Admissions Office efforts put enrollment process ahead
March 26, 2008
No one is ready to make official statements yet, but according to Undergraduate Admissions Director Heidi Stowman, “as far as applications go, we ARE ahead!”
And well it should be, for all the miles logged by the Admissions Office team since last fall.
 Part of the Admissions team enjoys the classic Hollywood set at the National Association of Christian College Admission Professionals last summer in La Mirada, California. Pictured are Admissions Counselors Rob Bovey, Sarah Officer, Sarah Ernst and Molly Sullivan; Assistant Admissions Director Courtney Dodds; Undergraduate Admissions Director Heidi Stowman; and Vice President for Enrollment Marty Ziesemer. |
College fairs along the West Coast and throughout the Northwest to campus tours given every week of the school year all add up. This year these recruitment efforts and more have resulted in more interest than ever in Corban.
“Things are looking good,” said Courtney Dodds, Assistant Admissions Director. “We definitely seem to be busier than past years, so that may be an indication that we are having more interest and are working with more students than usual.”
“Right now we are seeing increased applications and hopefully increased enrollment,” said Marty Ziesemer, Vice President for Enrollment.
In the grand scheme of things, award letters—those letters that go out to accepted students telling them how much financial aid they can get—are part of the enrollment process. According to Nathan Warthan, Director of Financial Aid, the first batch of award letters reflects roughly half the total that will go out to accepted students. Two hundred twenty-eight went out this March—a little more than half of last year’s total of 415.
Beginning in the fall, which is “travel time” for the Admissions Office, team members visited much of the western U.S. As usual, they met with potential students and represented the College and Graduate School at churches, schools and college fairs. Rob Bovey visited southern Oregon, southern California, and northwest Washington.
Courtney Dodds traveled to central and southern Oregon, then Alaska. Sarah Ernst included not only major Oregon cities along the I-5 corridor and the Coast, but also Colorado. Sarah Officer spent time in Oregon, southwest Washington, and Idaho. Molly Sullivan visited not only Portland, but northern California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Stowman logged the most miles in her journeys to Alaska, Hawaii, and Indonesia.
A report given by the Admissions Office revealed that the team visited 293 high schools, 62 college fairs, and 13 churches during their fall travel time.
 Admissions Counselors Sarah Ernst and Molly Sullivan (center) are center stage as they promote Corban at “The Gathering” in Tri-Cities, Washington. Joining them are Tim Bruner, Regional Manager of K-LOVE radio, and Dr. Sam Baker, Associate Professor of Ministries. (Photo courtesy of NW Christian Concert Photos) |
“We travel all over the West Coast mainly for college fairs that take place,” Ziesemer said. “This year we traveled to a number of western states to get the name of Corban out into the Christian community. With the name change [three years ago], it made it imperative that we make ourselves known to the potential student market. Many students didn’t know or consider Western Baptist before. Now with many students Corban is an unknown name that has to be marketed with many touch points. Our travel is just one piece of the strategy in marketing our name.”
Counselors took to the road again during Christmas break for two major youth events. One of them was Winter Youth in Portland and the other was TLC (Teen Leadership Conference at Wild Horse Canyon in central Oregon. Winter Youth is sponsored by Conservative Baptist churches in the Northwest with an attendance of about 1,200 students, while TLC is sponsored by the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches which about 300 students attend.
“Churches from all over the northwest bring their high school youth groups to these events,” said Dodds, who has represented Corban at TLC for the last three years. “They’re great places for us to get our name out and connect with the students in a fun setting.”
Admissions team members set up information booths, give out candy, conduct drawings with prizes, attend sessions, and hang out with students to promote the College at both gatherings. Dodds said she gave a 3-minute spiel on Corban from the front stage during one of the sessions. Although Winter Youth didn’t provide any time onstage for the team, their booth was situated in a highly visible and trafficked spot.
A few months later in March, another youth event called “The Gathering” took place in the Tri-Cities, Washington area. With an attendance of about 4,000 over two nights, it “definitely got the word out about Corban,” according to Ernst. She said there was more interest each night. She and Sullivan were given time onstage to talk about Corban, along with Dr. Sam Baker, Associate Professor of Ministries, who promoted the College Intern Program of which Corban is part.
“People tend to think being an admissions counselor is easy and glamorous,” Stowman said with a smile. Her description of their work is far from those things.
“Counselors must clearly articulate lots of details in a very short amount of time, not mind travel, be flexible, be a servant,” she pointed out a few characteristics. “They put in LONG hours—particularly in the fall—and put up with bad food, long road trips, long lines at airports and car rental agencies, and repeatedly getting up before 4:00 a.m. to head to the airport.”
Zeisemer added, “They will work 12-14 hours a day sometimes as they make school visits and then have a college fair that evening for three or more hours. They have to be just as passionate about Corban at 8:30 at night, talking to potential students and their families, as they were at 10:00 a.m. that morning, talking to a bunch of high school students.”
There are benefits, of course. When Officer’s travels took her to Boise, she was able to spend time with her brother, a student at Boise State University. Bovey enjoyed the scenery of Santa Barbara when he visited Westmont College. Sullivan noted after working very long days during “The Gathering” youth event, “It was refreshing to end the day with great worship by David Crowder and Desperation Band.”
 Admissions Counselor Sarah Ernst works the booth at “The Gathering” which attracted close to 4,000 people. (Photo courtesy of NW Christian Concert Photos) |
While Stowman represented Corban at the furthest distance, her experiences in Indonesia confirmed the College’s appeal to international students.
“Corban has a lot to offer to a student who might choose to come from Indonesia—a solid academic education that is unfaltering in its Bible-based core. Just like our students from the States, these students have so many doors opened to them after they receive their bachelor’s degree.”
Much closer to home, campus tours also contribute to enrollment. Shirley Yuranek, Campus Visit Coordinator in the Admissions Office, said her records showed 171 visitors so far this school year, making for about 60 tours. Each tour consists of two parts—one in the morning of the lower campus and one in the afternoon of the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center and residence halls. Yuranek herself conducts the tours as well as counselors and others in the Office.
Special events, such as Corban Experience held each spring and fall, are additional recruitment tools. Sandy Van Dyk, Special Events Coordinator, said she prays regularly for this event and begins the planning five or six months ahead of time. The intense work takes place two and three months before as housing, entertainment, and activities for all the visitors have to be finalized. The work was especially productive last fall, with an all-time high attendance of nearly 200 potential students on campus.
“Comments from our visitors have gotten progressively more positive,” Van Dyk indicated. “As we have upgraded buildings and spruced up our campus, it has been reflected in what our Corban Experience visitors say upon the end of their visit. One consistent comment is how nice, friendly and welcoming our student hosts are. The emerging comment is how beautiful our campus is!”
“My goal for the 24 hours that we have these visitors on campus is that they have an excellent and lasting impression of Corban College,” added Van Dyk.
In the meantime, applications keep coming in across Anita Seregow’s desk, Applications Coordinator. With a goal of 700 and numbers reportedly “up” at this time, her job is a busy one in an Office that keeps everyone on the move!
