| Summary: | The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the manner in which volunteer alumni recruiters at a flagship institution were able to recruit prospective students both in and out of the formal recruitment setting. Due to the challenges facing Louisiana State University with out-of-state recruitment, volunteer alumni recruiters provide a cost-effective alternative to assist this effort. Findings of this study can be used to expand the current alumni volunteer recruitment effort by providing insight into the strategies that result in success in the recruitment process, all the while encouraging fellow alumni to assist their effort.
The methodology for this study was a one-time, in-depth informal audio taped interview of purposely selected volunteer alumni recruiters. Saturation of the data was determined after six interviews. The following themes emerged from this method: motivation for involvement, volunteer training programs, social networking, minority recruitment, recruitment of new volunteers, recognition, other forms of recruitment efforts, parental involvement, the use of the internet for recruitment, and the reliance on the Division of Outreach as a tool in the recruitment effort.
Findings from this study revealed the following: volunteer alumni are motivated because of their passion for the University; many began their recruiting efforts without formal training; volunteer recruiters are able to network interest in different community settings; many reach out to communities labeled as under-privileged, but they do not approach the recruitment process differently; volunteer recruiters solicit fellow alumni to join the effort, and have no trouble retaining them; many gain feedback from students as to why they would not attend LSU, but are rarely given feedback concerning the recruitment effort of the Division of Outreach.
Implications for research are to increase qualitative and quantitative studies of volunteer alumni recruiters to establish a framework of the fundamental approach that these individuals take inside and outside the formal recruiting setting. Further research should discuss the manner in which these individuals solicit other volunteer recruiters, and examine motivations and expectations of those who become involved. The social networking ability of these volunteer alumni recruiters is important for a university that is spreading its footprint to understand.
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