Ken Huus recently boarded a plane with a spring in his step and a smile on his lips.
The dean of admissions at Sweet Briar College was happy because his office has received a near-record number of student applications for 2005-06 - the highest number, in fact, of the past 30 years. As of March 8, Admissions had a total of 636 applications - an almost 30 percent increase over last year and a gargantuan 61 percent jump from the same period in 2003.
Huus' smile was more pleased than content, though, as his work continues. The flight took him on a recruiting trip to five West Coast cities with a team of Sweet Briar colleagues from the Admissions, Alumnae, Development, and President's offices. Such partnering is typical of a concerted, College-wide movement over the preceding year to attract more students to Sweet Briar. Huus believes the impressive figures he is seeing are from that effort.
"The entire [Sweet Briar] community has been actively engaged in the recruitment process," he said.
During the Shape of the Future initiative in 2003-04, "the College was forced to assess what it does well - such as internships, study abroad, graduate programs, and career placement - and what today's college-bound students want out of the experience. The question was asked, ‘Where do those things intersect and how do we capitalize on them,' " Huus said.
Once a picture emerged, "Everyone on our campus thought about it and talked about it in back offices and at water coolers. They could articulate to anyone who walked on campus what's so great about this place in ways that reach prospective students. That clear voice - it's just pretty powerful," he said, adding that one constant that visitors notice is people committed to students' success.
He also credits fresh recruitment publications used for the first time this year. Two primary pieces - a 32-page viewbook and "insider's guide" - were developed and focus-tested before being implemented. The look and message of the materials are consistent with Sweet Briar's "Think is for Girls" advertising campaign.
"Our new recruitment materials are really a reflection of all the things we know about ourselves," he said. "They accurately, honestly, and clearly portray for prospective students the kind of place we are." A 20 percent increase in campus visits by high school students graduating in 2005 suggests the materials are doing the job. The rate jumps to 38 percent if calculated from Sept. 1 - when the materials were sent out - to the present.
Huus points to other factors leading to the sharp increase in applications. Not the least is his office's 12-person staff - "the best admissions team I have ever worked with," he told the Board of Directors in February.
Similarly, there are other dynamics whose effects aren't yet known. It's hard to say in the middle of the process how Sweet Briar's applications compare to other schools, because the numbers won't be reported until the fall, he said. And there is some analysis left to do. For example, applicants from Virginia are up by about 26 percent, but it's not clear how much of the boost is due to an in-state tuition discount or improved marketing efforts.
Despite the caveats, Huus likes the numbers. "To have double-digit increases is pretty significant and to have these kinds of numbers in back-to-back years is rare," he said.
