
Now, Hall's office has started a targeted marketing approach toward recruitment. They received $175,000 to develop a database and write, photograph and design materials about UVSC.
About four months ago, UVSC compiled a database of 60,000 names of Utah's juniors and seniors. School districts provided the names. Students on the list will receive four mailers, two each year.
If students respond to one of the mailers, they are flagged on the database as potential applicants. The students then are supposed to receive a phone call inviting them to campus. If they mention an academic area of interest, they will receive phone calls from deans, professors or students.
"Our goal is to use mass-marketing opportunities to move it to a personal relationship and to move that to application and attending," Hall said. "It's traditional college enrollment."
Other departments on campus are involved with enrollment, too. Tours on the campus are up 70 percent.
On a recent tour, William Bridges, an assistant dean for the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science, strolled with the potential students. He touted the award-winning ballroom dance team and mentioned a recent Utah Foundation study that found UVSC graduates earn higher salaries than graduates of Utah's other colleges and universities.
He distributed business cards and said, "The only reason I won't answer is if I'm in a meeting."
Bridges believes the personal touch puts parents, who usually tour with their children, at ease about the upcoming transition to UVSC.
"Anybody who is making the effort to come here, we want them to know they have immediate access to anyone who can give them guidance," he said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com