[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/recruit_cd.gif” caption=”This year, Student Liaison sent recruitment CDs to all students who received an offer of admission.”]It's that time of year when prospective university students begin weighing the future of their education. Their offers of admission have arrived and they have until June 13 to make a decision.

For prospective McMaster students, the recruitment CD they received with their offer, might help make the decision a little easier. After all, they can see what McMaster is really all about by hearing directly from McMaster students.

This year, Student Liaison sent recruitment CDs to all students who received an offer of admission. The 15-minute interactive CD includes testimonials from students about life with roommates, the Welcome Week experience, Athletics and links to McMaster services. According to the feedback Liaison has received, the new recruitment strategy seems to be doing the trick.

“The idea of having a student life CD is an awesome idea and really helped to solidify my choice to come to McMaster,” responded one student, who received the CD earlier this spring. “No other University that I applied to gave first-year student anxiety and questions a second thought. This CD is a real help to those students who may be apprehensive to call the school and ask questions or go in for a campus tour and get face-to-face confessions from Mac students.”

Liaison officer Paula Johnson says the CD engages students from the start. “We needed a point of contact to keep students engaged and it puts McMaster at the forefront of students' minds. They can look at this and see what life at Mac is like. This helps students solidify their choice of where they want to go.”

The CD incorporates the experience of McMaster outside of the classroom, she adds. “It was not something we focused on traditionally so we wanted to find out what our students are most concerned about, such as having a new roommate or the experience of Welcome Week.”

A questionnaire also was included on the CD, which students can fill out to be entered into a draw to win an ipod or Title's gift certificate.

The CD's are just one more point of contact with prospective students, says Pat Harris, associate registrar. “I think that an effective communication plan includes a combination of print and electronic contact points – both are important. The trick is, to determine which method is most appropriate for each point of contact&electronic communication can build on the established 'image' of the print publications which helps reinforce our branding, it's also an excellent way to direct the reader to specific areas of our website – just one click away.”

This year, Liaison also developed eight e-cards that have been used at various points throughout the recruitment/admissions cycle, such as a fall preview card, acknowledgement e-card, updates on their admission status, thank you cards for applying to McMaster, March Break and May @ Mac information cards, and supplementary information cards. Each includes a different McMaster image, a short (usually around 100 words) message and six to eight web links appropriate to each of the e-card messages.

“The e-cards have been a fast and effective way to communicate with our applicants. They are also a lot cheaper than printing and mailing materials,” Harris says.

The success of the e-cards became evident by the increase in March Break visitors this year. “One of the e-cards reminded students about our March Break visit opportunities and had a direct link to our campus tour registration form. We definitely saw an increase in the number of tour registrations over last year. Our overall registrations were up by 22 per cent.”

Another advantage to using electronic communication is that Liaison can track how many applicants open the e-mail, and which links they use, she adds. “This data helps us determine if our messages are hitting the mark.”

Liaison officer Trish Sullivan agrees. “It's a quick and easy access point for us,” she said. “Ninety-five per cent of applicants provide us with an e-mail. The open rate is also very high.”

For May @ Mac, Liaison sent 22,0000 e-cards to current applicants coming directly from an Ontario high school.

“We're really excited about how this has been received,” Sullivan says. “We can send out over 22,000 cards almost instantly. There's no printing involved and no stuffing of envelopes. However, many of our e-cards are followed up by print, which provides more detailed information in a well-designed and easy-to-read format. Electronic communication provides us with a quick and easy way to communicate with students.”