West Virginia Universitys office of Enrollment Management has announced the addition of three new staff members as part of the Universitys continuing efforts to attract and retain high quality students. The department has named a new director of undergraduate recruitment, associate director of undergraduate recruitment and coordinator of New Student Orientation.

It is critical that we focus our efforts on recruiting the countrys best and brightest students to WVU ,said Brenda Thompson, assistant vice president for enrollment management.Filling these positions will help us maintain our presence throughout the region, build upon our existing recruiting efforts and help to increase the academic credentials of students that apply to the University.

Jamie Ealy is the new director of undergraduate recruitment. He oversees the planning and coordination of all undergraduate recruitment efforts. This includes supervision of five admissions counselors who travel extensively as well as oversight of a communications center that utilizes current WVU students to contact future students.

We have a network of current WVU students that are charged with calling students interested in attending the University,said Ealy.They can help develop relationships, answer questions and explain our admissions process. Its been a successful program and it is somewhat unusual to see an institution of our size maintaining this form of personal contact.

As the landscape of competition in higher education increases the messages to prospective students becomes more important. Ealy will also work closely with the Offices of University Advancement and Marketing and Admissions and Records on the development of an extensive communication plan for potential and new students.

It imperative that we personalize the experience prospective students have with the University,he said.We have experienced a steady increase in the applications from students of higher academic ability. By focusing our counselors on those students and increasing the level of personal contacts, presentations and campus visits we can help ensure those students ultimately enroll at WVU .

Ealy brings a broad background in college enrollment and admissions to the position. He has served as director of admissions for Berea College, an enrollment services coordinator for the master of business administration program at Virginia Tech and as an admissions and financial aid counselor at Concord University.

Kate McKeen has been named to the newly created position of associate director of undergraduate recruitment. McKeen will work as a point person for the Universitys two regional recruiters assisting them with training, event development and attainment of recruiting goals. She will also assist transfer students by helping them identify academic programs to make a smooth transition to WVU .

McKeen brings knowledge of the University and undergraduate recruiting to the position as she served as the Universitys first regional recruiter in the Virginia and Washington D.C. areas. In that position, she helped develop a network of WVU alumni, training them to help recruit promising high school students.

I am currently working with the National Alumni Recruitment Network to develop a training program for WVU alumni,said McKeen.For example, we have an alumna in Los Angeles who is part of the program and can represent the University at college fairs and assist our recruiting efforts in California.

Additionally, she has partnered with the WVU Visitors Resource Center to restructure the student/parent tours and visitations. Admissions counselors now meet with each visiting group to oversee the admissions process and review application deadlines and resources for financial aid and scholarships. This person provides an additional point of contact with prospective students.

Another position recently filled within the Enrollment Management department is that of coordinator of New Student Orientation. Courtney Jennings, a long-time WVU employee, will oversee new student orientation sessions and Mountaineer Visitation Days.

Jennings brings a great deal of experience to the position having worked as an admissions counselor with WVU since 1999. She most recently served as the interim coordinator for the program.

Jennings feels that her role provides a dual function in attracting and retaining students to the University.

Visitation Days provide prospective high school students with a snapshot of campus life,she said.Once they see the campus and get to interact with faculty and students, they have a better understanding of the culture here and can better see themselves as a member of the WVU community.

Additionally the orientation sessions help get our newest students excited to be here and helps them learn about the resources and opportunities they can take advantage of.

One of the initiatives Jennings has been developing is the use of on line scheduling for visitation and orientation events to provide more convenience to students interested in registering for events.

Our hope is that the more information we can provide an interested student and their parents, the easier we can make the admissions process,said Jennings.We are a support service for these families and we want to provide them with information and resources to make the transition to WVU smooth and event free.

For more information about New Student Orientation or Mountaineer Visitation Days, visit: http://www.arc.wvu.edu/new_student_orientation/index.htm .