Deans dial in personal pitch for student search

Brandon University is wooing new students this week with a pitch from the top. Deans from the five faculties at BU have been making personal phone calls to high school students from across Manitoba and Saskatchewan to tell them about their programs and answer their questions.

“Even in a texting and social media age, a personal phone call is still the best way to reach out and connect,” said Student Success officer Courtney Adams, who is helping coordinate the two-night phone drive.

The Deans have been joined by several Student Ambassadors as well as University Registrar and Associate VP (Student Services) Tom Brophy to tackle an interest list that has been collected from BU visits to high schools throughout the two provinces.

“We’ve gone further north than Thompson, and past Winnipeg, and west to Regina,” Adams said.

Because the phone list is specifically for students who have already expressed an interest in post-secondary education and in BU, the Deans and other dialers are able to give a personal touch to the students they call, offering them a detailed look at the educational paths they could pursue at BU.

“I spoke to guitar players, trumpet players, piano players, vocalists, flute players, a violinist… and I spoke to students interested in a wide range of programs, from Elementary Music Education to performance,” said Greg Gatien, Acting Dean for the School of Music, after the first evening’s calling, on Monday.

“Time flew by. I spoke to at least 30 students — and left another 15 or so rambling voice mails,” he said. “It was a pleasure to talk with engaged young people about their post-secondary aspirations.”

It’s the first time that Adams can recall that administrators at as senior a level as Deans have all committed to make calls to high school students. They’ll be calling again on Thursday evening, from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

With more than a thousand names on their list, Adams says they have to start calling now, ahead of the BU Open House next week, and the Brandon Career Symposium next month, when they’re expected to meet with thousands more prospective students.

For more information or to pre-register for Feb. 16’s Open House, which will feature an information fair, personal tours, and mock lectures to give Grade 11 and 12 students a sense of the university experience, see brandonu.ca/open-house.

Enrolment at BU was up by 5.4 per cent in the 2015–16 school year, with applications at a record level.

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