by Oscar G. Borello
Staff Writer
An enrollment task force has been established at the University of La Verne to look at the selection process of the traditional college undergraduate.
This has been done through a variety of means starting from the restructuring of Woody Hall and the services provided therein, to examine the ever-changing needs of the students. The program has been in existence for a relatively short time in name but the idea of it has been around for many years.
The task force is another step to become a better educational institution that will best suit student’s needs while finding students that will contribute to the University.
Some of the basic goals of the enrollment task force are based on the initial admission of students and their retention. According to Debi Stanley, academic advising/matriculation director and task force member, trying to keep students here is a major focal point to be concentrated upon, because of the high cost and energies being expended in the recruitment of new students. These goals were determined by evaluations done illustrating the characteristics of students that would be successful in the La Verne environment.
The evaluations also tell what it is these students want in a college career—what would attract them, what keeps them here, and lastly where to find potential La Verne students. University staff and administrators are actively involved in the goals put forth by the task force. The group, which is led by Adeline Cardenas-Clague, dean of Enrollment Services, consists of Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, and other administrators around campus. The basic outline used for the successful enrollment strategy is based upon the book “Managing Enrollment,” by Lee Noels.
According to Stanley, another important method of determining the best way students can be served is the yearly evaluations distributed at the end of spring in students’ mailboxes. This serves as a report card for the administrators to see what needs improvement in the eyes of the students and what steps are necessary to correct the problems. One such step has been the bringing together of the Financial Aid Office, Academic Advising, Registrar and Student Accounts in Woody Hall.
Stanley is pleased with the way the students do not have to run all over campus to accomplish one goal, rather it can all be done in the same building much more efficiently.
“We have been meeting regularly and it seems as if already things have begun to click,” said Stanley.
This optimism in the new program is shared by many and its success depends upon the continued efforts of the enrollment task force and the rest of the school’s support of this plan. Stephen Morgan, president of ULV, shares in this optimism, and said “the task force is following the direction we had intended from the beginning.”
