Admissions and Outreach (A&O) is on the frontline of addressing how to keep prospective students motivated and excited about attending Sac State. Interacting with audiences on campus and in the community, Admissions and Outreach plays an active role in building and maintaining relationships with the public, as well as engaging with prospective students and selling the future of being a Sacramento State Hornet.
One of the largest departments on campus in terms of staffing, production, and marketing, Admissions and Outreach has 31 full-time staff, consisting of admission counselors, evaluators, communications, and administrative support staff. In addition to the full-time staff, 19 student ambassadors are working from home, responding to emails, data entry, phone calls, and conducting virtual tours.
Senior Associate Director of Admissions and Outreach, Charles Cole, is an important part of the team responsible for problem-solving the question of how to drive engagement and enrollment in a virtual Sac State experience. “To be honest I don’t know if things will go back to the way they were. This is uncharted territory,” says Cole. Before COVID-19, the majority of our work done by A&O was in-person, consisting of traveling regionally and throughout California. However, the landscape is changing quickly, and virtual events are becoming the new normal. Recruitment events such as college fairs, and high school and community college visits are all exploring life in the virtual space. “This will be our goal over the summer to come with a recruitment strategy in a virtual format. This will be our biggest test. Luckily, we’ve had 3 months of practice,” says Cole.
Like many departments, A&O is discovering new ways to do the work. Cole says that A&O has always embraced virtual-related platforms, such as chats, tele-counseling, video conferences, and emails only on a much smaller scale. With the campus operating remotely in the Fall, A&O recruitment efforts will rely exclusively on virtual platforms.
Getting everyone on the A&O team the necessary resources required to work remotely was challenging, but with help from Student Affairs IT and IRT they were able to get the appropriate technology to staff and students to keep things running. In addition, the transition to working from home has been challenging for many. Charles recalls transitioning to a home office shared with his wife and children who are now also working from home and the challenge of finding balance and carving out space with minimal interruption. “It took a lot of practice, but we found a way to work together,” says Cole.
When asked what he misses most about being on campus, Cole answered “Personally, I miss the old normal. From going to the Round House to playing noon hour basketball. I miss most of all the students, my colleagues, and the squirrels.”
By Alexander Nichols, Marketing & Communications Specialist