July 31, 2006

OWU Begins Student Recruitment in Australia and New Zealand

Perth, Australia, one of the cities Grace Poling recently visited on a recruiting trip. (Image courtesy of James Bromberger)

Thanks to Grace Poling, Ohio Wesleyan has a new market for student recruitment.

Earlier this summer, Poling, who is an associate dean and director of international recruitment at OWU, traveled with representatives from other U.S. colleges and universities to Australia and New Zealand. All participants are members of the Council of International Schools.

"It's very exciting," says Poling. "To the best of the group's knowledge, we were the first organized group of U.S. admission counselors to visit Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have excellent colleges and universities, so counselors wouldn't automatically travel there," she explains. "It's perceived as a tough market."

Ohio Wesleyan's connection with New Zealand began last year when Dave Papoi `65 was visiting there and volunteered to visit a few schools in Auckland. In the meanwhile, one of Poling's colleagues at Pepperdine University contacted her about the possibility of a group trip to New Zealand as well as Australia.

Representatives from nine U.S. institutions and a Swiss hotel management school that is accredited in the United States made the trip. "We contacted advisors from EducationUSA, which is part of the American Embassy, in those two countries," Poling recalls. "The advisors helped us identify schools to visit based upon the types of students we want to recruit."

The group typically spent two to three hours at each school and also held college fairs. "We met with students from the most prestigious public and private schools," says Poling. "Our group provided presentations for the students and we'd all take turns discussing different aspects of the college search and admission process."

Poling says the group didn't specifically promote any specific institution as a rule of the tour during presentations until the college fairs. "College visits are a foreign concept to career advisors (guidance counselors) and students in Australia and New Zealand," she says. "They're very sensitive about having students giving up time from class, so it was better for us to visit as a group. Also, for the initial contact in a new market, a concentrated effort is better than an individual effort."

She describes the various visits as an educational process for Australian and New Zealand students. "It was very service-oriented," she says. "For instance, students always think about the big college names in the U.S. — Harvard, Princeton, Yale — they didn't realize that there are over 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States."

Australian and New Zealand students also didn't realize they could receive scholarships from U.S. schools and many of them also perceived the only way they could attend American schools was through athletic scholarships.

While Australia and New Zealand have outstanding academic institutions, U.S. colleges and universities can offer something extra. Choice.

"We've really stressed the flexibility of U.S. schools because it's something Australian and New Zealand students can't get at home," Poling says. "They simply do not have the option of starting college undeclared or changing their majors."

Because of the choices Ohio Wesleyan can offer and since it seems OWU may be one of the pioneers of recruiting in the area, Poling is confident about the future with Australia and New Zealand. "I really feel we have a good chance with the students there," she says. "But it's critical for us to follow up after our initial contact, so I plan to return to Australia and New Zealand next summer, and every other year after that. I'm really looking forward to it."

— Ericka Kurtz