Assess Your Recruitment Efforts
Written by Carol Ormand, based on ideas compiled from the 2005 workshop on Developing Pathways to Strong Departments of the Future and the 2007 workshop on Strategies for Successful Recruitment of Geoscience Majors.
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HideUse Formal Assessment Tools
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AIR Questionnaire
The American Institutes for Research has developed an assessment instrument designed to measure changes in attitudes and behaviors related to enhanced likelihood of students remaining in the geosciences career pipeline. It can be used to measure the effectiveness of student recruitment activities.
Student Exit Survey
Many departments survey their graduating seniors to find out why they chose a major in the geosciences, as well as student perceptions of the strength and weaknesses of their programs. Here's a detailed example (Rich Text File 91kB Jan14 08) from the Geology and Geography Department at Georgia Southern University and a very brief example (Microsoft Word 21kB Feb28 08) from the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas, El Paso.
Student Survey and Results
The Geology department at St. Thomas University, in St. Paul, MN, has grown dramatically in the past decade. A New Curriculum and A New Vision: My How We've Grown (PowerPoint 5.9MB Mar5 07) is a description by Tom Hickson and Lisa Lamb of their vision for their department, how they put that vision into place, and student responses to a Lickert-scale survey.
