How will you know your recruitment efforts make a difference?

Participants at the 2007 workshop on Strategies for Successful Recruitment of Geoscience Majors produced the following list of methods for assessing the effectiveness of recruitment activities.
  1. Increasing numbers (of declared majors, enrolled students, geology club members, etc.) suggest effective recruiting efforts. However, correlation is not causation; to establish causation, you need additional data.
  2. Ask your students why they chose your major
    • At the entry to the major (when they declare)
    • In the second or third course
    • Exit interview for seniors
    • Do a baseline survey now, compare to results after implementing new efforts
  3. Ask students who leave your major why they are making that choice