Recruitment Toolkit

Identify your prospects

Strengthen your recruitment pipeline.

  • Attend professional conferences.
  • Visit institutions that are (or could be) good "feeder" schools; present in relevant undergraduate classes or colloquia.
  • Maintain communication with your program's graduate alumni, especially those now teaching at other institutions. They are often your best recruiters!
  • Send us specific program recruitment materials to take to the graduate fairs and other relevant recruitment events that we attend.
  • Submit an RFP to the Graduate School for a recruitment grant to help you achieve your recruitment goals.

Create a program page with KeystoneAcademic.com.

Engage Your Prospects

Maximize your website.

  • Be sure information is up-to-date and easily accessible.
  • Include faculty information with areas of expertise/research and contact information.
  • Include program information: a general description, enrollment/size, areas of specialization, research opportunities, course delivery methods, selectivity, any specific admission requirements, application deadline, etc.
  • Include information on the availability of funding and how to qualify for it.

 

Be prompt and thorough in your responses to prospective students.

  • Answer email and phone messages in a timely manner. If appropriate, copy the Graduate School's student recruitment coordinator on your responses for additional follow-up: neely.benton@ndsu.edu.

 

Enlist the help of the Graduate School recruitment team.

  • If you provide us with information on any prospective students with whom you interact, we can enter them into our student database and email communication plan.
  • We can assist in the coordination of campus visits for prospects you'd like to bring to campus, including communication, directions, parking permit. We can also meet with them to provide general application and admission info, as well as a campus tour.
  • By including us in your communication with prospective students and applicants, we can provide them with valuable supplementary information to be sure their application and admission review process is smooth and efficient.

 

Utilize your current graduate students and graduate alumni to further engage prospects; many would be happy to share about their experience in your program.

Convert Your Prospects

Evaluate your application review process to ensure you are capitalizing on promising applicants.

  • Consider evaluating applications on a rolling basis and making early offers to strong candidates.
  • Note that, for international students, the institution that processes their admission decision and immigration documents first is often the one they choose.
  • Communicate relevant information to the Graduate School regarding your application review process (for example, if you are holding applications to review for the following semester), so that we can communicate with the applicants accordingly.

 

Consider sending personalized messages to welcome admitted students to your program.

  • Refer admitted students to the Graduate School for any questions regarding processes to confirm their enrollment, send final transcripts, complete the payroll process for their assistantship, etc. We can also serve as a liaison to other departments for questions regarding housing options, immunization requirements, immigration processes, financial documentation, and more.
  • If funding is an issue, utilize our Grants Consultant to assist you in your grant writing efforts so that you can be more successful in obtaining the necessary funding to offer admission with financial support for desired students.

 

Connect new admits to current graduate students in your program.

  • You could do this through email, Facebook groups, welcome videos with contact information, etc.
Resources to Enhance Your Recruitment Efforts
  • Download the Program PowerPoint Presentation Template.
  • If you have available assistantship positions, post them like job opportunities. You can post them to your own webpage, send them to us to post on social media platforms, and send to the Career Center to post on Handshake. We've provided a fillable PDF to make it easy. Download it here.