Communication

- A crash course in Muggle Studies.

Tom Knott

• UNK Admissions Counselor– Member of the Slytherin house

• 2nd Year Student– 2 years in Admissions

• Special Ability:– Legilimens (Mind Reading)

• Helps with recruiting

Joni Anderson

• Nebraska Wesleyan AC– Member of the Ravenclaw House

• 3rd Year Student– 3 years in Admissions

Special Ability: – Animagus (Turns into an animal)

• Prairie Wolf (whatever that is)

COMMUNICATION 101We will cover the When, How, Who and Why of Admissions communication.

• When– “Season” will play a determining factor in what your focus will be.

• How– Effective communication can exist outside email and calls. Social media is helpful, its almost like

MAGIC but must be used appropriately/professionally.

• Who– As AC’s we communicate with a broad and diverse audience. Mostly MUGGLES such as

Students, Guidance Counselors, Parents etc. – You will also need to stay in touch with your fellow WITCHES and WIZARDS.

• Why – Although not always convenient, or fun, good communication skills are incredibly important. – The better your communication the stronger your recruitment SPELLS and POTIONS will

become!

WhenALL THE TIME

FALL• Travel heavy. (dust off the broom)

– Scheduling

• Stay ahead of the game!– Don’t wait till the week of.– You will have an ideal schedule….It will

fall apart!

• Know when and where EPP’s & College Fairs are.– Set up visits accordingly.– Some AC’s like to cover schools in that

area. Others like to avoid schools in that area as they are probably attending the fairs.

SPRING

• All the rules from the Fall still apply.– Stay diligent in your scheduling,

it does “slow” down a bit.

• Really step up student communication.

**PLANS CHANGE YOU WILL HAVE TO CANCELL** ITS OK JUST COMMUNICATE! NEVER NO CALL NO SHOW!

How

• Be sure to use the appropriate medium.

– Professionals are likely to respond best to phone calls and emails.• Most will make it clear what if any preference they have.

– Students occasionally like to ignore emails and calls. Twitter and Facebook are rather effective.• Using social media requires that you be extra careful.

– Parents will hunt you down so there is really no need to reach out.• Some parents are too involved, others are not involved enough, every now and

then you will find the perfect combination.

• Talk to each other.– We are all in this together: Share/Steal effective communication styles.

**There is no cookie cutter approach**Every Counselor, Student and Parent are different!

Who• Guidance Counselors/ Secretaries

– These are your best friends or your worst enemies.• Secretaries are the eyes and ears of the schools.• Normally these are the people that you will schedule your visits with.

• The Office– Stay connected to your “home base.”

• Being on the road so much it is important to stay connected to campus.

• Students– Make yourself reachable

• Good idea to separate personal from professional (Twitter & FB)

– Respond ASAP (you will forget)• Hotels

– Holiday Inn Expresses (HIE) • Managers Receptions (get familiar) • Priority Club Member (points are your friend)

Why(Students)

• You are the students connection to your school.– This means…• They assume you know everything.

– We don’t know everything, but we usually know who does.

• You have the power to increase scholarship $ or change admission requirements. (That spell is above our pay grade)– HA! Sometimes you have to have uncomfortable/honest

conversations about $, admissions etc.

• They are your 1st and only priority.– You will have favorites but every student deserves your best effort!

Why(Guidance Counselors)

• They are YOUR connection to the school.– No Guidance Counselor, No visit.• Make sure GC’s know who you are, for the right reasons.

– Tips• Schedule in advance• Keep your appointments• Show up early enough to have a brief conversation.• Remember them!

**Some GC’S are secretly Witches and Wizards**When you find these precious few make them your best

friend!

Why(Parents)

• Parents aka your students financial backing– Parents will have a variety of concerns and ?’s• College is a large monetary investment and those

paying deserve to know what their investing in.

• They love their kid (usually) and will want to know what they will be doing, who they are going to be around will they be safe.

**BEWARE THE HELICOPTER PARENT**

Muggle Studies Review• Communicate all the time with everybody.

• Remember that Students are the focus.

• But don’t forget…No Students without the Guidance Counselors.– So be good to the GC’s!

• Oh and keep in mind… No money or students without parents.– So be good to the parents!

**Remember there is NO perfect formula**It’s a process, you learn as you go!

QUESTIONS