How to Recruit ALL Students to STEM Without DEI

Most schools I work with increase female and male enrollment after they employ the strategies I’ve developed in my 12-point recruitment system.  Here’s why: I help them become better recruiters overall.

For example, one section of my Recruitment Plan Template is Return on Investment (ROI). Schools have to complete the following information in the Recruitment Plan:

✅ Job Titles students can expect to qualify for when they graduate

✅ Job Outlook Locally

✅ Skills Students Learn

✅ Clear Description of Certificates and AS Offered with Length of Programs

✅ Job Placement Rate/Percentage of Completing Students

✅ Transfer Agreements with Local Colleges in Career Pathway

✅ Certifications students will have or be qualified to sit for by completion

✅ Annual Starting Salary (on average)

✅ Expected Salary Progression (on average)

✅ Employers that have Hired Graduates

✅ Graduate or Student Testimonials

✅ Clear Description of Educational Outcomes

Now you might be thinking, Donna, this is common sense. And I agree with you. However, maybe 10% of community college STEM programs have this information readily available and use it in their recruitment outreach or on their Website Landing page (the #1 place prospective students go for information on a college program). In the coaching for implementation calls I conduct with colleges after they attend my training, I often find myself facilitating heated discussions about this information and, since most schools don’t have it, helping them come up with workarounds to present the information they do have most effectively.

Most schools focus on the technical aspects of the course in their outreach, program landing page, and prerequisites, but this backfires because most students think they lack the background needed to succeed in the course. 

I teach schools how to incorporate ROI information into their outreach and develop Messaging that encourages students instead of repels them.

Join me this June for the Recruitment Master Class Training, where you’ll learn:

How to implement all 12 of these proven recruitment strategies at your institution

Act now – early bird pricing ends on April 15. Invest in your program’s future and learn how to build a thriving STEM program that attracts ALL students so your program can have full enrollment.

"The Bootcamp got us thinking intentionally about who we were going to target for outreach. In a year’s time, we had increased female enrollment in our IT & CS Department from 149 to 226 female students and male enrollment had also increased from 751 to 1009 male students. Since then, it has grown organically and blossomed into something that our college just does naturally.

I think getting together as a team with intention—because we're all so busy—and developing a written plan that we could stick to was what made all the difference. It made us really think outside the box and get more creative about the ways we could reach different demographics and teach our courses. I don’t think we would have ever done that if it wasn't for the WomenTech Educators Training."

~ Michelle Levine, Interim District Director of Faculty Development, Broward College, Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), FL brought a team to an online Bootcamp